AC Transit

Who else is tired of seeing drivers yell at passengers and drive like maniacs? No wonder why the buses break down so often. Avoid it like the plague and request that your local government do business with another bus company like union city is doing.

I’m posting this on all of the AC Transit Unilocal pages because the ENTIRE agency should know this!
Buses should run on scheduled times and also should have free wifi and power outlets on ALL of the buses, not just the Transbay ones.
ALL buses should have heat and AC.
ALL buses should run more frequently. Like the SF Muni runs more frequently than AC Transit.
Also it’s aggravating when bus drivers see you at the bus stop or running to the stop as they are pulling off, but still refuse to stop, even when the bus isn’t crowded. This has to stop!

I had a glitch with the Clipper reader on bus #4080 (or 4090) on the 7:25am «O» line via Alameda to SF this morning. This is the 2^nd time the electronic reader would not register my 31-​day monthly pass. This is a device glitch. If this happens to you, just locate another reader (another a/​c transit bus will do), and activate clipper card again. The screen will show the monthly pass duration date and the world will be in order again. Thank you driver for accommodating me. Your patience and professionalism is admirable.

Another day, another no-​show. I’m continually amazed at the seemingly-​total disregard AC Transit shows for the reliability of their service. They are so bad that it is a genuine surprise when a bus is on time.
Why are they so consistently terrible? It is a mystery to me how the management can sleep at night.

The 12 bus never came… The driver always leaving the stop early 55^th and Shattuck… now I will be late for work… SMH

.god.
So unfortunately for me I have to use this service to get to school and back, and I’m relegated to one line, the 18, as it’s the only one that passes by my place. Without fail it’s late or like today doesn’t show up at all. I try catching the earlier bus that’s scheduled to counteract its constant tardiness, but that’s a big fat fail as it never materializes. This leaves twice as many passengers trying to crowd onto the same bus resulting in it going slower, and at times, not stopping for folks down the line because it’s packed. So what is it AC Transit? Are people calling in sick that much? Fire them. Is there something about this route that causes delays? Analyze it and fix it. Stop holding the public hostage to your crappy service. Some of us have lives that depend upon our reliability and we pay to have an equally reliable transportation service. You’re making MUNI look good. Why do I even give one star? Because of the clipper card. It’s the only thing efficient about the system.

Time: 11:17am/70°F partly sunny
Purpose: Just left area after meet up with new soon to be open businesses. Saw Clipper card kiosk inside got curious about my balance.
Set-​up: Located on Franklin Street between 15^th/​17^th of downtown Oakland. There are about 5 – 6 windows some close up. Thick bullet proof window, retractable line control belt, self help bus schedule, couple of benches, clipper card machine, monthly meeting.
Staff: Two open window with employee trying their best to get to everyone. I didn’t need any help, but just stood by watching and eavesdropping of interaction with customers. By looking facial expression you can determine if clerk is trained properly. On this occasion clerk wasn’t sure about a question. She then picks up phone to call her superior over. Took pretty long for supe to arrive. People in line were agitated. One guy yell out «you need to open another window» now! Wow! Who is he to make a demand like that?
Cleanliness: Grade A, lobby area looks dated, but functional. For the most part its pretty well kept.
Products/​Services: Bus tickets, monthly pass, disability verification, student, adult/​senior pass, military/​veteran, service changes, time schedule, clipper card, ID card.
Punch Lines: Lone wait time, noisy kids, grumpy people, two window open, slow transaction, self help clipper kiosk, well stock route schedule, seating is minimal, downtown, accessible by transportation.
Tradeoffs: Their automated phone answering system has different info recorded than what the web site would say. When you show up at window its a different story. Make sure to bring all necessary paperwork to expedite situation.
Final Thoughts: Most people come here are low income living on fix income with no access to a computer. They’re usually piss off before they get here. Give yourself at least half hour more this way you’re not stuck in line while press for time. Luckily for me, I didn’t need to see a clerk. All I need to do is place clipper card on pod and value will be display on screen.

The 200 line did not stop at the bus stop on Cedar Blvd, and Mowry at 2:25 pm. September 23 and 30, 2015. My son was waiting for the bus together with other kids of NMHS, usually they use the school bus but the 626 is the minimum day and Wednesday no bus to NMHS, is not fair that my son who is 14 years old and other children of similar age, have to wait over an hour to get home, just because the driver does not want to pick up children.

