Transit Times Volume 4, Number 1

8/14/2019 Transit Times Volume 4, Number 1

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Vol. 4 No . 1 OAKLAND, MAY 1961

Assembly Adopts New Bill to DivertBill to Solve Special Bridge Tolls OpposedSchool Bus Costs By East Bay Leaders

Legislation, which would provide adivision of costs for special school busservice between students who use itand the Oakland school system, has beenapproved by the Assembly in Sacra-mento.The bill was introduced to help pre-vent the loss of school bus service in theOakland hill area. H approved by theSenate and signed by the Governor, itcan become a law in time for the startof service this fall.

The measure relieves school districtsfrom part of the Rnancial burden in fur-nishing school bus service and provides,instead, for an equitable distribution ofcosts between parents of students in-volved and school taxpayers.It was introduced by AssemblymanNicholas C. Petris of Oakland at the re-quest of hill area residents whose chil-dren face the loss of bus service nextfall. The bill was combined with simi-lar one by Assemblyman Edwin L.Z'berg of Sacramento and was approvedRrst by the Assembly Education Com-mittee.

The bill would allow AC Transit tooperate the service, collecting a regularfare from students and meeting any ex-cess costs from a minimum guaranteedby the Oakland Board of Education.

(Col'IItilluea on Page 6)

Another attempt to divert Bay Bridgetolls for Marin County and peninsulacommuters has been met with renewedopposition in San Francisco and the EastBay this month.AC Transit and area leaders joinedin new protests after a second bill wasintroduced in the State Legislature todivert Bay Bridge revenue for recon-struction of the Transbay Transit Ter-minal in San Francisco for beneRt ofbuses which do not pay any tolls.An earlier bill brought before theState Senate aroused such protest thatproponents agreed not to push it beforethe Senate Transportation Committee.

The new bill, introduced by SenatorEugene McAteer of San FraNcisco, con-tains the same provisions as the firstmeasure, with the additional authoriza-tion for construction of a heliport on theterminal roof.H the bill is approved, bus serviceswhich pay no Bay Bridge tolls would begetting the beneRt of facilities paid forlargely by East Bay commuters, TransitDirector Robert K. Barber pointed out.The resultant crowding also would seri-ously hamper district plans for increas-ing transbay service, he said.The directors unanimously voted tooppose the latest bill and again to seeksupport of area groups.


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Veteran Transit Director ResignsPaul E. Deadrich, a veteran memberof the AC Transit board of directors, an

nounced his resignation this month.Deadrich said he plans to move his

home from Hayward to TuolumneCounty at th e end of the school yearwhere he will operate a law and realestate office in the Sonora-Twain Hartearea.

Representative of Ward V, including

Paul E. Deadrich

th e area of Hayward, Castro Valley, SanLorenzo and portions of San Leandro,Deadrich was elected to the first boardwhen the district was formed in 1956.He was re-elected in 1958 to a four yearterm.A well known San Leandro attorneyand member of a prominent family ofthe area, Deadrich has been active in a2

number of civic groups, including theSan Leandro Chamber of Commerce,Chabot Lions Club, Broadmoor Men'sClub, Family Service Agency of CentralAlameda County and San Leandro Welfare Council. He also has been active inthe Southern Alameda County Bar Association.

The resignation was accepted by theboard with "deep regret."

Board President William J. Bettencourt, also of San Leandro, cited Deadrich as a "very devoted, dedicated andhigh-principled member of the boardone whose vacancy will be difficult tofill."

Director Robert K. Barber of Kensington said Deadrich "actively, progressively and most forthrightly assisted theboard in what progress th e district hasmade ."

Chicago Transit ShowsDecrease in Revenue

CHICAGO-Passenger revenue of theChicago Transit Authority amounted to$11,073,470 for the month of March, adecrease of $634,922 or 5.42 pe r cent ascompared with March, 1960.

The amount was adequate to coveroperation and maintenance expenses,debt service requirements, bu t left adeficiency of $479,201 in the $896,918monthly provision for depreciation reserve.

