8/8/2019 Transit Times Volume 9, Number 5

1/5

Vol. 9, No.5

Increase in patronage,Lower bay bridge tollsCut planned tax hikeA tax increase - less than anticipated- has been levied by AC Transit directors to meet inflationary costs ofoperating district bus service.

Aided by a surge in riding and a decrease in Bay Bridge bus tolls, directors determined a tax increase of 3.5cents would balance a revised budgetof $17,434,200 for the fiscal year.The board had faced an estimatedtax increase of 4.3 cents, to cover increased operating expenses .The board action fixed the new taxrate for the special transit service district at 16 cents per $100 of assessedvaluation.

Contributing to the more favorablefinancial p i c t u r ~ was the accumulationof greater revenue than expected fromthe increase in transbay commuter andchildren's fares last Jan. l.

A cut in Bay Bridge tolls from 75cents to 50 cents, effective the first ofthe month, also is expected to save thedistrict some $95,000 during the year,according to Ray H. Rinehart, financecommittee chairman.The year's estimated loss of $635,-200, plus accumulated prior year deficits, will be partially ofFset by $545,000in capital grants to be received fromthe Federal government, Rinehartadded.The final overall deficit estimated at

(Continued on Page 5)

OAKLAND, SEPTEMBER, 1966

BUS FORMATION - Special loading zonesfor AC Transit buses-including the 77-passenger Freeway Train - are planned bycoliseum and transit officials .Special football busesTake fans to coliseum

A new pattern of "coaching" wasset up by AC Transit this month tocarry football fans to opening game activities at the new Oakland-AlamedaCounty Coliseum Complex.Expanding the concept of "racetrack specials," the district organized"Coliseum Specials," to operate express from downtown Oakland andfrom shopping centers in four otherEast Bay locations.

Starting in mid-morning, in time forpre-game opening, buses made nonstop runs as quickly as loaded, operating direct to entrance gates at thecoliseum.Fans were invited in newspaperstories and in ads, to board the busesalong Broadway in downtown Oakland or at Southland Shopping Center,

(Continued on Page 2)

8/8/2019 Transit Times Volume 9, Number 5

2/5

Transportation rolls into new areasBus service was inaugurated in

several areas of the East Bay thismonth.

Students were able to ride districtbuses for the first time to classes atDeAnza and Juan Crespi schools inEI Sobrante, with approval by theBoard of Directors of a specialservice contract covering the Sherwood Forest area which is outsideDistrict boundaries .

Cost of the special school bustrips are being born by residents ofthe area, who are paying for th e offroute mileage, plus regular Districtproperty taxes .

Students are paying the usual15-cent fare for th e transportation;adults can ride by paying adult fare.

Peak hour service to upper Sequoyah Rd. in Oakland was inaugurated by extending Line 46-A busesinto the area to transport schoolstudents and commuters.

Other buses on the line are observing a ne w terminal loop, traveling via 90th Ave., MacArthur Blvd.,

an d back to 82nd Ave .Coaches on East Oakland's Line54 were returned to a 20-minute

weekday frequency, with completion of paving work on 35th Ave.

Service frequency between downtown Hayward and California StateCollege was boosted, with buses onLine 91-A running every 30 minutesduring the midday hours.

Ne w service to the discount storesan d other business firms in th eHegenberger Rd. industrial areabegan, with extension of th e crosstown MacArthur Blvd. Line 57 from73rd Ave . and East 14th St., alongEast 14th to 77th Ave. an d toHegenberger Rd. The line will loopinto th e new Oakland-AlamedaCounty Coliseum complex forscheduled events.

Buses started operating for th efirst time to the Berkeley Marinaan d heliport, with designatedcoaches on Line 51-M traveling viaUniversity Ave. an d the East ShoreFreeway overpass, to the facilities .

AC Transit takes over 'coaching' role(Continued from Page 1)Hayward; Southshore in Alameda; EICerrito Plaza, an d at three stops inCastro Valley.

Chambers of Commerce in the different cities joined in a publicity campaign to urge rooters to park free an duse the special bu s service to avoidexpected coliseum traffic congestion.

Th e district's 77 -passenger FreewayTrain, usually assigned to trans baycommute service, was rolled out to th ebusiest locations to help keep the special service moving at a brisk pace.

Riders paid one-way fares of 60 centsfor the special non-stop service fromOakland an d Alameda, an d 75 centsfrom the outlying locations.2

In addition, patrons could use regular service to th e coliseum, providedby th e crosstown MacArthur Blvd.Line 57C.Annual payment made

On outstanding bondsA payment of $935,193 was made byJohn F. Larson, AC Transit treasurer

controller, on th e District's bondeddebt last month, reducing the balanceof outstanding bonds to $13,250,000.A $16,500,000 bond issue was votedby citizens in 1959 to finance purchaseof Key System Transit Lines and itsfacilities; to pu t the District into operation an d finance ne w equipment.

