Transit Times Volume 12, Number 9

8/13/2019 Transit Times Volume 12, Number 9

1/5

r usl imesol 12 No.9 March 1970

.• • a •

t ;

'


2/5

Bridge tolls reduced exclusive laneSought to encourage transit riding

With a cost-saving toll reduction assured, AC Transit pressed for additionalaid for Bay bridge commuters this montha by-pass around the toll plaza.Tolls for commuter buses on thebridge will be reduced to 65 cents perround trip starting April 1, saving ACTransit an estimated $91,000 a year. TheDistrict now pays 1 for a round tripcrossing.The California Toll Bridge Authorityapproved the reduction after hearingfrom State Senator Lewis F. Sherman,R-Berkeley, and E. R Mike Foley,chief engineer, of Division of Bay TollCrossings.Sherman also asked that the District

be charged on an honor system so buseswould not have to stop at the toll plaza.It then would be possible to change

the bus route to avoid toll booths, savingtraveling time and encouraging car drivers to swith to the bus, the legislatorsaid.This minor adjustment in procedurewould have a tremendous psychological

effect on motorists as they see busesmoving freely through the toll area,Sherman pointed out.Sherman said he also will push for anexclusive lane on the Bay bridge as ameans of accelerating traffic and as afurther incentive for commuters to makeuse of public transportation.Foley told the bridge authority he andthe transit district are trying to workout an exclusive lane through the tollgate area and discussions currently areunderway. AC Transit also is making aneffort to procure a federal grant to aidin financing the bypass.The authority accepted Foley's recommendation for the toll reduction anddeferred the matter of the exclusivetoll gate until plans are further along.Foley estimated the reduction wouldtotal $110,000, with Greyhound saving$19,000 and AC Transit, the rest.R E. Nisbet, AC Transit attorney,told commission members the reductionwould be an aid in holding the lineon fares and property taxes.

Brighten Your ay Go AC TransitIt's Spring- and a time to discover

it's a wonderful world, to be easilyexplored by planned bus excursions.

2

An invitation to Brighten Your Day- Go AC Transit -will be featured bythe District in a newpublicity and advertising campaign beginning in April. Itwill encourage residents to use the busfor sightseeing andgoing places , whilea professional drivertakes care of problems like pa rking and

Re oxation t traffic.nowland Zoo A psychedelic flow-

er in glowing fluorescent paint will highlight the invitation on billboards, carcards and king-sized posters on the outside of buses. Newspaper ads and commercials on radio and TV will carry thesame message.A new brochure, combining the conventional route map and the District'sguide book to adventure, SunshineTrails , plus new ideas for exploring,will be issued. Another inexpensiveedition of the route map will roll off thepresses in the meantime, for distributionto hotels, conventions and informationcenters with need for bus riding data.

The Brighten Your Day campaignhas been planned to boost midday ridine:and encourage residents to get out andgo places-with fun and relaxation.

What the ditors are saying about transitmributt£ ~ u i t o r i a l 'as£

Can AC Transit Be TrustedAs a public agency partially supported

by property taxes, AC Transit Districthas seldom defaulted in its role as goodcitizen. The district pays its bills ontime, provides fair and competitivewages to its employes and generally performs its public duties in a commendablefashion.One could conclude, then, that ACTransit is trustworthy just about everywhere but in the eyes of another publicagency, the State Toll Bridge Authority.The Bay Bridge toll takers insist oncollecting their just due from transitdistrict buses on each crossing. Thebuses more often than not become enmeshed in the toll plaza snarls duringrush hours and the result is extendedservice delays.A recent AC survey of morning rushhour traffic on the bridge disclosed

that of 348 buses crossing, 265 of themwere behind schedule - some by asmuch as 14 minutes. One bus took llJfminutes to get through the toll plazajam and only eight minutes to travelthe five miles across the bridge.

