Transit Times Volume 9, Number 12

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

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Vol. 9, No. 12

Hensel to retire asGeneral manager; newTransit chief sought

A nation-wide search for a new general manager was underway this monthby directors of the District.

The survey was ordered after KennethF. Hensel, general manager for the pastfive years, announced his pending retirement. Hensel, 60,suggested June 30as a leaving date,with assumption important district matters could be concluded by that time .

Board PresidentK. F. Hensel John McDonnell and

Past Presidents William H. Coburn, Jr.,and William J. Bettencourt, speaking inbehalf of the Board, expressed regret atHensel's decision and credited him witha major portion of the District's success.

McDonnell appointed Director William E. Berk as chairman of a committeeto consider candidates for a new transitmanager. Members include Bettencourtand Director E. Guy Warren.In announcing his retirement, Henselsaid he had no immediate plans for continuing in the industry. He admittedafter 37 years in transportation, it mightbe difficult to completely divorce himself

(Continued on page 2)

FIRST CALL-Operator R. A. Armas inaugurates two-way communication systemwith call to "KMA776," District's radiostation, reporting on Bay Bridge trafficconditions.Radio-equipped busesPut District on air

AC Transit's basic fleet of buses wenton the air this month, equipped withradio sets that promise improved operations and added security.

As the initial "air-borne" fleet wasswitched on, a new Central Dispatchheadquarters also went into action, moving the District firmly into the electronicage. (More details, pages 4 and 5.)

The radio hook-up with 300 coachesgave the District an "instant ear" on thestatus of every radio-equipped bus, covering basic service on local, inter-cityexpress and transbay lines.Work has been underway for nearlya year. Total cost was estimated at$269,000, with a Federal grant initiallypaying half.


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Transit directors favor diesel fuel taxExemption as aid to local taxpayersLegislation, which would aid the Dis

trict in retaining lowest possible faresand taxes-and relieve some of the burden placed on property owners-has thestrong support of AC Transit.

The measure, under consideration byState Legislators, would exempt urbanbus systems, including AC Transit, frompaying diesel fuel taxes.Passage of Assembly Bill No. 1028would save the District an estimated$325,000 annually. Because it concernstax on diesel fuel only, it would not affect money going to cities for local streetimprovements.Aid to PublicA resolution, passed by the Board ofDirectors and transmitted to all legislators in the area served by the District,pointed out that the savings wouldgreatly assist AC Transit-in the light ofconstantly increasing labor costs-in continuing its policy of keeping fares andtaxes at the lowest possible level.

Granting of fuel tax exemption alsowould be in accordance with presentefforts to relieve already overburdenedlocal property taxpayers.

It was estimated the amount of theexemption is equivalent to a property

tax of two cents per $100 of assessedvaluation.The loss to the State Motor Vehicle

Tax Fund would be less than one-halfof one percent-or about $2 million ofthe $560 million collected in gasolineand diesel taxes each year.

Nineteen other states in the UnitedStates, as well as the Federal government, already have granted such fuel taxrelief to urban operators, R. E. Nisbet,attorney for the District, pointed out.AC Transit has carried out its responsibilities in improving an d buildingservice and in purchasing and operatingmodern equipment, the resolution noted.AC Transit buses now carryover 52,-000,000 passengers a year-an increaseof 5,000,000 over the number carried in1'960. At the same time, every effort hasbeen made to keep fares and taxes atthe lowest possible level.Transit Advantages

Encouragement an d assistance to localmass transit s y s t ~ m s results in moreefficient use of street space than the private automobile, avoids contribution topollution of air, and saves expenditureof millions of dollars that otherwisewould be necessary for additional streetsand parking facilities, Nisbet said.

Hensel cited for District progress(Continued from page 1)from transit activities. He added he enabled th e District to tally a 10 percentmight, in the future, consider opportuni- growth in patronage since it began serv-ties "of a less demanding nature." ice in October, 1960.

Appointed general manager in April, Hensel started in the industry as a1962, Hensel is credited with implement- bus driver, working up through theing improvements which have given the ranks to executive status. He joined theDistrict top billing among the best t ran- Dis trict in 1960 and became acting gensit systems in th e country. eral manager in February, 1962, after

In his retirement announcement, the the death of John R. 'Vorthington, firstgeneral manager paid tribute to the chief administrative officer. He wasBoard, staff members and employees for named chief operating executive sixoutstanding loyalty and cooperation and weeks later after 50 candidates had beensaid it was their work and support which screened.2

FACE OF BROADWAY-Buses follow azig-zag path at right, but generally keep toschedules despite subway construction.Coach above pulls away from temporaryloading zone-one of major boarding points"displaced" by project.

Buses Prove MeritOn 'Obstacle Course'

AC Transit buses generally are able tomaintain schedule, despite subway construction that has pitted, battered andchanged the face of Broadway in downtown Oakland.Bus transportation down the mainstreet has become a zig-zag challenge,bu t District experience to date indicatesthat operations are proceeding remarkably well under the circumstances.

