TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Rider Profile Survey
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Considering receiving the results of the 2025-2026 On-Board Rider Profile Survey administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and conducted by ETC Institute.
Staff Contact:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Chief Planning and Development Officer
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Strong Public and Policymaker Support
Initiative - Financial Efficiency and Revenue Maximization
Rider profile surveys done every 5 years help the District identify strategies to increase ridership, improve service, strengthen engagement with communities of color, low-income populations, and people with limited English proficiency. The survey also helps the District evaluate fare policies, products, and technologies.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no fiscal impacts associated with receiving the report. The District budgeted and spent $160,000 in FY26 as its 20% share of the survey cost, in partnership with MTC.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Title VI guidelines require large transit providers to collect and report on rider demographic and travel pattern data at least once every five years. To meet this requirement, since 2012, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has led a coordinated effort with AC Transit and other Bay Area transit agencies to collect passenger data through the Transit Sustainability Project (TSP). Consequently, AC Transit regularly updates its ridership profiles via this five-year FTA/MTC cycle with onboard surveys to better understand service-related issues and how policies and plans influence travel behavior. The current survey cycle was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an approximately eight-year interval since the previous onboard survey conducted in 2017. This survey represents the extended cycle, providing an updated rider profile and enabling consistent regional comparisons. However, results may not be directly comparable to the 2017 survey due to significant changes in ridership and travel behavior over this period, potential influence by the COVID-19 pandemic and initiatives like the Service Expansion Plan/AC Go, service reductions due to the pandemic, the August 2020 launch of the Line 1T Tempo BRT, and the August 2025 Realign service changes.
This survey supports the required Title VI equity analyses and will inform fare and service change decisions until the Board receives a subsequent five-year survey. The survey was conducted by ETC Institute, a contractor with extensive experience conducting onboard transit research for Bay Area agencies, including Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), and Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). ETC Institute also conducted the District’s Customer Satisfaction survey in the Spring of 2026.
Methodology
FTA best practices recommend conducting both an on-to-off (O2O) survey and a full origin-destination (OD) survey. As a result, the District’s project (the survey) consisted of four coordinated elements, with each serving a distinct purpose:
• A “pilot” survey was used to test and refine survey methods and instruments and data collection methods.
• A Title VI survey was administered on a subset of AC Transit routes to collect demographic and equity-related data to support compliance and analysis.
• An onboard on-to-off (O2O) data collection effort was conducted using passenger counting technology to capture boarding and alighting activity by stop and develop passenger flow information across the system to refine methodology.
• The origin-destination (OD) survey capturing detailed rider travel patterns to inform planning and modeling efforts.
The survey was designed to capture each component of a rider’s trip, including all trip segments, transfers, and access and egress information. In addition to travel data, the survey collected information about the rider’s demographics, including languages spoken, self-identified race and ethnicity, and household income. The survey also asked how riders paid for their transit trips.
The survey was conducted using tablet-based interviews and random sampling methods. Respondents unable to complete the survey due to lack of time, language, or accessibility barriers could complete it later via print/mail or phone interview. ETC Institute conducted the survey on AC Transit buses and at stops between September 29 and November 26, 2025. Because the survey was conducted mostly via tablet, ETC Institute was able to monitor progress in near real time and provide District staff with a dashboard showing that progress.
Like the District’s 2017 survey, this survey was rigorous in its approach to meeting statistical sampling goals. The goal of the survey was to collect a representative sample of ten percent (10%) of all boardings for riders 16 years and older. The actual number of weekday surveys for riders 16 years and older was 13,151, or 9.8% of weekday riders. A sample-size of 1,000 riders was selected for weekend boardings, and surveys were collected in proportion to weekday collection by route. The actual number of weekend surveys completed for riders 16 years and older was 1,970, or 2.6% of weekend riders. Consistent with industry’s best practices, 600-series school routes were excluded from the sampling plan due to the high proportion of unaccompanied minors and limitations related to collecting reliable trip information from younger riders.
Clipper START
In addition to the overall analysis of survey findings, the final consultant report includes an assessment of respondents who may be eligible for the Clipper START reduced fare program. MTC included this analysis to better understand the share of riders who may qualify for reduced fares and identify potential opportunities for targeted outreach.
The survey evaluated eligibility for each respondent based on reported income, age, and residency information. Because the survey income categories did not align directly with Clipper START income thresholds, the survey findings used a proxy-based approach. When income-based eligibility could not be determined definitively from the results, the findings used responses regarding receipt of public benefits as an indicator of income.