As the rate of auto crossings on thebridge inexorably increases, the totaltraffic problem seems certain to worsen, and yet car drivers are obviouslydiscouraged from switching to the buswhen that service is continually delayedwhile drivers get in line to ante up tothe collectors.AC officials have now proposed aspecial bus by-pass of the toll collectionbooths so their vehicles could glidesmoothly around the bottleneck withoutappreciable delay. Regular reports wouldbe made to the toll authority and feespaid on the known number of regularcrossings .This honor system, incidently, is thesame one AC uses to pay its fuel taxes,and the accuracy of such reports hasnever been questioned.

There appears no valid reason whythis proposal that would obviously improve efficiency cannot be immediatelyimplemented.To wait several months until the nextauthority meeting in June would seeman unnecessary delay.

Bus driver's son drives oR thugsA bus driver, who has tried to teach hisson what's right , found out how wellhe had succeeded when Charles Rosas III14, was honored as an outstanding c i t i z e n ~by the East Bay Press Club.Young Rosas, an Oakland Tribune newspaper boy, was honored for attacking anddriving off two armed robbers who hadknocked down and were beating a womanwaiting for a bus at Foothill Blvd. andHarrington Ave., Oakland.

The youth ran to his home, got awrench, came back and jumped on thesuspects as one was beating her and tryingto take her purse and the other was holdinga gun at her head. The armed youth hitRosas in the head with the gun beforethe pair ran off with the newsboy inpursuit. They escaped in a car.The boy's father, Charles Rosas Jr., driveson the 80 lines out of Seminary Division.The family home is at 1925 Harrington Ave.

3


3/5

AIRPORT ACCESS Alan L Bingham, left, AC Transit general manager, explains tCarlos C Villarreal, government transportation official, details of study to link BayArea Rapid Transit System in foreground with Oakland International Airport in background.

Transit official checks study siteThe U.s. Department of Transportation has given financial go-ahead to development of a high-speed regionaltransit system to link Oakland International Airport and Bay Area Rapid

Transit District rails three and a halfmiles away.Approval of a $60,000 technical studygrant to finance two-thirds of the airport access project was announced during the Bay area visit of a top government figure, Carlos C. Villarreal, dynamicadministrator of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration.Villarreal was in Oakland to discussthe study and other transit programs,including feeder service in outlyingsuburban areas.

He met with AC Transit directors andmanagement, was honored at a luncheonjointly hosted by the District and theOakland Chamber of Commerce; thenwas taken on a tour of the BART-Coliseum Complex-Oakland Airport region.Villarreal also demonstrated he couldguide a bus, as well as direct wheels ofgovernment.

The transit official briefly drove the4

newly-carpeted Freeway Train as he andhis staff rode the articulated bus in regular service from San Francisco to EastBay meetings.

During his visit, Villarreal termed theairport access studyan important opportunity to hook up amajor airport with a75-mile regional rapidtransit network, add-ing to growth potentials of the entire area.

With federal helpassured, the Board ofA real pr Control of OaklandAirport Access Task Force has proceeded with awarding a contract toKaiser Engineers, chosen as engineeringconsultants .Joining to contribute $30,000 towardthe $90,000 stud y are AC Transit, BART,Coliseum, Inc. , City of Oakland, Countyof Alameda and Port of Oakland.

First phase of study will recommend apotential system, how to pay for it,method of operating and interim program and additional transit needs.

assengers gui e bus to safetyTwo bus passengers have receivedspecial thanks from AC Transit Boardof Directors for taking over control ofa bus on the Bay bridge after the drivercollapsed over the wheel.Mrs. Mary Jackie Marshall, 3019Lincoln Ave., and Joel Davis Brooks,453 Buena Vista Ave., both Alameda,

appeared at a board meeting to receiveCommunity Service Citations for courageous and prompt action which protected fellow passengers, prevented apossible mishap and exemplified outstanding service to AC Transit and itsriders.

