TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Update on the Service Reliability Report
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving an update on the Service Reliability Report
Staff Contact:
Aaron Vogel, Chief Operating Officer
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Safe and Secure Operations
Initiative - Service Quality
At the Board’s request, the proposed public-facing monthly report is intended for the Board and the public to receive more timely, transparent, and rider-centric information about service reliability.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no budgetary/fiscal impacts associated with this report.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Staff has developed a streamlined report to provide timely, public updates on service quality, identify performance challenges, and highlight AC Transit’s strategies for improving service reliability. The new report format is included as Attachment 1 and presents August 2026 performance data.
Service Operated (SO) [Attachment 1, Sections 1.1, 1.2]
Key metrics of SO for the month of August 2026 are captured in sections 1.1 and 1.2 of the attachment and include:
• 136,000 trips operated.
• 93.1% Service Operated
• Wednesdays recorded the highest percentage of scheduled trips operated at 96.3%
• Sundays recorded the lowest percentage of trips operated at 89.0%
• AM Peak (6am-9am) recorded the highest daypart percentage of trips operated at 94.5%
• 6pm-6am recorded the lowest daypart percentage of trips operated at 91.6%
Section 1.2 shows SO by individual route including the number of trips operated for each route and the overall SO% for the month.
On-Time Performance (OTP) [Attachment 1, Section 2]
Systemwide On-time Performance for August 2026 was 71.85%. That is captured in section 2.1 of the attachment. Additional OTP metrics:
• 6 AM saw the highest OTP at 83.2%
• 5 PM saw the lowest OTP at 63.39%
• Route 95 (Eastbound) had the highest OTP at 92.5%
• Route NX (Westbound) had the lowest OTP at 50.1%
All-Nighter, Early Bird, and Supplementary routes are excluded from this analysis due to a limited number of scheduled daily trips.
Operator Headcount [Attachment 1, Section 3]
Operator Headcount is captured in section 3 of the attachment. The data presents a comprehensive picture of the operator workforce and the impact of operator shortage on service reliability. Key metrics include:
• 1250 Budgeted Operators
• 1215 active operators through August 31
• A shortage of 35 operators at the close of August 2026
• 932 Run Assignments as of the August 2026 sign up
• 320 operators assigned to extra board (EXB). EXB operators are used to cover planned and unplanned absences. EXB was at 30% for August 2026 (goal is 36%)
• Total shortage of 53 operators when EXB needs are factored in.
Full staffing and maintaining a 36% EXB level are critical to getting the District closer to the KPI goal of 98% service operated. Current workforce shortages continue to impact the District’s operational performance priority and directly impact service operated. As illustrated in Section 3 of the attachment, operator headcount decreased steadily from 1265 in February to 1215 in August.
Operator Recruitment Paused
At the beginning of FY 25-26, operator headcount was approximately 1,280, 30 operators over the budgeted 1,250 positions. With a financial deficit beginning in FY 27-28, the District carefully managed headcount throughout FY 25-26 through attrition, limiting the staffing cushion needed to ensure sufficient coverage for operator absences. During the budget development process, the District made the difficult decision to pause operator recruitment due to the budget uncertainty facing the District. The state loan had not yet been confirmed, and the aforementioned budget development process included developing more than one budget. Without knowing the available budget for FY27, staff did not feel it was appropriate to create new bus operator (NBO) classes from July 2025 to April of 2026, allowing natural attrition to bring down the operator headcount to the budgeted number of 1250.
Actions Underway to Improve Service
Operator recruitment resumed in May, with 20 NBOs entering service in August and completing their transitional assignments in revenue service on October 1. The next NBO graduation was October 13, with 12 candidates graduating. An additional 45 NBOs are actively progressing through the training pipeline, with graduations scheduled for November and December. These continued efforts are critical to strengthening operator staffing levels and improving service reliability.
The District has established an interdepartmental task force focused on Operational Performance. Efforts include:
• Operator Recruitment
• Workforce Reliability Engagement
• Optimize Training and Assignments
• Maximize use of existing resources
Operator Recruitment
While budget uncertainty prompted a pause in Bus Operator recruitment, the state bridge loan has provided temporary financial relief, permitting the District to resume much-needed recruitment efforts to address operator shortages and improve service reliability.
During the reporting period, the District accelerated Bus Operator recruitment and reduced processing times in the recruitment process. Applications received were screened within one business day, preventing a backlog and allowing qualified candidates to move forward promptly. The percentage of driving records reviewed within seven days increased from 53% to 71%, while the median processing time decreased from four days to two days. The average time between driving record review and interview also decreased from 7.3 days to 4.1 days.