MORE INFORMATIONA note or phone call to the transit dis

trict-OLympic 3-3535-will place yourname on the mailing list for Transit Timesif you are not already regularly receivinga copy of the monthly newslettr.

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What the Editors Are Saying About TransitOakland Tribune:

Caught in the MiddleT HE PARENTS of a considerablenumber of Oakland school pupilsare now caught in the middle of whatpresently appears to be a squabble between the Oakland Board of Educationand the new AC Transit District.

The fight is over payment for bus service provided Oakland pupils attendingschools located well off regular AC busruns.At present no real battle lines have

been drawn between these two organizations-nor should there be. Yet from suchdifferences grow unpleasant feelings inwhich both sides entrench themselvesbehind untenable positions that onlywork to the detriment of the public.

What 'seems to be needed now as ameans of extrica ting both sides from thedilemma are frank three-way talks between th e board, the parents' groups andthe AC Transit District.

At least such discussions would serveto keep the situation from further deteriorating into a rock-throwing contestbetween two public bodies. And th epresence of parents-who are also voters-may help greatly in bot'h organizationsreaching some equitable compromise.

The problem involved is simply this:The Oakland Board of Education has

not budgeted any funds during the nextschool year for bus transportation to outof-the-way schools such as the new hillarea high school.

The school board says it can't afford tobudget any monies because state law requires that if it pays any portion of thecost it must pay it all.

The Transit District on the other handclaims it cannot subsidize Oaklandschool bus service on the grounds thedistrict is supported by taxpayers in twocounties-many of whom already supporttheir own special school buses throughschool taxes.The Transit District has a good point.The district is not supported exclusivelyby Oakland taxpayers. The district suggests that the board underwrite the difference between the costs to the districtfor special service and the fares paid bythe students. A part-pay precedent forthis has already been established here.This latter suggestion is a logical oneand should be given close attention bythe board. But there still is available tothe board a remedy in Sacramento bymeans of a bill which would spell out theboard's authority to pay a portion of thebus cost without having to assume thewhole financial burden.

The bill, introduced by Oakland As-semblyman Nicholas C. Petris has beenapproved by th e Assembly EducationCommittee and deserves passage by theLegislature.

Operator RetiresJ. H. Ashmore of 3016 Brook St. , Oakland, a veteran street ca r and motorcoach operator, retired on May 1, end

ing 33 years in transit.Ashmore, who had been on sick leavesince last October, went to work for KeySystem in 1928, working on both thestreet cars and buses before his illness .

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Transit Trai/sTry Nicholl Park in Richmond for Outing

By Virginia DennisonThere might be prettier parks with hilland dale, bu t for a day of togetherness

(like the book says) it would be hard tobeat Nicholl Park in Richmond.

I t has everything-from kids to kidsfor everyone in the family. The one kindof kids are included in the miniaturefarm. With the park on Macdonald Ave.,the obvious name for the animal collection, of course, would be "Old MacDonald's Farm." Bring your own eei-eei-o's.Your own kids will find ducks, peacocks, pheasants and other birds, alongwith the barnyard bunch. They'll alsofind, and probably sooner, a big playarea, exceptional in that it seems to have

enough slides ( five! ) and other equipment for everybody.

While the youngsters play, Papa canwatch the ballgame on one of three diamonds; practice his shots on a puttinggreen or try to figure out the intent ofintense lawn bowlers , away from it allbehind a thick hedge.

For the teenagers, there's tennis anda soon-to-be completed footfall field.Mama can enjoy the serenity and conversation of other mothers, watchingfrom benches- if she isn't busy gettingthe lunch ready at the barbecue and picnic area near the miniature railroad. Thetrain, which nllls on week-ends when

KID MEETS KIDS"':"'Animals and children find mutual understanding- especially whena hand-out is involved....,.at Nicholl Park farm;

the weather permits and from 10 a.m. to7 or 8 at night during vacation times, isan actual scale model of an S.P. streaml i n e r

I f you need more atmosphere, actualtrains add frequent background toots,while they busy themselves about theRichmond yards.Although it covers some 22 acres, thepark has the added family advantage ofbeing all together, as far as most of itsattractions are concerned.