The presentation was made by boardpresident William E. Berk, who expressed the deep gratitude of the District for the couple's part in preventinga possible accident.Mrs. Marshall and Brooks were amonga bus load of commuters bound for SanFrancisco on a Line bus from Alameda when driver L F. Lou Bone, 58,2900 Carmel Ave., Oakland, suffered anapparent fainting spell .

Mrs. Marshall, sitting across from thedriver, saw him slump and jumped fromher seat to take over the wheel. Sheheld the bus steady, moving it from thecenter lane toward the curb.Brooks was able to move Bone's feetfrom the pedals and completed bringingthe bus to a stop, after checking trafficin rear and side view mirrors.

The bus was approaching Yerba BuenaIsland during morning commute hourswhen the incident occurred.Mrs. Marshall gave first aid to Bone,with the help of Brooks and other passengers, until an ambulance arrived totake him to the hospital. He later was

reported in good condition.Bone is former president of Division192, Amalgamated Transit Union.Mrs. Marshall is supervisor of thesecurity clearance department at thehead office of Wells Fargo bank in SanFrancisco and a regular commuter.Brooks, also a regular rider, is westernregional director of the American Jewishcongress, with offices in San Francisco.

RIDERS HONORED William E Berk, left, president of AC Transit Board of Directors,presents commun ity service citations to Mrs. Mary Jackie Marshall and Joel DavidBrooks of Alameda. They brought trans bay bus to safe stop after driver collapsed.

¥ / . .::..>~ _ 4

5


4/5

LADDER OF SUCCESS-Operators demonstrating Richmond Division's climb from13,100 miles per accident to 20,744 include,from left-up the ladder: Luther Williams,R D. Elmore, O G Rios, N. ]. Norton. Incenter is ]. D. Haynes; at right, ]. C. Taylor.

IN THE SPRING -M embers of the Alameda Travelers wereamong groups chartering AC Transit busesto see blossoming fruit. And in the moodof things, Mrs Vincent Holland startsdriver D. E. Figas offin flowerq sttlle withhis .own Spring bonnet.6

Richmond driverso over top withew safety record

Drivers from Richmond Divisionclimbed over the top in February, setting a new safe driving record of 20,744miles operated per accident.

It was the nrst time a division hashit the 20,000 mark-considered almostbeyond possibility when the safety program was inaugurated in 1963 with agoal of 12,lOO miles per accident.

The bogey since has been graduallyraised to 13,100 miles per accident.A consistent safe-driving winner, theRichmond Division also won coffee anddoughnuts in January when they tallied18,018 miles per accident.

The previous high record was 18,817miles, totaled in August, 1968; and18,601 miles, reached in September,1965.The winner both times-Richmond.

1,280,0001,300,0001,260 ,0001,240,0001,220,0001,200,0001,180,0001,160,0001,140,0001,120,0001,100,0001,080 ,0001,060,0001,040,0001,020,000

y e r passenger re e contpor sonI

1970- 969

1968 ...1~

............ ~ , J, ,- III1IIr1l

Note: Chart b sed on 13 four weekp riods p r year.DEC . JAN . FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG . SEPT . OCT . NOV . DEC.JAN. FEB. MAR . APR . MAY JUNE JULY AUG . SEPT . OCT . NOV . DEC . JAN.