I do not have the opportunity to rideth e bu s very often .. . Yesterday wason e of those times an d I wish to reportthat th e driver (Clarence Jacobs, Jr.)was extremely courteous . . . th e driverwas helpful in givin me directions . . .I also noticed hi s helpfulness withother customers . . . Also he le t peopleget seated before starting up th e bu s .. .

George E. WeberSan Jose* * *. . . Why don't you have more driverslike E. N. Dawson? . .. to try to list allthe incidents where Mr. Dawson hasgone ou t of his way to be helpful tohis passengers would be pointless . . .bu t his courteous, helpful attitude ismost refreshing ... even passengerswaiting at th e stops for other buses areno t beyond his help . . Often he hasasked where they are going and thenoffered th e necessary information tohelp them reach their destinations . . .Mrs. Diane M. Jordan

Hayward* * *. . . I liked the ride to Sacramento. Itwas a very relaxing trip. I thank youfor taking all of us an d I hope our singing didn't distract you .. .

Thanks for letting us rent two of yourbuses . . . we liked the ride . .. th e airconditioner was pretty good . . .

My class ha d a good time on two ofyour buses . On the way up, I lookedout of the window and I talked. Buton the way back, I slept like a baby . . .I would like to thank you for goingthrough all that trouble to take us toSacramento. I am very sorry about all

that noise we made on the way up andback. Since this was ou r first bi g trip,we were all excited . . .

We ha d a nice bus driver . . . Thiswas the only trip I enjoyed because weha d ai r conditioning an d rest backseats. It was wonderful . ..Letters from 6th Grade Class,

Washington SchoolOakland* * *

It is always a pleasure to meet a fineperson suc h as Mr. Charles Sigler whohas been ou r bus driver for the pastthree months . . . he is courteous,pleasant and of excellent character .. .I can honestly say that as a commuter,I have ye t to meet a person wh o dealswith the public that has been so considerate, kind an d a pleasure to know.

Morris J. VolpattiSan Francisco* * *. this man (V. L. Leslie) is to be

congratulated on hi s excellent service.. . . he is a top notch driver . . . he has acheery greeting for his passengers an dalways a smile for the newcomer. Healso will give people information regarding schedules of other buses . . .Mrs. Muriel Stevens

Hayward* * *I wish to recommend highly youroperator F. M. Tinkham of Line F forefficient, friendly an d kindly service.As a local passenger . .. I saw evidenceyesterday of a devoted employee.Here's to more of that kind.Mrs . Orwell Logan

Berkeley3

8/8/2019 Transit Times Volume 9, Number 5

3/5

'HAHN SPECIAL' -Together, William atth e le ft an d hi sbrother, John, ca ntally 82 years on thetrains and buses.Billy is planning nowto split the brotherteam by retiring.

An epic in transitI f you rode th e A line any time in

memory, you probably rode with W. E.Hahn. And if it wa s during the longera of trains, likely as no t yo u rode the"Hahn Special," with Billy at the controls and brother Johnny, as conductor.

Now, with 41 years of service, stuckin his hat, Billy is planning to split thebrother team that has the longest numbe r of years on District rolls.He intends to retire to spend moretime luring the wily trout, while John,64, wh o will tally 41 years in transportation Dec. 9, expects to keep ondriving.

Third ma n from the to p of th e seniority list, Billy went to work for theKey System in April, 1925. He hadbeen trying to find a job, "looked upan d sa w th e offices at 22nd and Grovean d decided to put in an application.A couple of weeks later, they calledme."

He )Operated a street ca r for overthree iyears, then switched to trains.''1'd rather ru n a train than eat thoughhungry," Hahn declares. "When th eclick of th e rails gets in your blood,you never get it out."Hahn remembers he wa s reprimanded once for "using too much4

whistle in the yards - bu t I never washorn happy on the road."Among pleasant memories he recallsstopping the "B " train at Grand Ave.

an d Perkins St. once to le t a "mamaduck and he r young family waddleslowly across the tracks ... wouldn'twant to scare a duck."Hahn an d his brother worked together for most of his 29 years on the

trains and were so close that eachanswered to the other one's name.Trains to Bus"When the trains went off in 1958,I had 33 years' whiskers and they toldme I ha d to quit or drive a bus. So I'vebeen driving since," Billy said.

He kept to th e A line until recently,moving over to th e 63 line in Alamedato ease out his final mileage before applying for retirement.