Interview activity increased approximately 70%, while the median scheduling time decreased from five days to four days. Expanded interview availability, more frequent candidate follow-up, and streamlined screening and processing have helped move qualified candidates through the recruitment process faster.
The District expanded recruitment outreach through social media, paid digital advertising, radio advertising, job fairs and community partnerships. Application volume remained above the August baseline following the launch of these efforts at the beginning of September.
Recruitment efforts are helping the District maintain robust training classes and support strong graduation outcomes. The May 2026 New Bus Operator class achieved a 90% graduation rate, with graduates entering service in August. The July class is currently trending toward an approximately 80% graduation rate. Twenty-five trainees began the September class, and the District is targeting a graduation rate of at least 80%.
Maintaining full training classes, sustaining a consistent candidate pipeline, and achieving strong graduation rates are critical to closing the operator staffing gap and improving service reliability.
Workforce Reliability Engagement
During the reporting period, the District continued employee communications and engagement efforts to support reliable service and recognize operators’ contributions. Staff launched a series of message campaigns emphasizing the importance of employees being at work for their scheduled workday. Tactics deployed to date include robo-calls from the General Manager, messages in the division breakrooms (Gillie Rooms), and flyers. In September and October, District leadership held a series of townhalls at all District properties which provided opportunities for Executive leadership and employees at the Divisions to discuss operational performance by Division, attendance and options to ensure service coverage while allowing employees to take time off if needed.
Optimize Training and Assignments
Transportation leadership continues to proactively manage and reduce assignments that take operators out of regular service. Staff is focused on scheduling only essential training, committee activities, and hiring interviews to prioritize service operated. Additional activities such as supporting bus requests for external events have also been reduced.
Maximize use of existing resources
The District continues to cover open work assignments through extra work assignments from those on days off, vacation or willing to work longer hours picking up pieces of open work to minimize trips not operated. Staff have also expedited the release of operators into full revenue service if qualified.
To increase frontline workforce and to help return employees on long-term leave to work, modified-duty programs have started at all four divisions. Eligible employees are performing assignments consistent with their work restrictions. These assignments include riding buses to provide a supportive presence for operators and customers while maintaining a work routine during recovery.
Staff have identified anticipated retirements expected during FY27 by using retirement data from the previous three years and applying those retirement rates for predictive modeling. Using predictive analytics will help determine future retirement rates by month which will be used to predict future NBO class sizes and frequencies. The District is working to solicit voluntarily information through a survey by asking retirement-eligible employees when they plan to retire to further support our predictive modeling to prepare for future staffing changes.
Staff are evaluating a Line 88 Automated Run-Time Analysis and Punctuality (ATP) pilot that would apply a more targeted runtime allocation methodology across a route, providing more scheduled time to get to transfer and terminal points and less scheduled time to get to minor timepoints, rather than using a single standard for every timepoint. The pilot is intended to improve schedule adherence, operator break compliance, layover reliability, 1st Time Point departure adherence, and overall service delivery. ATU leadership and AC Transit management jointly selected Line 88 for the pilot because of previous reports of schedule reliability and layover compliance issues in the past. The results of the pilot will inform runtime allocation methodology on other routes in the future.
The most important creating staff goals is that service reliability has historically reached 97% or higher when the EXB level is at or above 36%, as demonstrated by reliability in February 2026. Once the active operator headcount consistently averages the budgeted level of 1250, with and a 34% EXB, staff will further evaluate the most effective service reliability strategy to further increase service operated. This assessment will determine appropriate next steps to achieve a 36% EXB:
1. Require adjustments to overall active operator headcount from 1250 to 1268 or
2. Modify service frequencies where possible to achieve a reduction in overall run assignments
Staff will also maintain the attached dashboard online for the Board and community members, updating it monthly, including noting staff actions to increase reliability, where relevant.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
There are no advantages or disadvantages associated with this report as it solely reports on service reliability and operator workforce requirements.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
There are no alternatives associated with this report.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
26-330- Service Reliability Report
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Att.1 Service Reliability (Public-facing) (August 2026)
Prepared by:
Chris Durant, Assistant Director of Maintenance
In Collaboration with:
Campbell Jung, Manager of Business Analytics
Approved/Reviewed by:
Arlee Young, Director of Transportation
Ahsan Baig, Chief Technology Officer
Aaron Vogel, Chief Operating Officer
Claudia Burgos, Chief External Affairs Officer