CURVE AHEAD-A corkscrew slide offersvariety for the small fry at Richmond'sNicholl Park on Macdonald Ave .

LET 'EM ROLL-The intriguing pursuit oflawn bowling attracts a sunny morningcrowd on the Nicholl Park greens. Thepark has everything for the family.

Located at 30th and Macdonald, it also. has the advantage of being . convenient.You can reach it easily by bus, the Land the 12M give direct service. There'slittle walking involved and it makes fora simple, old-fashioned kind of a dayuncomplicated, inexpensive, fun togetherunder the sun .

For further data, including a "tourpackage" of schedules and a route map ,

.call Transit Information, OL . 3-3535.5


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Cut in Fare Asked for Elderly RidersA request by senior citizens for a reduction in fares for elderly riders withlimited incomes has been taken under

study by the district's Projects Development Committee.

The plea for lower fares was madeto the board of directors this month byMrs. Alexander Van Frank of Berkeley,president of th e Coordinating Councilof East Bay Senior Citizen Groups. Thecouncil, which represents 41 groups inthe area served by the district, stressedthat a fare reduction would mean releasefrom a restricted life to thousands ofelderly persons living on low incomes.No specific fare was suggested by thecouncil, bu t Mrs. Van Frank pointed outthat the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Detroit RailwayCo. have adopted lower fares duringnon-peak hours for me n 65 and over andwomen 62 and over, with limited incomes.

In Los Angeles, fares have been reduced from the normal 25 cents to 15

IN MEMORIAMLouis E. Reid, 55, of 22223 Queen St.,

Hayward, an instructor at Division 2,died May 5 of leukemia, after a shortillness.Mr. Reid came to work for Key System as a driver in 1944 and later becamea dispatcher and receiver, working at thedifferent divisions. He was appointed aninstructor in December, 1951.A "green thumb" gardener, Mr. Reidalso was interested in fishing and intraveling. He is survived by his wife,Evelyn; two daughters, Mrs. PatriciaMary Smith of Pleasant Hill and Mrs.Marilynne Mendonca of Castro Valley;and five grandchildren.6

cents during off-peak hours for seniorcitizens in the low income category. Thereduction, set-up on a four months trialbasis, will mean a saving for approximately 150,000 people.The lower rates apply to elderly people who earn no more than $1200 a year.Processing of applications and issuanceof cards to qualified citizens was han

dled by the Los Angeles Senior CitizensService Center and other volunteergroups, without cost to MTA. The specialrates are in effect for certain hours only-Bill Holds AnswerTo School Bus Costs(Continued from Page 1)

Under present interpretation of theState Education Code, the schools mustpay all the costs of school bus serviceif they pay any part of it.

The Oakland board already has givennotice it will end special school bus contracts the end of this school year. Parents, fearing their children may bestranded in hill areas, have announcedthey are willing to pay a fair share ofthe costs.AC Transit directors maintain the district cannot provide the special serviceat a loss.According to William J. Bettencourt,board president, it would be unfair fortransit taxpayers in Alameda or SanLeandl'o, for example, to have to subsidize special school service in Oakland."No other school district within thetransit district is asking this," he said.

The legislation, which provides a sharing solution and removes the taxpayerfrom paying the entire bill, has the approval of the American Federation ofTeachers and the California SchoolBoards Association.

Iron Horses of Bus TransportationSold to Oakland Dealer for $60 , 000

Sale of 189 gasoline-powered busesfor $60,000 has been approved by theboard of directors, the final coup degrace for the pungent old iron horsesof bus transportation.

The motor coaches, retired from service by AC Transit as new equipment arrived, were sold to the Sam Clar Co. andAssociates, of Oakland, auctioneers andliquidators.