Billy, wh o lives at 2431 OverlookDr., Walnut Creek, plans to spendmuch of hi s leisure time fishing. Hi sbrother, who lives at 18249 LakeChabot Rd., will remain on the job.He drove on the Seminary Ave. lineat night for a number of years, bu t no wis wheeling a coach on Line 91 be tween Castro Valley an d Hayward.

AC / transit PASSENGER REVENUE ... COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS YEAR1.240,0001,220,0001.200,0001,180 ,000

III..'"" I J l ~ "-,160,0001,140,000 I..- l , '- A\ 11 " ' f\ , " ........ \ V1,120,0001,100 ,0001,080,0001,060,0001,040,0001,020,0001,000,000

\ fJ , " 1 1 1 1 1 ""I11III

-- \"f \\ /

980,000960,000940,000

UJz:::>""

'\VI _1966- 1965_ 1964

,uUJo

A steady gain in customers was indicated in July as revenues and passengersshowed an impressive increase over the same month of the previous year.Passenger revenue totaled $1,105,254, an increase of $54,523 or 5.19 percentover last July. Of the total, revenue on East Bay lines was up 4.5 percent, whileriding on transbay service showed an increase of 6.14 percent.Th e number of riders carried on East Bay an d transbay lines reached 4,003,-609, up 5.15 percent over the passenger figure of a year ago. Commute booksales remained fairly constant, totaling $172,332 for July of this year as comparedto $173,783 in July, 1965.

Th e District operated 1,825,436 miles of service, down 37,528 miles or 2.01percent over year-ago mileage of 1,862,964. Operational costs totaled $1,283,-638, an increase of $107,586 or 9.15 percent over expenses in July of 1965.

Total income of $1,470,030 was sufficient to cover the month's operation expenses, bond debt requirements and most equipment replacement costs, leavinga deficit of $846 for the month .Nationally, the industry showed a passenger revenue decrease of 1.46 percent.

Federal grant, eot in tolls aids f inanees(Continued from Page 1)$769,695, will be erased by the 3.5cents tax boost, Rinehart said.Indicative of passenger growth,riding was up over 5 percent in July,as compared to a year ago, with oneless working day.

Th e current budget was toppled outof balance by the district's labor bill,up 6.5 percent.

Although patronage was up, operating costs spiraled even higher, up9 percent in July.

5

8/8/2019 Transit Times Volume 9, Number 5

4/5

This isYourBus What lllakes thelll run?

Playground youngsters were personally introduced to AC Transit busesduring tours of Emeryville Division,arranged by Piedmont Recreation De partment as a summertime activity.

Trooping around in two batches, the60 visitors, aged 4 to 14, were most impressed by a ride through th e washrack an d a chance to walk under a bus- in the machine shop pits.

But they also learned that districtbuses operate on diesel fuel, ge t fivemiles to the gallon, undergo an oilchange every 5,000 miles an d "dripdry" after washing.

They found a bu s looks differentan d very intriguing-from underneathlooking up . They also learned a bu sholds 90 gallons of fuel an d 28 quartsof oil and can be repainted in 1112 days,

THAT'S A BUS UP THERE! Onlymechanics usually get this chance towalk under a bus. Youngsters at rightfound view especially intriguing. Be-low, they listen to guide while EddieTakauchi works on seat in upholsteryshop. Tour was activity of PiedmontRecreation Department.

6

allowing time for preparation andmasking.Fo r some of the children, a ridearound th e division yard was theirfirst experience in a bus. And the mostexciting moment came when the buswas washed, while they watched fromthe inside.

They discovered a bu s goes to theshowers every other night, bu t thefront and the wheels have to bescrubbed by hand, like necks an d ears.They also found that nobody has to"dry" - the buses come ou t fresh an dbright for each morning schedule.

Wilson H. Green, chief clerk in themaintenance department, acted asguide on the tour, an d gave the youngster's the district's history booklet an da route ma p to complete th e "AC Transit Story."

Veteran board members to seekRe-election on November ballotFour incumbent members of the AC

Transit Board of directors will be onth e ballot in November, seeking reelection to four-year terms.All are veterans in District leadership, establishing what is credited ason e of the most modern an d serviceable transit systems in the nation.

Three were elected to the Boardwhen the District was created by thevoters in November, 1956: William J.Bettencourt, representative of WardIV; John L. McDonnell, director fromWard III, and Col. Robert M. Copeland, Director at Large. E. Gu y Warren, director, Ward V, was appointedin May, 1961.All are seeking re-election to four

New Workers AssignedTo District Positions

Ne w District workers include:General Offices

Treasury: Corey Legge, Oakland,cashier clerk.

Emeryville DivisionAuto Maintenance: Va n Cleve

Moore, Oakland, service employee.Bus Operators: R. L. Edwards, R. D.