AC Transit is par for the course. They do have lots of routes with easily marked signs. The subway cannot go everywhere, but this bus service inches closer. Due to their Clipper payment system, boarding is usually very easy. Some flaws include that lots of their buses have a low amount of seating in general, even ignoring that this is a highly populated area. They do operate a free bus on Broadway in Downtown.
There have been many times where I have rode AC Transit. It is usually good, but may require some planning to execute your commuting plans. The service is reliable, though there is much room for improvement.
Congragulations to AC Transit.

IN general AC transit service is good. But today I experienced horrible service while riding 217 departing from Fremont Bart station at 10:35 AM, heading for great mall Milpitas. The operator is black male with white hat.
The bus is kind of enclosed with no upper side windows available, meanwhile roofwindows still tightly closed. It was in the morning close to high noon, the sunshine was even intense with full house on board.
During the ride, I sat at the end of the bus and felt very stuffy. So I said :” Hi Operator, would you please opening up the roof window. Thank you !” But nothing happened, no air inside, feeling suffocating even worse. I asked 3 times and the roof windows still tightly closed. So I went to the font, and asked again. The operator answered in a rude tone, he had turned on the air condition. And said take a seat or get off, take another bus. What ‘s the heeellll? is this the training AC transit provided to its employees to respond to riders concern like this?
After that honestly I could hardly feel the air conditioner working, and roof windows still closed till I got off at Main St, Milpitas.
It’s like, no exaggeration, on board concentration camp.
Though it s no biggie that you let the riders suffering, little by little these small no biggie will definitely ruin your brand, or maybe you don’t even care it at all.
Shame on you, the driver on duty, black male with white hat, please get off your operator ‘s seat, and have someone qualified to fill in.

Generally my experience with the bus has been good, but this morning I was so mad.
I pushed a stop requested button and right after the bell the announcement of the stop was heard. I’m 100% sure I pushed the button before the stop and the driver yelling at me that I pushed the button after the stop, so he didn’t let me out. I pushed the button before the stop, but he didn’t hear it; that’s not my fault. He was so mean. I got my skirt torn while passing through the construction that I wasn’t supposed to pass if he heard the stop requested button. He said he can check the video that he’s sure that I pushed the button after the stop. I just got off at the next stop but now I think I should have stopped and check the camera. I am so depressed that nobody was in the bus to support me. I’m so mad!!!

When I witnessed a passenger providing better customer service than the driver I felt compelled to write a review.
An Indian couple (from India) got on the bus at the Transbay Terminal (the temporary one) and asked the driver if the machine makes change for a $ 5 bill. The driver’s response, in such a nasty tone, was «What?“in which a passenger replied that the machine does not make change for a $ 5 bill. Silence from driver. Granted there was a mild accent from the nice Indian people, but if I could understand them from the middle of the bus then the driver can, considering she was situated directly next to the passengers. BTW, the driver’s accent was harder to understand compared to the Indian accent, and she’s American. Go Merica.
On another note the seats on the «luxury» style busses appear comfortable at first glance, but once you sit in them you realize that they are made for people with permanent hunch backs. The upper back area curves forward, while the lower back scoops back, which is the opposite of what a normal back does. I think the designer of the seats used a mirror while drawing these blueprints, or they were trying to hurt passengers in the long run.
**Update. I found out the seats were originally manufactured to the form of a pregnant obese woman weighing at least 350 with a huge spare tire. That explains the lack of lower back support, because the fat would act as a cushion. Brilliant.

Absolutely horrible. No synchronization with the BART stations, or other lines. The buses seem to all leave BART near the same time. And so if you need a transfer, you’re going to wait a half hour.
I’ve seen drivers snap at riders for asking a question. They always have some sort of break every time they pull up to the BART station. The bus stops, they get out, close the door, wait anywhere from 10 — 30 mins. before taking off again. Rarely do I see a bus pull up, pickup passengers, and then depart — it’s always out of sync.
A lot of the brakes on the buses are worn out and squeaky, the driver’s make up for this by slamming on the brakes and throwing around passengers in the bus. I don’t know what to make of the AC Transit, except for its’ drivers are lazy and apathetic, and the buses are falling apart. The service is just rotten. Google robot buses can’t come quick enough.

