TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: All Door Boarding Pilot Update
BRIEFING ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving a report on the performance of the All-door Boarding Pilot on Lines 6 and 51B as well as the final results of the bus operator and customer surveys conducted in the spring and summer.
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STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
This pilot program was launched to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks associated with all-door boarding. At other agencies, all-door boarding has led to reduced interactions with the operator, faster boarding, and more reliable service. Staff has been gathering data and this report includes updates to the initial assessment of the program presented to the Board in May.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no budgetary impact associated with this report as it is an update on the performance of the pilot program.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
AC Transit launched its All-door Boarding Pilot on March 1, 2021, on Lines 6 and 51B. Numerous agencies have piloted or implemented all-door boarding on some or all their fleet including San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. All-door boarding on AC Transit service allows customers with Clipper Cards to board through the rear door and tag a Clipper Card reader to pay their fare. The pilot required the installation of readers on the rear doors of all 25 vehicles participating in the pilot.
All-door boarding can be beneficial to AC Transit in several ways. In the current COVID-19 environment, there have been many requests by customers, staff, and Board members to incorporate rear-door boarding into the District's fare payment policies and procedures. This pilot project allows the District to reduce the number of customer interactions with operators as well as reduce dwell time at the individual passenger level. This reduction in dwell time leads to quantifiable...
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