The gas buses have been in retirementpasture at the East Oakland and Richmond division yards since the board declared them surplus earlier this year.Once the pride and joy of the KeySystem in th e lush and lucrative days ofWorld War II travel, the coaches-manyof them pre-war-were the work horsesof Bay area transit-even if they didleave a trail of gasoline fumes to marktheir passing.

They are expected to roll again, insmaller communities and under different

uses, bu t still hardy and dependable.The retired fleet includes the last 23of the pre-war 800 series, along with 95of the 900 series and 75 of the 1000's,

the end of the White line, with a "pancake" engine under the floorboards anda gasoline consumption that made themhigh cost compared to diesel models.With most of the old buses out of service, the district now is primarily dieselpropelled, with new equipment handlingbasic service on most of the local lines,on transbay runs and on new expressroutes.When the first of the Whites went intoservice in 1941, they were consideredvery plush and especially reliable. And

the fumes were taken for granted.During the war years, the buses hauledfull load of passengers, bu t graduallythey lost a financial race to the moreinexpensively operated diesel coaches.

"NOT IN SERVICE"-Veterans of East Bay bus transportation, the "old Whiteslll shareretirement pasture at East Oakland division yards before rolling again into newtransit careers.

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REMEMBER WHEN?-Southern Pacific "Red Trains" await the commuter rush at theornate Alameda Pier in this photograph of another transit era. They served for halta century.

'Red Trains' Rolled Just 50 Years AgoIt was 50 years ago this month thatthe Southern Pacific "Red Trains" of nos

talgic memory rolled smoothly throughAlameda, setting off their own specialera of "owl-eyed" transportation.And strangely, while other early formsof transit have rolled into oblivion, the"Red Cars" served out their half of acentury.The last old S.P. "Red Train" left LosAngeles on its final trip to Long Beachlast month, after providing electrifiedservice in the southland for 20 years.Same old coaches, too.To East B'Y residents, particularly,the "Red Trains" had a certain charm-they weren't very comfortable, bu t they

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were a little cheaper than the competingKey System and, in Alameda particularly,they provided a brand of service dear tothe hearts of early commuters.

For one thing, it was in Alameda thatthe S.P. tried out its first electric train,running from the Alameda Pier at themouth of th e estuary out Encinal Ave.to the depot at High St. and Encinal,using the tracks of the old South 'PacificCoast line.

The rival Key System had already beenstringing wire for years, bu t once theSouthern Pacific awoke to the gold mineof interurban transportation, they movedsteadily ahead, expanding into a vastinterurban system that spread through-

(l)ut the state and into Oregon, until theyhad the world's largest suburban electric transportation system.

The first revenue train ran on the Alameda trackage on June 8, 1911, replacing the steam trains during off-peakhours.

The experiment immediately provedto be a success and by August 1, the"Ferns de" or "Cohen" loop was built tolink the system along Encinal with thetracks along Pacific and Lincoln Avenues, built years earlier by A. A. Cohen .After "blanketing" Alameda, the S.P.spread out to electrify its other commutelines. In Berkeley they switched fromsteam to volts on the Shattuck Ave. lineon Dec. 23, 1911; on the Ellsworth St.line, Dec. 28, 1911; the California St.line, Jan. 1, 1912; and the 9th St. line,Feb. 1, 1912.Things moved briskly along on the pioneer 7th St. line in Oakland, also; andit was electrined as fa r as 55th Ave. byApril, 1912; to H illsdale on Dec. 29, 1912;and to Dutton Ave. in San Leandro onOct. 1, 1913.

For three decades, the red cars wouldbe a familiar part of the commuter'sdaily toil and the ferry steamtm they me tat Oakland and Alameda piers wouldtake a vivid place in history.

FIRST DAY-This fashionable group posedat Alameda Pier on the first day of "RedTrain" service. Many of first coaches hadsquare front windows.