One of the public transit lines with service to/​from Oakland airport and Alameda/​Oakland.
From the airport, boarding at 4D area. Cash fare adult $ 2.10, clipper card is accepted for payment.

unreliable. period.
— buses frequently late or early, or don’t come at all.
— drivers get frequently switched, so you end up with drivers who don’t know the route and have to ask the passengers for directions
— buses are kept too cold, and humid to the point the windows inside are dripping water from the fog
— customer service agents (when you submit feedback) never respond, or just copy/​paste generic responses like «we are working to improve the service»
unfortunately BART is even worse. really don’t understand how terrible public transportation like this can exist in a developed, wealthy part of the country, and can get away with proving sub-​standard service

Driver 43 007 is a horrible and incompetent driver.
Not only did he miss the O bus stop on Grand st and Santa Clara he had the audacity to say that my stop does not exist but refused to admit he has wrong and say sorry. Also, he’s an excessive speeder.
AC Transit please educate your drivers.

Congratulations!!! The AC transit has officially made me hate public transportation! This is the worst ****ing bus ever. All the drivers drive like they’re playing a game of mario kart. Like wtf you have all these people’s lives in your hands and yet you continue to drive like you’re on some kind of nascar raceway? No, stop it.
But the worst thing about the AC transit is how UNRELIABLE it is. Lately the bus has been at least 20 minutes late if it even comes at all. It’s really disrespectful and rude to do this to people who rely on that bus to get to places like school and work. I’ve complained multiple times about my complete dissatisfaction with the AC transit yet this continues to happen. I guess these are my tax dollars hard at work!!!

Fairly consistent and got me where I needed to go.
Felt weird, initially, to pay for a transfer, but I got over it.

AC transit is usually convenient or just the worse source of public transportation EVER. The actransit your bus ap is only correct 3% of the time (busses usually show up for me 5 to 23 minutes later than the posted times).
This morning I had an extremely rude bus driver ! She questioned my little sister about her age, told her she looks like a grown woman so she needed to show her id (the girl is waiting for her id in the mail so she didn’t have one to show). AND THE LAST TIME I CHECKED, BEING 18 AND WORKING FULL TIME TO PAY YOUR OWN BILLS DOES MAKE YOU GROWN.
However, I do know unless you’re working at a bar, or unless someone hands you a credit card without a signature on the back YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO ASK SOMEONE FOR THEIR ID.
To make a long story short; my 18 yr. Old sister paid $ 2.10 even though the bus driver two weeks ago told her that 18 yr. Olds only pay $ 1.05.
The bus driver continued looking my sister up & down (she’s always had the curves of a woman and has always presented herself as mature and a lady, but she doesn’t wear make up and she stays in pants with a sweatshirt or a jacket, and some random hat with ears or gloves with Smiley faces)
So if you ask me it was just a bus driver jealous of a natural beauty or she was just mad to be working Christmas Eve.
Either way, get it together lady. You ARE NOT the only one working today!

Wow, what the fish?! I could say much worse yet I will do my utmost to stifle myself and refrain from cursing AC Transit here on Unilocal!I am not at all surprised the overall rating for this public transit agency is low yet I am quite surprised it even merits two stars overall. My overall rating is one star for AC Transit. I can only speak for myself, if I could give it no stars, you bet your sweet bippy I would.
I grew up in the SF Bay Area as my home base for most of my entire life taking AC Transit buses. I put off driving because believe it or not, AC Transit used to be quite reliable. My childhood nanny was quite popular with some of the drivers, and she used to take me and The Sibling on excursions on AC Transit. Heck, I even put off getting my driver’s license because AC Transit used to run bus services into the evening hours! Used to love that! Key words being «Used to.» Used to be that good!
Nowadays, I can no longer rely on the AC Transit to be on time and to get me where I need to go ON TIME. I am impatiently waiting for the usual bus to get me home and it still has not shown up yet. I am waiting for another scheduled bus. That has not shown up at all either. What the fish?! I just filed a customer complaint with their customer relations department on the phone. As if it will do any good.. .
Because of the quality of the service I have been getting from AC Transit, I am not sure how I am going to vote on certain measures regarding funding for them. This is not and no longer the reliable public transportation system I grew up with.
0 Stars.