TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Customer Services Quarterly Metrics
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving an update on FY25-26 Fourth Quarter Customer Services Metrics.
Staff Contact:
Claudia Burgos, Executive Director of External Affairs & 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 to share information and collect feedback from riders and customers. 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:
Clipper Customer Service Center
The Clipper Customer Service Center (CSC) 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 applications (formally known as the Regional Transit Connection-RTC program); and manages the District’s Lost and Found. The CSC also assists District employees with Dependent and Pensioner ID cards.
In Q4 of FY26, fare revenue through AC Transit passes and tickets, such as 31-Day Senior/Disabled monthly pass and 1-Ride Adult tickets, totaled $510,952 (see Figure 1 of Attachment 1), reflecting an increase of 13% compared to Q3 of FY26. The growth is primarily driven by a higher number of bulk orders due to organizations spending the remainder of their budget before the end of the fiscal year.
1-Ride Local Youth tickets were the highest volume fare media in Q4 of FY26, with 11,640 tickets sold, followed by Adult Day Passes, which sold 7,940 passes during the quarter (see Figure 2 of Attachment 1).
The CSC processed a total of 454 Clipper Access (formerly RTC) applications in Q4 of FY26 (see Figure 3 of Attachment 1), which remained flat compared to Q3 of FY26. Of the total applications processed during the quarter, 207 were replacement applications, representing 46% of the quarterly application intake.
Customer Relations
Customer Relations manages the District’s feedback resolution process. Staff monitor all incoming feedback through the Customer Relations Management System (CRM) and previously 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 improvement.
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 77% of all feedback tickets, down from 96% in the previous quarter. District-wide, 72% of tickets received a response within five business days during Q4 of FY26, down from 79% the previous quarter. Feedback often requires additional time to investigate and respond to due to the complexity of the issue. Some 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 Q4 of FY26 compared to Q4 of FY25.
Contact Sources - The AC Transit Call Center was the most frequently used channel for submitting customer feedback, accounting for nearly half of all customer comments received (see Figure 3 of Attachment 2).
Customer Contacts - In Q4 of FY26, Customer Service received 2,517 unique customer contacts representing a 21% increase as compared with Q4 of FY25 which saw 2,080 unique contacts (see Figure 4 of Attachment 2).
Top Five Feedback Categories (Reasons) - From April through June 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 88 and 6 lines. Below is a selection of reported commendations:
“(This P-line) driver is always very courteous, very punctual, very helpful to riders getting on the bus, dealing with payments, bikes etc. A great way to start the day with someone who is so pleasant. I wanted you to know what a great representative he is for AC Transit.”
“Caller states that she was on this (88-line) bus multiple times last week and the driver is very careful, nice, and polite. They have ridden with this driver multiple times and they are always nice and helpful with the caller’s disability needs.”
“(The 6-line) bus driver was extremely nice and respectful. I feel he deserves a raise. He was patient upon boarding; a very nice gentleman who made my first experience riding AC Transit a great one. Just wanted you guys to know how good of a job he’s doing!”
On Monday, March 23rd, the District began its transition from the legacy Customer Relations database (CusRel) to the new Salesforce based CRM platform. The Customer Service team along with the Innovation and Technology Department are actively working through data cleanup, system configuration, and user interface updates.
During the April 2025 Board retreat, the Board expressed its desire for a more comprehensive report format and supported transitioning to a biannual reporting cadence to provide more meaningful trend and performance analysis. In response to this direction, staff has begun the work of finalizing the new reporting framework. The enhanced report format will leverage the CRM's improved data collection and reporting capabilities to provide more robust performance metrics, trend analysis, and insights into the customer experience. The first report using the updated format is anticipated to be presented to the Board in early 2027 and will include metrics for the period of July through December of 2026. Thereafter, reports will be presented on a biannual basis, with the next report scheduled for fall 2027 covering January through June 2027, consistent with the Board's direction.
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 3,725 new participants in Q4 of FY26, bringing the total number of enrolled participants to 113,052 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 2%. Overall ridership decreased by 12% from Q3 FY26 to Q4 of FY26. This decrease reflects historically lower June ridership, particularly among academic programs during summer break. 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. 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, who have dual agreements with BayPass and EasyPass, have their ridership counted under the EasyPass program, which recorded 904,477 and 9,093 taps respectively for the quarter. Because UC Berkeley and ATMA both have underlying EasyPass programs, the District does not receive any revenue from BayPass for these rides.
Clipper Usage
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) provides monthly Clipper data to the District which allows staff to examine trends in Clipper boardings. The monthly clipper data uses the National Transit Database (NTD) ridership data to calculate Clipper market share (trips taken with Clipper). AC Transit averaged 50% 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, including donated bus interior, exterior, and shelter ad space along with social media posts to support MTC’s Clipper START advertising campaign. Clipper START is promoted 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. All Clipper products are prominently displayed and promoted during community outreach events.
Figure 8 of Attachment 3 shows Clipper START trips on AC Transit continued to grow, reflecting an 18% upward trend in Q4 of FY26 when compared to Q3 of FY26. Data is also beginning to reflect activity from cards that have been migrated into the Next Generation Clipper system, with Next Generation accounting for 61% of total trips in Q4 of FY26. In addition, Clipper START application approvals increased from 5,988 in Q3 of FY26 to 10,824 during Q4 of FY26 which represents an 81% increase.
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 & Customer Experience
Aaron Vogel, Chief Operating Officer
Ahsan Baig, Chief Information Officer
Aimee L. Steele, General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer
Paul Kincaid, Assistant General Manager/Chief Executive Officer