TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Customer Service Quarterly Metrics
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving an update on FY25-26 Second Quarter Customer Services Metrics.
Staff Contact:
Claudia Burgos, Executive Director of External Affairs and Customer Experience
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
This report provides a general overview of the quarter’s customer service-related activity, including rider and customer feedback, summaries of recent fare media sales and institutional pass ridership. Staff leverages in-person interaction and proven technologies, many of which are available 24/7 across diversified, user-friendly, and accessible platforms. Staff continuously look for ways to employ new channels and methods that enhance the customer’s AC Transit experience.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The Clipper Customer Service Center (Customer Service Center) monitors Clipper-related requests, sells AC Transit passes and other fare media such as paratransit tickets, and Bike Link tickets; provides bus schedules and maps; works with the Clipper Access Discount ID Card requests (formally known as the Regional Transit Connection-RTC program); and manages the District’s Lost and Found. The Customer Service Center also assists District employees with Dependent and Pensioner ID cards.
In Q2 of FY26, fare revenue through AC Transit passes such as 1-Ride Local Adult, and 31-Day Senior/Disabled monthly pass, totaled $325,556 (see Figure 1 of Attachment 1), reflecting a decrease of 23% compared to Q2 of FY25. This decline is primarily attributed to fewer bulk orders and reduced sales of high-value tickets compared to the same period last year. With academic institutions approaching winter break, bulk orders for field trips and student support programs become less frequent, contributing to the overall reduction in revenue. Additionally, Next Generation Clipper Launched on December 10, 2025. Although Next Generation Clipper was live for only 3 weeks of Q2, technical issues involving credit/debit card readers and related equipment have contributed to a reduction in the number of transactions staff were able to complete.
Despite the seasonal downturn, 1-Ride Local Adult tickets remained the highest-volume fare media in Q2, with 6,100 tickets sold, followed by Day Pass Local Adult, which sold 5,440 passes during the quarter (see Figure 2 of Attachment 1). Several community-based organizations continued to generate steady demand: Berkeley Mental Health purchased 1,000 1-Ride Local Adult tickets, Alameda Health Systems ordered 1,200 of the same pass type, and Dorothy Day House acquired 1,000 Day Pass Local Adult passes to support their client services. Staff will reach out to these organizations to share information regarding Clipper START given the high volume of tickets purchased for their clients.
The Customer Service Center processed a total of 478 Clipper Access (formerly RTC) applications in Q2 of FY26 (see Figure 3 of Attachment 1), reflecting a 21% decrease in applications processed as compared to Q2 of FY25. On November 12, 2025, a Clipper Access outreach event was held at the California School of the Deaf in Fremont, where 29 applications were collected. One hundred fifty (150) replacement applications were processed in Q2 of FY26 comprising 31% of the application intake for the quarter.
Customer Relations
Customer Relations manages the District’s feedback resolution process. Staff monitor all incoming feedback through the Customer Relations (CusRel) ticket database. Feedback is received through various channels, including phone calls, emails, walk-ins, letters and social media. Customer Relations staff collaborate with various District departments to ensure a timely response to customers. Additionally, staff provide data and statistics to appropriate internal departments as well as external stakeholders (such as the Interagency Liaison Committees and the General Manager’s Access Committee), to assist in identifying areas needing service quality improvements.
Customer Response Times - Board Policy 421, the District’s Customer Contact Policy, states “District employees responding to a ticket must respond via the customer’s preferred method of contact within five (5) business days.” Figure 1 of Attachment 2 shows that Division staff met the five-day response time goal for 92% of all CusRel tickets, down from 96% in the previous quarter. District-wide, 75% of tickets received a response within five business days during Q2 of FY26, the same as in the previous quarter. CusRel tickets often require additional time to investigate and respond to due to their complexity. These tickets often involve multiple departments or systems, necessitating cross-departmental coordination to gather all relevant information. This ensures that all aspects of the issue are fully understood and appropriately addressed, which can extend the response time. Figure 2 of Attachment 2 shows response rates within five days in Q2 of FY26 compared to the previous year Q2 of FY25.
Contact Sources - AC Transit customers continue to choose the AC Transit official app as their preferred method for submitting feedback. Half of all customer comments were received via the app (see Figure 3 of Attachment 2).
Customer Contacts - In Q2 of FY26, Customer Service received 2,511 unique customer contacts representing a 5% increase as compared with Q2 of FY25 which saw 2,394 unique contacts (see Figure 4 of Attachment 2).
Top Five Feedback Categories (Reasons) - From October through December of this year, the top five reasons for customer feedback were split between operator-related issues (pass-up, operator misconduct, hazardous operation) and service issues (no-show, late) (see Figure 5 of Attachment 2).
