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 Third 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. 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 applications (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 Q3 of FY26, fare revenue through AC Transit passes and tickets, such as 31-Day Senior/Disabled monthly pass and 1-Ride Local Adult tickets, totaled $453,399 (see Figure 1 of Attachment 1), reflecting an increase of 39% compared to Q2 of FY26. The growth is primarily driven by several large, high value bulk purchases of adult tickets made by various organizations.
1-Ride Local Youth tickets were the highest volume fare media in Q3 of FY26, with 6,060 tickets sold, followed by 1-Ride Local Adult, which sold 5,560 passes during the quarter (see Figure 2 of Attachment 1). Several community-based organizations continued to generate steady demand: OUSD Life Academy ordered 1,100 1-Ride Youth tickets for special events and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office ordered 3,000 1-Ride Local Adult tickets to support their services.
The Customer Service Center processed a total of 479 Clipper Access (formerly RTC) applications in Q3 of FY26 (see Figure 3 of Attachment 1), which remained flat compared to Q2 of FY26. Of the total applications processed during the quarter, 194 were replacement applications, representing 41% of the quarterly application intake. Staff supported Clipper Access Outreach events in Q3, with a January 23rd event at the Vista Hills Transition Program in San Pablo, generating the highest activity and collecting 37 applications.
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 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 96% of all CusRel tickets, up from 92% in the previous quarter. District-wide, 79% of tickets received a response within five business days during Q3 of FY26, the same as in the previous quarter. CusRel and CRM 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 Q3 of FY26 compared to Q3 of FY25.
Contact Sources - AC Transit customers continue to choose the AC Transit official mobile 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 Q3 of FY26, Customer Service received 2,362 unique customer contacts representing a 9% decrease as compared with Q3 of FY25 which saw 2,583 unique contacts (see Figure 4 of Attachment 2).
Top Five Feedback Categories (Reasons) - From January through March 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 4 received the most commendations from riders (see Figure 6 of Attachment 2), who specifically referenced the NX3 and O lines. Below is a selection of reported commendations:
“Caller wanted to commend driver for being so kind and understanding. She was also very informative of where caller should get off and find the BART. She was very professional and waited for all her passengers to sit down.”
“I just came across the above details that I wrote down in December, then misplaced. I have the joy of riding with her now and then. She is upbeat and smiling, and I always feel seen and well taken care of. I may have even reported previously what a great driver she is.”
“The driver stopped for me to board even though I was late getting to the stop. Their action showed not only thoughtfulness and kindness but also amazing situational awareness. Kind hardworking drivers like this are why AC transit is still trusted and cherished by people in my neighborhood and in the bay area. Thank you truly, you made my entire day better.”
“Caller wanted to say that driver deals with difficult situations really well including the disabled riders that don’t (board the bus) very well.”
On Monday, March 23rd, the District began its transition from the legacy Customer Relations database (CusRel) to the new Salesforce based CRM platform. Because the new platform contained only two weeks of data for this reporting period, the information available for this report was very limited. The Customer Service team along with the Innovation and Technology Department are actively working through data cleanup, system configuration, and the limitations that come with an early-stage rollout.
Additional work is still required to expand system capabilities, migrate remaining data, and validate how the new tools will support long term reporting needs. The District will need additional time to continue this effort before returning to the Board with a more comprehensive update on system performance and reporting functionality. Staff are encouraged by the progress to date and optimistic about the opportunities ahead. While the system is not yet where it needs to be, there is clear potential for the tools being developed and staff remains confident in the direction of the work.
Although there is not a definitive timeline for full functionality, we are committed to continuous advancement and transparent updates. The District has started work with a consultant to address high-priority tasks that will strengthen the system’s foundation. Future reports will continue to document progress on the implementation of the new CRM and outline any changes to the projected path forward.
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 3,696 new participants this quarter, bringing the total number of enrolled participants to 110,434 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 10% from Q2 FY26 to Q3 of FY26. Although the underlying cause of this decline has not yet been confirmed, delays in transaction data associated with the launch of the Next Generation Clipper system may be a contributing factor. 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, who have dual agreements with BayPass and EasyPass, have their ridership counted under the EasyPass program, which recorded 1,068,176 and 9,896 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. The monthly clipper data uses the National Transit Database (NTD) ridership data to calculate Clipper market share (trips taken with Clipper). AC Transit averaged 49% 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 providing ad and social media space to MTC for its Clipper START Spring 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.
Figure 8 of Attachment 3 shows Clipper START trips on AC Transit continued to grow, reflecting a 2% upward trend in Q3 of FY26 when compared to Q2 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 37% of total trips in Q3 of FY26. In addition, Clipper START application approvals slightly increased from 5,090 in Q2 of FY26 to 5,988 during Q3 of FY26 which represents an 18% 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