Passenger revenue and the number of riders carried showed an increase during January, as business activity continued on the upswing.Farebox revenue totaled $1,267.578, an increase of $76,274 or 6.40percent over revenue of $1,191,304 for January, 1969. On East Bay lines,revenue reached $691,647, up 3.77 percent compared to year-ago revenueof $666,549. Transbay revenue also showed an increase, with a totalof $575,931, up 9.75 percent over January, 1969 revenue of 524,755.Commute book sales totaled $271,198, an increase of 16.6 percentcompared to sales of $232,595 for the same period a year ago.The number of passengers carried during the month totaled 4,381,227,up .43 percent over the year-ago passenger count of 4,362,395. On EastBay lines, the riding total was 3,170,1l6, an increase 0/ .85 percent compared to last year's total of 3,143,535. On transbay service the passengertotal 0/1 ,211,111 was .64 percent below the year-ago count 0/ 1,218,860.Operation costs during the month came to $1,616,824, an increase of94,208 or 6.19 percent over costs 0/ $1,522,616 for January, 1969. TheDistrict operated 2,082,415 miles 0/ service, an increase 0/1 ,634 miles or.08 percent above mileage 0/ 2,080,781 in the same month a year agoTotal income of $1,800,520 was sufficient to cover operational costsand depreciation, but left a deficit of $11 ,976 in meeting lull bond debtrequirements.The transit industry nationally indicated a riding decrease lor themonth 0/ 6.35 percent

7


5/5

i l t ions o the oardAt an adjourned regular meeting onFeb. 25, the Board of Directors:• Adopted resolution supporting U.S.

mass transit aid bill, on motion of Director Coburn.• Adopted report of Advertising andPublic Relations Committee on meetingsreviewing plans for promotional and advertising, on motion of Director Bettencourt.• Authorized filing of application withfederal government for capital grant forpurchase of 30 new diesel buses, onmotion of Director Coburn.At a regular meeting March 11 theBoard of Directors:• Referred bids for electronic dataequipment to management for study, onmotion of President Berk.• Approved attendance of staff members at sessions of Urban Transportation

Management Institute, on motion ofDirector Bettencourt.• Directed preparat ion of resolutionsrelating to use of gas tax funds for publictransportation and relating to creation ofMetropolitan Transportation Commission, on motion of Director Rinehart.• Adopted resolution commending for-

ransit·limesPublished monthly by theALAMEDA.CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICT

508 16th St., Oakland California 94612Telephone (415) 654-7878BOARD OF DIRECTORSWILLIAM E. BERK Preaident

Ward IIE. GUY WARREN . . . .Ward V

ROBERT M. COPELAND . .RAY H. RINEHART. . .JOHN McDONNELLWM. J . BETTENCOURT. . .MANAGEMENT ·

. Vice PresidentDirector at LargeDirector at Large. Ward IIIWard IV

ALAN L BINGHAM • . . . General ManagerHAROLD M. DAVIS • Assistant General Manager/ for PersonnelGEORGE M. TAYLOR . Assistant General Manager. • . for Administration and District SecretaryH. DONALD WHITE . Assistant General Managerfor OperationsHOWARD D. BEEBE Purchases and Stores Mgr.E. SAM DAVIS . . Research and Planning ManagerVIRGINIA B. DENNISON Public Information Mgr.OZRO D. GOULD Claims ManagerANTHONY R. LUCCHESI . . Maintenance ManagerROBERT E. NISBET . • . . . . . . AttorneyDONALD J. POTTER . . . Transportation ManagerWARREN E. ROBINSON . Transportation EngineerROBERT D. TOUGH . . . Treasurer-ControllerGORDON G. WADSWORTH . . Safety Engineer

mer director William H. Coburn, Jr., forservice to AC Transit, on motion ofDirector Warren.• Moved to go into executive session,to be followed by adjournment to March25, on motion of Director McDonnell.

William H. Coburn Jr. resigns board postWilliam H. Coburn, Jr., veteran member of AC Transit Board of Directors,resigned his post at the last meeting inFebruary, after announcing he wasmoving to Moraga with his family. Coburn will retain his law office in Berkeley.A native of Berkeley, Coburn repre-

AC TransitLatham Square BuildingOakland, California 94612

Return Requested

sented that area and northwest Oaklandon the transit board. He had served as adirector since 1958 and long has beenactive as a civic leader.The board has 60 days in which toappoint a successor to serve the remaining three years of Coburn s term.

Documents

Transit Times Volume 12, Number 9