There was no question that work onBroadway-and similar construction bythe Bay Area Rapid Transit Districtalong Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley-wascausing operational headaches.But southbound buses generally areable to keep to schedules, except onheavy shopping days and during badweather conditions.Anticipating the inconvenience to passengers at loading areas, the District isattempting to make riding easier throughthe heart of the shopping area by havingbuses observe all stops. Previously, busesobserved only certain stops, to provide afaster ride.

To offset construction slow-downs, theDistrict has added an extra bus to theOakland-Berkeley Express (No. 33) tohelp maintain schedules on th e line.

An additional supervisor also has beenassigned to the downtown area to keepthe buses rolling. Traditionally, oneman could handle the business districtby "walking a beat." The job now hasbeen boosted to two and more willoccasionally assist if conditions demand.During busy shopping days, moreturnbacks are being ordered to keep lineson schedule-and to have buses at stopswhen passengers expect them.Conditions have been as expected,with the squeezing of Broadway intothree running lanes of traffic. However,when buses and cars are occasionallyconfined to only one or two lanes byheavy equipment, operational bu s juggling is given an additional challenge.

Northbound buses, detoured to Franklin St., between 9th and 22nd Sts., arerolling smoothly and on schedule. Although riders are one block away fromthe core area-with added inconveniencebecause of necessary bu s stop locations,cooperation and understanding on thepublic's part have been extremely high.

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The project of linking 300 buses in atwo-way radio network reached completion this month, giving District buses anew look and a new role.

Crews workTogether to giveWith telephone-type radio equipmentinstalled on the basic fleet, the Districtcould expect to increase security forpassengers and operators and to improveservice for riders . The radio link alsowill be of special value in plans tocoordinate AC Transit service with fu

ture rapid transit lines.uses a , . ,vOiceAs the buses rolled with a "voice," itwas apparent that one of th e main advantages would involve traffic conditions

and the ability to quickly adjust operations to meet needs.

BEHIND SCENES - RCA engin eer E. L. Cluff,above, gives mobile set final check while Glen Ash-more, left, AC Transit leadman, puts unit in bus.New District antennas are on tower at left, shadowingold station. Bus below gets antenna okey fromWillard Mitchell.

The long planned project included installation of two transmitters on RoundTop mountain, two base station receiverson Grizzly Peak, and the setting up of anew control console at Central Dispatchat Emeryville Division.

The District's previous station onRound Top also was moved to Emeryville and set up for standby purposes.

The Radio Corporation of America,as successful bidder, furnished equipment and handled installation of transmitters, receivers an d the new console.District technicians installed the 300mobile units in the buses.

The system also includes 30 mobile

sets which can be transferred from onebus to another. Five hand-type portabletransceivers were included for dispatching buses at the Transbay TransitTerminal in San Francisco and for eventsinvolving special service.

Operators were trained in using theequipment with a "mock-up," gainingpractical experience ahead of time inhow to operate the simple unit.

Drivers hear all calls, bu t only answerto "KMA776" when call is for them.

A capital grant from the U.S. Housingand Home Finance Agency is initiallycovering half of the projected cost of$269,000 to activate the system.

AT WORK-C esare Angela ,above, left , with old transmitter and new. Below, Ir-vin Owle installs cables. R.T. Abraham, left, works onhand se t , whil e JosephHawkins , above, installseq uipment at Central Dis-patch. Top, Instructor Stanlelj Hodge checks out driverElvis Luttrell on "mock-up,"which gave operators aheadof-time experience "on air."5


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AC / transit PASSENGER REVENUE ... COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS YEAR1,240,0001.220,0001,200,0001,180 ,000

.."- I.l..." " ,,160,0001,140 ,000 \, , ",,, '- / J .... Jp\ ., , , / "- /I r-..:::r V' ,' -1,120,0001,100,0001,080 ,000

1,060 ,0001,040 ,0001,020,0001,000 ,000

/'

980 ,000960,000940 ,000

I ,""(Dwu.. a::C.

wz::>-,

"-1967_ 1966- 1965

...:uo :>oz uwo

Both passenger revenue and the number of riders carried 011, East Bay andtransbay lines showed a healthy gain in February, Passenger revenue for the monthreached $1,077,432, an increase of $58,586 or 5.75 percent over last year's total of$1,018,846. Of the amount, East Bay lines were up 3.17 percent and transbay service, 9.57 percent.The number of riders carried by the District reached 4,073,900, a'1l increaseof 3.9 percent over the rider tally of 3,920,829 in February of 1966. Commute booksales also were up, with a total of $177,833 for the month, an increase of 4.6 percent over sales of $169,988 for last February.The District operated 1,782,291 miles of service, an increase of 26,075 miles or1.48 percent over year-ago mileage.Total income of $1,400,221 waS sufficient to cover all operational costs andbond debt requirements, but leaving a deficit in depreciation reserves of $14,272.The transit industry nationally indicated a riding decrease of 0.19 percent.

