Election 2022: AC Transit at-large candidates answer Berkeleyside questions

Alfred Twu: Transit is at a crossroads — there are challenges from the pandemic, but also opportunities from the shift to city planning that needs less driving. I’m running to work with our cities and other agencies to coordinate service, improve traffic safety and support jobs and homes near transit.

Joel Young: The pandemic has had significant impacts on AC Transit including a reduction in revenue and loss of ridership. I am running because AC Transit needs continuity of leadership and I want to take on the challenge of figuring out how to reorganize AC Transit in this new post-pandemic environment.

Twu: As a California Democratic Party delegate, I’ve helped prioritize public transit at the state level, advocating for city planning and traffic engineering reforms needed to support transit, and worked with other leaders from around the Bay Area on building regional support for transit.

On the Berkeley Planning Commission, I’ve helped plan for new jobs and homes near transit.

As a longtime transit advocate, artist and designer, I’ve worked with organizations such as Seamless Bay Area, Walk/Bike Berkeley, and East Bay Transit Riders Union on illustrations, infographics, board games and other efforts to promote and improve transit.

Professionally as an architect, I’ve worked on transit facilities and transit-oriented affordable housing.

Young: Since becoming an AC Transit Board Member, I have: (1) helped raise over $1 million for our hydrogen fuel cell bus program; (2) voted to allocate over $200 million of AC Transit’s contracting dollars to local businesses to support good paying local jobs; (3) secured over $600 million to support local bus service for AC Transit; (4) advocated for providing affordable, reliable, and more bus service; (5) supported a Climate Action plan for the agency; (6) spearheaded the Freedom Bus Project, which aimed to provide public transit, arts education, and the history of the civil rights movement; and (7) pushed the agency to begin the development of a path to have a 100% clean bus fleet.

Twu: For many years, transit focused on getting office workers into downtown and back during rush hour. With remote work here to stay, it’s time to look at a more evenly spread all-day, all-week service, serving jobs and other trips that have to be done in person. For example, I’ve noticed that bus stops at supermarkets are among the busiest in Berkeley, but often I’ve seen people waiting for the bus use rideshare instead when a canceled trip makes the wait for the bus too long.

In the long term, since most transit funding comes from sales and property taxes, our growing population and tax base will bring the funding to expand service. Focusing development along existing bus lines will allow this new funding to be used to run buses more frequently on these lines, and also restore service through the hills and to our regional parks.

Young: AC Transit is currently engaging in a system-wide network redesign, which is a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of current AC Transit service and the creation of a set of recommendations to improve the quality of service, the customer experience, and mobility in the service area. The process is built around expanding transit equity by incorporating the voices of underserved community members, customer feedback, and the district’s bus drivers. This plan will serve as the foundation of the new service network and will ensure that the new service network is inclusive. I suspect that the changes to service in Oakland and Berkeley will revolve around increasing local service and reimagining Transbay service. Transbay service has been some of our worst performing service because of the lack of demand going to SF. Thus it is unclear how much Transbay service should be provided currently.

Twu: For most riders, a paid bus that’s reliable and frequent is better than a free one that might show up every half hour. To balance the competing needs of funding vs. free rides, a good approach is transit that is free at the point of service — for example, Cal’s Class Pass program, where all students pay $95 a semester and get free rides on AC Transit and Bear Transit. This is something I’d like to see expanded to more employers and apartment buildings as part of Berkeley’s Transportation Demand Management program.

Currently, fares make up around 10% of the budget. That’s a small enough amount that a small increase in the size of the tax base could cover it, however, the first priority should be to restore service to at least where we were before the post-2008 Great Recession cuts. Finally, free rides for youth and low-income residents and workers should be implemented.

Young: AC Transit should strive to make fares free. However, in doing so we have to address the impacts of such that policy decision. For example, AC Transit anticipated that there would be a revenue loss of approximately $45 million per year if service was “free.” Therefore, an additional $45 million per year in other operating subsidies would need to be identified for AC Transit to have free fares without cutting any service. Operating funding is often described as “precious” as the loss of even small amounts can impact service levels. The Federal Transit Administration has provided supplemental operating funds, most recently from the American Rescue Plan Act. These supplemental funds are one-time allocations and the FTA does not normally provide regular fixed-route bus operating subsidies. Thus, finding a subsidy to offset the revenue loss will be challenging.

Twu: Pay and benefits need to keep up with the Bay Area’s rising cost of living, and safety issues — whether it’s pandemic safety, assaults on drivers, or traffic safety — need to be addressed.

To improve reliability needs to be the No. 1 priority when planning how much service to provide. I’d rather have a bus that you can count on to show up every half hour, than a bus that might come every 20 minutes.

Young: The following are the steps AC Transit is taking to address the driver shortage: (1) Refreshing new postings for the bus operator position every 90 days on AC Transit’s external careers page; (2) posting bus operator position on external job boards and publications; (3) attending job fairs and other community events; (4) hosting virtual and in-person hiring events; (5) marketing on print, digital, broadcast and social media platforms; (6) digital billboard advertisements in high traffic areas; and (7) hiring and referral incentive programs for drivers.

Twu: Schedules should be coordinated. For example, if BART is running every 15 minutes, buses should run every 15, 30, 45 minutes, etc., so transfers line up. I support the Seamless Bay Area plan for a regionally connected transit system, including free transfers between agencies.

Finally, as BART builds housing on station parking lots, bus service, such as restoring Line 80 on Ashby, will be important for allowing people living in BART housing to get around without cars, and also allow those previously driving to BART to continue having a way to get there.

Young: To improve coordination with other transit agencies, AC Transit is currently participating in the regional Fare Coordination and Integration Study. As part of this study we are participating in an all-agency institutional pass pilot program that will offer select educational institutions transit passes on Clipper, which enable unlimited rides on all Bay Area transit agencies. In the event that the pilot program demonstrates an increased transit ridership, then the implementation of a regional program will be considered for all transit agencies. I believe this is the best path forward currently.

Twu: I don’t own a car, and I’ve been using AC Transit, BART and biking to get around ever since I moved to the Bay Area in 2002. I travel 100-plus miles a week campaigning in the at-large district seat, getting firsthand experience of both our transit system and street design in the process.

Young: I love to binge watch Netflix reality shows and PBS documentaries on American history.