Along with the Key System, the Southern Pacific ran its trains over the bridgein 1939, sending the ferry boats to finalmoorage. But the automobile and thebus defeated the "Red Trains" and in1941, after 30 years, the S.P. left thefield to the Key System.

Many of th e cars were saved by theadvent of World War II and found a newhome on the Pacific Electric in Los Angeles, also an S.P. property. Tired, butfaithful, they held down th e last electric service ~ e s t of Chicago, by servingfor another 20 years on the run betweenLos Angeles and Long Beach.

SAN LEANDRO BOUND-S.P. "Red Train" stops at the 7th St. and Broadway stationin 1933, when commuters enjoyed a daily train and ferry ride. This photo and oneabove from Ralph Demoro collection.


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final PriceBoard Approves Key System Settlement

A final net purchase price of $7,480,000for Key System Transit Lines has beenapproved by the AC Transit board of directors after months of detailed calculations by engineering and accounting consultants.

The settlement, which is some $20,000less than originally offered by the district, has been agreed to by Key officialsand will now go before th e Key SystemTransit Line board of directors for finalapproval.

The transit board authorized coincidentally with reaching final settlement ofthe purchase agreement the acquisitionfrom Key System of two parcels of landvalued at $32,000 for purposes of busturn-arounds. One is located at Carlstonan d Walla Vista Aves. in Oakland andthe other is a small terminal at MissionBlvd. and Pinedale Ct. in Hayward.

The final price represents a figurereached by the consultants after they

Car Parking LotReplaces StationThe Piedmont Avenue train and busstation of fond memory has bowed to thewreckers' boom, making way for a new

parking lot.As result, passengers for Lines C-SanFrancisco, 59- Broadway Terrace an d 76

-Montclair are now boarding their busesacross the street from the station, at thenorthwest intersection of 41st St. andPiedmont Ave.

The property, owned by Key SystemTransit Lines, was sold to the City ofOakland for the off-street parking facility. The station, one of the last remnantsof the train era, was erected in 1937.10

went over th e Key System facilities incareful detail following th e district's acquisition of the transit lines last Oct. 1.Reductions in the purchase price wereattained following a physical inventoryand audit performed by engineering an daccounting consultants retained jointlyby AC Transit and Key System. Currentstatus of such accounts as material an dsupplies entered into the final purchasefigure.

E. C. Jorgensen GetsNew Appointment

E. C. Jorgensen, who learned over theyears how to operate trains and buses,and to even repair them when nec essary,has moved out of Central Dispatch atDivision 2 to assume new duties as assistant superintendent at Division 4.

Another of the veteran transportationmen who worked from "the track!> up, "Jorgensen started with Key System in1933 as a flagman - "single - trackingtrains,'" in his own terms.

He proceeded to street cars and busesas an operator, then became an instructor, inspector, supervisor and central dispatcher-including a wartime stint getting those shipyard workers to their jobs.A mechanic and automobile repairmanin his spare time, Jorgensen also has aworking knowledge of what makes thewheels turn-including company equipment and the cars of many of his fellowworkers. He lists as his other only hobby"a poor game of golf."

Jorgensen lives at 1841 Keller in SanLorenzo-on one of th e only streets without a "via."

Employment Director Finds There'sSilver (Maybe) in Them Thar HillsOnce you 've picked a nugget out of a

stream or, more prosaically, hauled oreout of a tunnel, you're supposed to havea certain aura of expectation riding onyour shoulder.

And it's there, burning brightly at themoment, on Martin L. Reite, who doeshis prospecting at AC Transit's main office as supervisor of employment. But ata certain group of mines high in thePinion range of Nevada, the search concerns paydirt of another kind, a longsought Mother Lode of silver.

I f you take it by years, it would behard to decide whether Reite is more ofa veteran of transit or of mining. Bothhave come in for considerable activity.

Mining and medical studies are something of a Reite family tradition, perhaps kicked off by an aunt and unclewho migrated to Natal in Africa during along ago gold strike.