Commendations - Division 2 received the most commendations from riders (see Figure 6 of Attachment 2), who specifically referenced the 18 and 57 lines. Below is a selection of reported commendations:
"I want to thank this 18-line driver on behalf of my 78-year-old grandfather whom she’s been so nice and polite to but mainly how she always lets the ramp out for him to board because he’s an amputee and says please take your time I’m in no rush and I’m not moving until you’re seated. He has not boarded a bus that waits until he’s completely seated before pulling off. (H)e says it’s been every time he gets on this drivers’ bus; it was not just once that she was being kind to him. It’s every time. We appreciate your patience and kindness."
"I'm writing to say how appreciative I am of one of your drivers on the 18 line. I had the privilege of taking the bus with him at the wheel on Monday the 17th in the morning - around 8:30, northbound, and again on the 18th in the afternoon, southbound (from Ashby and Shattuck to about Rose and Shattuck). He was very kind to me when I had trouble with my Clipper card, but also, watching him take care of the passengers who needed time to get off the bus before others rushed on was heartening and impressive. He was kind and firm."
"Bus driver was so calm, nice, and helpful when the bus broke down. He made sure everyone got on another bus going the same direction without having to pay. And he provided useful information and had a positive attitude. I know it’s such a hard job, and a bus breakdown is a huge pain. It would be so easy to be grumpy and unhelpful. But I really appreciated this bus driver. I wasn’t late to my 8:40 exercise class in Emeryville because of his helpfulness! Please give him all the good routes and shifts :) Thanks so much!"
Clipper-based Institutional Pass Programs
The institutional pass programs (EasyPass, Student Transit Pass Program (STPP), BayPass, City of Alameda (Senior and Person of Disability Free Pass Program)) enrolled 3,830 new participants this quarter, bringing the total number of enrolled participants to 108,001 as shown in Figure 1 of Attachment 3.
Figures 2 and 3 of Attachment 3, display the monthly totals for new and enrolled participants in institutional programs, which rose by 4%. Overall ridership increased by 27% from Q1 FY26 to Q2 of FY26. Factors contributing to the sharp increase in ridership may include that the previous quarter did not capture tags due to production challenges related to the STPP and the recent implementation of the Bay Pass program for the entire student body at UC Berkeley. Figures 4 and 5 of Attachment 3 present the ridership and enrolled participant data from this report in a variety of visual formats.
The BayPass pilot program provides a select group of participants with free access to all bus, rail, and ferry services across the nine-county Bay Area region to evaluate the potential impact on travel behavior of an all-system pass. Figure 6 of Attachment 3 shows the number of taps from BayPass participants, specifically UC Berkeley and the Alameda Transportation Management Association (ATMA). UC Berkeley and ATMA, whose ridership is counted under the EasyPass program, recorded 1,200,265 and 17,486 taps respectively for the quarter.
Clipper Usage
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) provides monthly Clipper data to the District which allows staff to examine trends in Clipper boardings and mobile card usage. The monthly clipper data uses the National Transit Database (NTD) ridership data to calculate Clipper market share (trips taken with Clipper). AC Transit averaged 52% of market share, which is higher than the average for Transit Agencies with mixed-fare media, including cash fare collection (see Figure 7 of Attachment 3).
AC Transit continues efforts to promote Clipper usage by promoting the discount program Clipper START. Clipper START is promoted via social media, through Community Based Organizations (CBOs), and as a part of other fare related communications. In the Customer Service Center, Clipper START pamphlets are available in multiple languages.
Figure 8 of Attachment 3 shows Clipper START trips on AC Transit continued to grow, reflecting a 4% upward trend in Q2 of FY26. Data is also beginning to reflect activity from cards that have been migrated into the Next Generation Clipper system. In addition, Clipper START application approvals dropped from 6,164 in Q1 of FY26 to 5,090 during Q2 of FY26 which represents a 17% decrease.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
There are no notable advantages or disadvantages associated with this report.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
This report has no alternative analysis, as no recommended action is provided.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
None
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Customer Service Center Metrics
2. Customer Relations and Call Center Metrics
3. Clipper Usage and Institutional Pass Program Metrics
Prepared by:
Debora Garcia, Customer Services Manager
In Collaboration with:
Dionte Delcambre, Customer Services Supervisor
Dan Talbott, Program Specialist
Annie Chau, Program Specialist
Approved/Reviewed by:
Nichele Laynes, Director of Marketing, Communications & Customer Service
Claudia Burgos, Executive Director of External Affairs and Customer Experience