TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Kathleen Kelly, Interim General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Operator Restrooms and Projects Update
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☒
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving a report on operator restroom access and progress with restroom projects. [Requested by Director Walsh - 1/8/25]
Staff Contact:
Salvador Llamas, Chief Operating Officer
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Safe and Secure Operations
Initiative - Service Quality
A network of clean, hygienic and fully functional restrooms is very important to meet the needs of operators and other District employees working in the field which directly support the strategic goals of Convenient & Reliable Service, and High Performing Workforce.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
The District's Operator Restroom Program is funded through the operations budget, with an annual budget of $864,400 in FY2025.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Operator Restroom Program
AC Transit has invested over $3.1 million to build new restrooms and dedicated more than $864,000 in the Fiscal Year 2025 annual operating budget to secure additional restroom locations. At the September 25, 2024, board meeting, staff reported a total of 309 active restroom locations. Since then, 48 locations have been added to the restroom network increasing the number to 357 locations, in the following locations:
• 17 locations on AC Transit properties
• 28 locations at BART stations
• 12 locations with portable restrooms
• 11 paid vendor restroom locations
• 289 District-friendly unpaid locations
To help oversee the operator restroom program, the District established an Operator Restroom Taskforce consisting of staff level representatives from the Transportation, Safety, Legislative Affairs and Community Relations, Scheduling and Planning departments. The taskforce is focused on identifying restroom locations, tracking availability, providing updates and monitoring cleanliness. A Transportation Supervisor assignment is dedicated to support taskforce activities with hands-on daily filed activities which include inspecting existing restrooms, addressing out of service restrooms, scouting for new locations, handling all complaints in the field, and updating the restroom task force and the District staff.
Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192 (ATU) Leadership, Senior Management, Bus Operators from each Division, Maintenance, Real Estate, Planning, Capital Projects, and Legislative Affairs and Community Relations is now meeting quarterly as an Executive Restroom Committee. This group will work collaboratively to assess the restroom needs of the operators to develop long-term and short-term solutions. The Executive Restroom Committee met on February 12, 2025 to share information on restroom needs, progress of projects and program expansion, and strategize on long-term solutions. By bringing in Union partners into the Executive Restroom Committee, this partnership will promote the shared message that providing, clean, accessible, safe operator restrooms is a top priority for AC Transit.
Additionally, to improve the quality of restroom conditions in the field, the District will be starting a 12-month pilot project in March 2025 with Throne Labs to provide 10 self-contained accessible restrooms for bus operator use across the AC Transit service area. Locations for the Throne restrooms were selected by ATU Leadership and District Management. These restroom capsules are a touchless experience that Throne staff monitors electronically around the clock. For added security, cameras are installed at the outer perimeter of the units and the flushing, lighting, ventilation and running water all happens by the wave of a hand. A dashboard will be accessible to District staff to monitor cleaning, vandalism and performance metrics of these units. The District will provide surveys and scorecards to operators over the course of the pilot phase to monitor operator satisfaction and gather feedback.
With the Operator Restroom Program expanding in scope and size, it requires full-time dedicated program management. To facilitate this need, an existing Senior Program Specialist position was assigned the Restroom Accessibility Program Coordinator roles and responsibility. Some of the responsibilities will be to maintain existing restroom agreements, find new restroom agreements, oversee vendor activities for compliance, manage the restroom budget, manage the restroom application reports, meet with the Restroom Taskforce, District committees, and other transit agency staff to collaborate on solutions, provide reports on restroom related items, and look for ways to improve and enhance the overall restroom program to optimal levels. The Restroom Accessibility Program Coordinator will work hand in hand with the Transportation Supervisors in managing and monitoring the 355 active restroom locations around the District and the Throne pilot program. This position is not yet filled, when the recruitment process has been completed, it will report to the Operations Control Center Manager.
Restroom Cleaning
District restrooms at Ardenwood Park and Ride and Contra Costa Transit Center are cleaned and maintained by the District Facility Maintenance staff. Other District restrooms at relief points and layover locations such as Eastmont Transit Center, Union Landing Transit Center, UC Village, 64th Street and Shellmound Steet, and 40th Street and Adeline Street, are cleaned by their respective property management groups.
AC Transit has restrooms dedicated for our operators at 10 Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations. Cleaning of these restrooms varies by location due to the terms of the respective agreements. Listed below are the BART station locations and the entity responsible for cleaning them:
• Distrcit Vendor: San Leandro, Fruitvale, Hayward, Rockridge, El Cerrito Plaza, Fremont
• BART: Lake Merritt, Downtown Berkely
• Union City Transit: Union City
• VTA: Milpitas
The District also has agreements with businesses such as coffee shops, gas stations, and store owners that are paid a yearly stipend for the vendor to clean and maintain their facility. United Site Services provides the existing portable restrooms in the field, they perform the daily cleaning and maintenance.