His father, the late John B. Reite, cameto San Francisco in the 1880's to earn areputation as a noted general contractor,with mining as a sideline. He was amongprominent San Franciscans included ina syndicate which operated mines in thesilver-rich Railroad Mining District 30miles south of Elko, Nev.The mines shipped copper, silver andlead and Reite-known as "JB" on Montgomery St.-started explorations for themain ore body when his death in 1916terminated operations.

Martin, after three years of medicalstudies, gave up that career to carryonthe family interQlsts-and to foster someof his own at the Eastman Gulch goldmine in Trinity County.

In between, Martin has tallied yearsof experience in transportation, servingas terminal agent for the Santa Fe when

it opened its new terminal in San Francisco in 1940.He went to work for Key System in1944, serving as a supervisor, assistant

superintendent in charge of shipyardrailroads and director of employment, apost he kept with AC Transit.

Upholding medical honors for the family is his son, Dr. Martin L. Reite, whograduated cum laude from Yale and isnow interning in psychiatry at UCLA .Dr. Reite's aunt is Dr. Eleanor Nelson,noted East Bay surgeon.

As for the Nevada property-now theSweepstake Mines Inc.-a long low leveltunnel has been extended to where extensive drill holes indicate the main silverore body is located an d the fabulousdreams of the 1870's may be nearing fulfillment.

ROCKHOUND - Martin Reite, who doeshis prospecting in varied fields.


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At an adjourned regular meeting April20, Hl61, the Board of Directors: Referred to the General Managerfor study a proposal by Peerless Stages

that its operations in southern AlamedaCounty between Hayward and thecounty line be taken over by the transitdistrict, on motion of Director Barber.

Approved extension of Line 68-Barrett Ave. from EI Cerrito Shopping Plazato intersection of Fairmount and SanPablo Avenues, on motion of Vice President Copeland.

Approved contract with State Personnel Board for job classification andsalary study at a cost not to exceed $2950,on motion of Director Barber. Directed State Personnel Board touse prevailing wages and salaries for

comparable work in the Bay area and,where necessary, elsewhere in the Stateas the guide in its salary study, on motion of Director Barber.

Awarded contract for 2,000,000 newtransit tokens to Walter W. CribbinsCompany, the lowest of two bidders, ata cost of $25,640, on motion of DirectorBarber.

At a regular meeting May 3, 1961, theBoard of Directors: Accepted with regret the resignationfrom the board of Director Paul E. Deadrich, on motion of Director Barber. Approved $7,480,000 final settlement

TRANSIT TIMESAlameda-Contra Costa Transit District1106 BroadwayOakland 7, California

TRANSIT TIMESPub I shed monthly by theALAMEDACONTRA RANSIT DISTRICT

110

BOARD OF DIRECTORSWM . J. BETTENCOURT . PresidentWord IVROBERT M. COPELAND . . . Vice President

Director at largeROBERT K. BARBER .. Director at LorgeWILLIAM H. COBURN, JR. Ward IWILLIAM E. BERK Ward IIJOHN McDONNELL Ward II IWard V

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERSJOHN R. WORTHINGTON General ManagerROBERT E. NISBET .. AttorneyJOHN F. LARSON . TreasurerControlierGEORGE M. TAYLOR. Secretary~ 1 0 for purchase of Key System Transit Lines,on motion of Director Berk.

Authorized the sale of 189 gasolinepowered White buses for total price of$60,000, on motion of Director McDonnell. Directed the Oakland Board of Education be notified the transit district willcooperate in operating special school busservice providing panmts and the schoolboard share operation costs, on motionof Director Coburn.

Approved change in lease of busstorage property adjoining East Oaklanddivision terminal at Seminary Ave. andSan Leandro St., on motion of DirectorBarber.BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

Oakland, Calif.Permit No . 2105

ROSERT E NISBET A.S

Form 3547 Requested

2687 SHASTA RD.BERKELEY 8. CALIF.

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Transit Times Volume 4, Number 1