Bruce, J. S. Gomez, D . L. Dean, F. P.Edwards, C. H. Michel, all of Oakland;R. S. Tarlen, Sa n Francisco; G. F.Brown, San Pablo; R. J. Hensley, Hayward; J. P. Lahey, Alameda.

Richmond DivisionBus Operator: 1. G. Fuller, Rich

mond.Seminary Division

Auto Maintenance: Bernie Jaramillo,Oakland.

Bus Operators: H. G. Lankford an dC. E. Alexander, Oakland; L. L. Kidd,Newark; D. L. Boerner, Hayward; R.H. Brickett, Union City .

year terms which expire in January,1967.Bettencourt, past president of the

Board, lives at 1213 Estudillo Ave.,San Leandro, and is public relationsdirector for Friden, Inc.

Copeland, also a past president, is aretired colonel with the U .S. ArmyCorps of Engineers . He lives at 80Norwood Ave., Berkeley.

McDonnell, vice president, is ownerof McDonnell's Nursery . His home isin Oakland, at 5109 Cochrane Ave.Warren, owner of Warren Transportation Company, lives at 17031 CullCanyon Rd ., Hayward.

Th e District is divided into fivewards on the basis of population. Th eboard is made up of seven directors,five elected within individual wardsan d chosen to serve at large by theentire electorate.

Public meetings are held on the secon d an d fourth Wednesdays of th emonth at 4 p.m., in th e office of theDistrict, Latham Square Building,Oakland.I lit MemoriamROBERT C. CONNELL, 79, trainmaster at the terminal when he waspensioned in 1952, died July 25 .WILLIAM ]. O'BRIEN, 63, serviceemployee at Seminary Division , pensioned in 1962, died Aug. 10.SYDNEY L. MUNRO, 77 former assistant director of purchasing an dstores, pensioned in 1954, died June13.EHLER OFFE, 91, clerk at Centralcar barns before he retired in 1935,died June 21.ANDREW BONVICINO, 81, trackwalker when he was pensioned in1951, died on June 23 .

7

8/8/2019 Transit Times Volume 9, Number 5

5/5

At an adjourned regular meetingAug. 24, the Board of Directors: Established East Bay fares forspecial express service to OaklandAlameda County Coliseum, on motionof Director Bettencourt. (Story, Page 1) Authorized Secretary to receivequalification statements from candidates for Board of Directors and to accept deposits for handling of suchstatements on motion of Director Bettencourt. (Story, Page 7)

Approved leasing data processingequipment and acquisition of IBMcomputer, on motion of Director Bettencourt.

Established tax rate of 16 centsp er $100 of assessed valuation for current fiscal year, on motion of DirectorRinehart. (Story, Page 1)

"" "" ""At the regular meeting Sept. 14, theBoard of Directors:

rans. I - ' I I_Pu bl ished monthly by theALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICTLatham Square Building 50 8 Sixteenth Street

Oakland, California 94617 Telephone 654-7878BOARD OF DIRECTORS

WILLIAM H. COBURN, JR. . PresidentJ0tiN McDONNELL.ROBERT M. COPELAND.RAY H. RINEHART.WILLIAM E. BERK .WM. J. BETTENCOURT.E. GUY WARREN

Ward IWord III

Vice PresidentDirector at largeDirector at large. Ward II

. . Ward IVWard VADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS

KENNETH F. HENSELROBERT E. NISBETJOHN F. LARSON.GEORGE M. TAYLOR.ALAN l . BINGHAM

. General Manager. AttorneyTreasurer-Controller

Secretary. Public Information Manager__________ ~ ~ ____________-J

Authorized purchase of office machines from International BusinessMachines Corp. for re-sale to MAlEquipment Corp. under new leaseagreement, on motion of DirectorRinehart.

Operators top safety mark ; .set new r e eordPassengers had their safest ride yetand drivers chalked up another recordas the three motor coach divisions

averaged 13,788 miles per accident inAugust.The tally was the highest since theDistrict began operations in October,1960, surpassing the top of 13,650miles per accident reac hed in February,1965.

Coffee and doughnuts were the orderof the day for all operators as theyAlameda-Contra Costa Transit District

Latham Square BuildingOakland, California 94612

shared in "treats" for topping the goalof 12,600 miles.The achievement of the drivers resulted in a new "bogey" being set,effective Sept. 1. The operators nowhave their sights set on 12,750 milesper accident.

Emeryville Division led the fieldfor an August record of 15,333 milesper accident. Richmond Division tallied 13,481 miles, while Seminary operators scored 12,784 miles .

BULK RATEU. S. Postage

GOODWIN SAMMEL U-5 PAIDOakland. Calif.Return Requested

2018 CHANNING WAYBERKELEY 4, CALIF.NWI

Permit #2105