AC Transit will expand its service schedule systemwide next week in anticipation of Bay Area residents returning to schools and offices, the transit agency announced Wednesday.
The service expansion, set to begin Sunday, includes resuming supplementary bus service to schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties as well as select Transbay bus lines, Early Bird Express bus lines and overnight 800 bus lines.
AC Transit officials said they expect to further increase service over the next 18 months in anticipation of ridership increases. Average weekday ridership has already increased from 59,200 per day in March to 70,500 per day at the end of July.
“We were slowed by the pandemic but never stopped rolling,” AC Transit General Manager Michael Hursh said in a statement. “We knew onboard daily were essential workers who needed safe and reliable connections to and from frontline jobs.”
A full list of the bus service changes that will go into effect Sunday can be found at https://www.actransit.org/article/service-changes-effective-august-8-2021.
All riders are required by federal mandate to wear a face covering while onboard public transit. Riders will have access to free face coverings and hand sanitizer on all AC Transit bus lines.
On Monday, BART service will also ramp up to near pre-pandemic levels, including the return of late-night trains. Closing time will extend to midnight Monday through Saturday, and trains will run more frequently, BART officials said.
The new schedule also will see an increase in direct trips to San Francisco International Airport on weekdays.
Although the revised schedule resembles the one before the pandemic, differences include areas that won’t be returning to former levels such as extra commuter trains on the Antioch-SFO (Yellow) line during peak hours, according to BART.
- Weekday service will be from 5 a.m. to midnight with 5-line service and 15-minute frequencies on all lines from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be 3-line service with 30-minute frequencies from 8 p.m.-midnight.
- Saturday service will expand to 6 a.m. to midnight with 5-line service from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and then 3-line service from 8 p.m. to midnight.
- Sunday service will remain 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. with 3-line service and 30-minute frequencies to accommodate critical cable replacement and other infrastructure rebuilding work, BART officials said.
The BART Trip Planner has been updated with the new schedule and riders can start planning their trips using a date of Aug. 2 and beyond. More information on the new schedule and map of the BART system is available at https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2021/news20210726-0.