New transbay revenue record-all 'green'AC Transit rolled into the "green" ofa new transbay revenue record on March17-S t. Patrick's Day-with a total of$21,989.03 collected on Bay Bridge lines.

The previous high of $21,300 was collected last Nov. 18, the Friday beforeThanksgiving.6

The additional business on St. Pat rick's Day was attributed to students going home from University of Californiafor Easter week and to a surge in midday shopping, with passengers lured toSan Francisco stores for a sampling ofEaster fashion values.

As Time ...And transitloll by

WAIT AT CITY HALL-The plaza was more luxuriant,perhaps, at old Oakland city hall around turn of century, butpassengers waited on sidewa lk-or in street . Now they haveuse of new shelter built by AC Transit and DowntownProperty Owners Assn. It serves 2,000 bus passengers whodaily use loading area for transhay and local service.

New worlcers Ioost employment rollsNew District workers include:

General OfficeAccounting: Elta E. Ball, Richmond,secretary.Emeryville DivisionAuto maintenance: Michael J. Bosco,

Walter Sandoval, service employees.Bus Operators : Dale Dorris, J. F . Poston, M. J. Patrick, Talmadge Vickers,Keenan Travis, M. M. Champagne, F. L.Black, Haymon Mitchell Jr., all of Oakland; William Hutcherson, Richmond;R. R. Parker, M. E. Andrews, J. E. Cunningham, Berkeley; T. N. Wing, P. F .Godfrey, AlamedaRichmond Division

Auto maintenance: Edward Haubrich,

Oakland; Samuel Lemonis, Alameda;John Mestas, San Pablo, service employees.Bus Operators: F. A. Thieme, Berke-ley; G. R. Ewing, L. F. Aiello, B. J.Blackshear, of Richmond; H. R. Jones,R. B. Harris, of San Pablo.

Seminary DivisionBus Operators: D. E. Smith, K. A.Parrick, V. Z. Cotton, Jr., of Oakland;R. G. Nicholas, L. D. Madera, J. T. Cockerham, M. A. Adams, all of Hayward;D. R. Cowden, Fremont; J . A. Martinez,J. M. Davis, E. G. Meyer, and R. J.Chandler, all of San Leandro, and R. B.Chapin, of Newark.

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At an adjourned regular meeting Mar.22, the Board of Directors: Authorized General Manager, Secretary, Public Information Manager,Treasurer-Controller and Purchases andStores Manager to participate in regionalconference of American Transit Association, on motion of Director Coburn.

At the regular meeting Apr. 12, theBoard of Directors: Authorized Directors to representDistrict at regional conference of American Transit Association, on motion ofDirector Coburn

Approved agreement with RadioCorporation of America in connectionwith installation of two-way radio system, and replacement purchase of fourDistrict autos, on motion of DirectorRinehart.

Approved, in principle, concept ofproposed association of multi-county districts, on motion of Director Bettencourt. Approved contract renewal forschool bus service in Sherwood Forestdistrict, extension of Shop-a-Round Pass

Published monthly by theALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA TRANS IT DISTRICTlatham Square Building 50 8 Sixteenth Street

Oakland, California 94612 Telephone 654-7878BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JOHN McDONNELL.Ward IIIWILLIAM E. BERK . Ward II

ROBERT M. COPELAND.RAY H. RINEHART . .

WILLIAM H. COBURN, JR . .WM. J. BETTENCOURT. .E. GUY WARREN _

. President. Vice President

Director at largeDirector at large

Ward I. Ward IVWard V

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERSKENNETH F_ HENSEL . General ManagerROBERT E. NISBET . . AttorneyJOHN F. LARSON. . . . Treasurer-ControllerGEORGE M. TAYLOR. . .... SecretaryALAN L. BINGHAM . Public Information Manager___________ ~ ____________-J

boundaries in downtown Oakland, andjoint construction of proposed passengershelter with East Bay Regional ParkDistrict, on motion of Director Bettencourt. Recommended highway program ofthe Alameda County Highway AdvisoryCommittee for inclusion in the 1968-69fiscal State highway budget, on motionof Director Coburn.

'Shop-a-Round' pass extended in OaklandVirtually free bus riding already provided for downtown Oakland shopperswill be expanded May 1 when the District's "Shop-a-Round" pass is extendedto include Sears store on TelegraphAve. at 27th St.The store has been five blocks outside the northern "Shop-a-Round" pass

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit DistrictLatham Square Building

Oakland, California 94612

boundary at Grand Ave.The pass, inaugurated two years ago,

is used by 8,000 riders monthly. It provides unrestricted transfer privileges inspecified areas, plus a return trip home,between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., upon payment of one fare, within pass boundaries in business district.

GOODWIN S A ~ ~ S ~ U-5Return Requested

2018 C1LHIlJlNG WAYB E R K E L E ~ t CA 91704

Documents

Transit Times Volume 9, Number 12