Challenges
Vandalism to restroom facilities is a constant challenge that District staff have to manage. Some businesses will move to terminate our relationship and stop allowing AC Transit staff the privilege of using their restrooms due to random acts of restroom vandalism. This adverse action puts a hardship on all operators who may depend on that restroom facility near a bus layover. Other challenges are when some field locations go out of business or close abruptly without notice. This situation forces the District to quickly try to find other restroom options nearby. By leveraging relationships in the community and available resources, staff can overcome some of these challenges. A good example is staff recently secured an agreement with the Residence Inn in Berkeley for 24-hours, 7-days a week restroom access. This agreement was much needed due to the volume of service and restroom needs for the Operators working in the Berkeley area.
Technology Solutions
The District’s Innovation and Technology Department continues to enhance technology-driven solutions to improve restroom accessibility and maintenance for operators.
The District launched the Operator Restroom Finder (ORF) Mobile App, designed to assist operators in locating nearby restrooms at the end of the line. The app also features a real-time feedback system, allowing operators to report restrooms that require cleaning or maintenance. Based on this feedback, a daily report listing all restrooms rated by operators is sent to the Road Supervision team, while a weekly restroom condition report is provided to executive management. Road Supervision staff inspect restrooms, follow up on feedback, and provide weekly updates on the resolution of issues. The Maintenance Department also contributes updates on completed cleaning and repair work for restrooms maintained by the District. Additionally, enhancements to the restroom database administration system have improved data stewardship capabilities, ensuring better accuracy and responsiveness in managing restroom facilities.
To further assist operators, the Operations Control Center (OCC) has implemented a restroom overlay feature on its Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) consoles. This enhancement integrates restroom location data with multiple data points, displaying available restrooms, locations, and hours in real-time along fixed-route lines. The overlay also features improved viewing and search functions, allowing restrooms to be added directly within the database. OCC Controllers now have access to live restroom information, which they can relay to operators and road supervisors in the field.
In 2023, the IT Department and the Restroom Taskforce collaborated to further streamline restroom access by integrating the Restroom Finder database into the Transit Control Head (TCH) system on all AC Transit buses. This allows operators to locate restrooms and water facilities along their active routes while in service. The TCH displays restroom icons in the vicinity of the operator’s route and provides an option to report unusable restrooms directly through the interface. Reported restrooms are flagged for investigation and follow-up, ensuring timely resolution of maintenance issues.
In 2024, to ensure uninterrupted service, the District updated the Restroom Finder iOS app, renewing its security certificate in compliance with Apple’s policies. This proactive measure prevents potential service disruptions and ensures continued access to the app for operators.
These technological advancements underscore AC Transit’s commitment to leveraging innovative digital solutions to enhance restroom access, improve facility maintenance, and support operator well-being.
With every new Service Bid, the District mass distributes updated restroom booklets and sends them to all Divisions. The restroom booklets list all restrooms that are available for each route and the booklets are placed in every route assignment pouch. For any changes between service bid to restroom hours, locations or status, this information is updated in the Restroom Finder Application in real time.
Community Engagement
Legislative Affairs and Community Relations staff has worked extensively to identify critical locations that require quick and convenient restroom access for operators. This is made particularly challenging in a dense urban setting where there are considerable right-of-way constraints, and the built environment provides limited open space to site our own facilities. In these cases, the Legislative Affairs and Community Relations staff work with external stakeholders to utilize existing facilities belonging to those third parties. Identifying and negotiating access to restroom facilities in downtown Berkeley, west Berkeley for the Line 51B, and Alameda Point for the line 96 have required a significant investment in staff time but have yielded positive results. An agreement with a Residence Inn Hotel was recently executed for access to restroom facilities in downtown Berkeley in late 2024, and agreements for west Berkeley and Alameda Point are still underway but significant progress has been made for potential resolutions.
Capital Projects
Seven new operator restroom facilities were opened by the Capital Projects department over the last few years and four more are planned to be available by the end of this fiscal year. The newest restroom at Richmond Parkway Transit Center is fully constructed and will be available for use as soon as Card Reader Badge access can be installed. Listed below are the restroom locations and the date they were placed in service:
• Fruitvale BART, 9/20/2019
• Hayward BART, 1/30/2020
• Point Richmond, 6/29/2020
• San Leandro BART, 4/15/2021
• Rockridge BART, 5/28/2021
• El Cerrito Plaza BART, 9/8/2021
• Fremont BART, 8/28/2023
• Richmond Parkway TC, Pending
The District will be installing three more restroom and breakroom combinations at BART’s Bay Fair, Coliseum, and West Oakland stations as soon as the agreement with BART is finalized.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
There are no disadvantages in efforts to improve operator restrooms and projects.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
There are no practical alternatives to the course of action outlined in this report.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
Staff Report 23-435 Operator Restrooms Update
Staff Report 24-435 Throne Pilot
ATTACHMENTS:
Agenda Planning Request Form
Prepared by:
Dwain Crawley, Director of Transportation
In Collaboration with:
Joe Calloway, Director of Capital Projects
Ryan Lau, External Affairs Representative
Approved/Reviewed by:
Salvador Llamas, Chief Operating Officer
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Ahsan Baig, Chief Information Officer
Manjit K. Sooch, Director of Innovation and Technology
Claudia Burgos, Director of Legislative Affairs & Community Relations
Cecil Blandon, Director of Maintenance