ETC Institute assessed income eligibility using the following criteria:
• Respondents who reported receiving public benefits were classified as eligible.
• Respondents who reported receiving public benefits but whose reported income exceeded program thresholds were classified as ineligible.
• Respondents who did not report receiving public benefits but whose reported income fell within program thresholds were classified as eligible.
Income eligibility was then combined with age (19-64) and residency (Bay Area) requirements to determine overall Clipper START eligibility. Utilization, based on this eligibility analysis, is presented in the Select Findings section.
Select Findings
The survey findings are from average weekday ridership and highlight key characteristics of transit riders, their travel behavior, and fare usage patterns.
Ø Title VI Rider Profile: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires transit agencies to evaluate whether proposed service or fare changes would have a disparate impact on minority populations or a disproportionate burden on low-income riders. It also requires agencies to assess and, where appropriate, address the needs of riders with limited English proficiency (LEP) to ensure meaningful access to services and information.
• Forty-one percent (41%) of riders surveyed reported annual household income below $50,000, while 38% reported exceeding this amount. Approximately 20% of survey respondents did not answer or declined to answer this question.
• Under a “check all that apply” question, seventy-seven percent (77%) self-reported as a person of color, while twenty-three percent (23%) self-reported as not being a person of color.
• Seventy-two percent (72%) reported English as the primary language spoken at home, with Spanish and Chinese reported at 17% and 5%, respectively. However, ninety-five percent (95%) of respondents reported speaking English very well or well.
• Smartphone access is nearly universal with ninety-six percent (96%) of respondents reporting owning a smartphone; with ninety-nine percent (99%) of those having internet access on their device.
Ø Payment Method, Fare Type and Utilization:
• Eighty-Five percent (85%) of respondents pay their fare using a Clipper product, while twelve percent (12%) continue using cash to pay their fares. 86% of those who pay using cash also identify as a person of color.
• Eighty-three percent (83%) reported paying adult fare, while the discounted categories (senior, youth, and Clipper START) were each used by 5% of respondents (note that ETC Institute did not survey riders under the age of 17). Only one percent (1%) reported using the RTC/disabled fare category.
• Eighty-four percent (84%) of eligible Clipper START riders are utilizing the discount program.
• Most respondents indicated that they paid the local fare - ninety-five percent (95%) versus five percent (5%) who paid the Transbay fare.
Ø Trip Characteristics
• Most respondents, ninety-five percent (95%), indicated that they walked to their transit stop.
• Ninety-two percent (92%) of trip originated from home. Destinations to “Other” were most prevalent, at thirty-eight percent (38%). Respondents going to work were thirty-six percent (36%). Those going to school were eighteen percent (18%). Only a small fraction (8%) of trips were non-home-based, meaning they neither started nor ended at home.
• Sixty-three percent (63%) of respondents ride transit five days or more per week; with thirty percent (30%) riding at least two to four days per week.
• Ninety-three percent (93%) of respondents indicated that they did not and would not make a transfer. Seven percent (7%) included one or more transfers.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
The advantage of accepting this survey is that it provides the District with a current and relevant set of ridership data, which will make it possible to conduct more thorough Title VI fare equity analyses, identify strategies to increase ridership, strengthen engagement with communities of color, low-income populations, and people with limited English proficiency, and evaluate fare policies, products, and technologies. Another benefit is that the findings can help inform future outreach and research sampling strategies by providing a more current understanding of the demographics of riders. The data also supports grant applications, interagency coordination, and responses to public information requests.
The disadvantage of accepting this survey is that, because it was co-sponsored by MTC, the District did not have unilateral authority to customize the questions included. However, having standardized questions allowed MTC to aggregate and compare survey data across the Bay Area.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
The Board could not accept this MTC led Onboard Rider Survey and instead direct Staff to conduct a District-created independent onboard survey. This is not recommended because the project would be a costly and time-consuming alternative that would likely not yield significantly more useful information.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
None.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Attachment 1 - AC Transit Origin-Destination Study Report
Prepared by:
David Wilkins, Director of Regulatory Programs
In Collaboration with:
Michelle Schurig, Market Research Project Manager II
Kendra Ma, Senior Program Specialist
Howard Der, Senior Transportation Planner
Campbell Jung, Manager of Business Analytics
Approved/Reviewed by:
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development & Planning
David Wilkins, Director of Regulatory Programs
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Chief Planning and Development Officer
Claudia Burgos, Chief External Affairs Officer
Paul Kincaid, Assistant General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
Aimee L. Steele, General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer