After two years of extensive planning and public outreach, AC Transit is set to unveil its new Realign [1] service network on Sunday, August 10. The major service changes [2] are intended to provide more reliable bus service that meets the needs of East Bay transit riders.
[3]Approved by the AC Transit Board of Directors in October 2024, the changes include route and frequency adjustments to most routes systemwide. Below is a table with a complete list of changes for routes serving Alameda, with links to new maps and schedules:
| Route # | Change to Route |
|---|---|
| 19 [4] | Line 19 will be extended to serve Alameda Point in a loop that adds new bus service to Willie Stargell Avenue and Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway west of Webster Street. The Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal will be within walking distance of the extended route. |
| 20 | Line 20 will be renamed Line 30. |
| 21 | Line 21 will be replaced, in part, by new Line 31. |
| 30 [5] | New Line 30 replaces current Line 20 in its entirety, with no changes to routing. Short trips after 10 p.m. between Dimond District and South Shore Center will run every 20 minutes. |
| 31 [6] | New Line 31 replaces current Line 21 between Dimond District and Bay Farm Island. Unlike current Line 21, new Line 31 will end at Harbor Bay Landing Shopping Center and will not serve the Oakland Airport. Line 31 will also serve the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland via Lincoln Avenue, Joaquin Miller Road, and Skyline Boulevard, replacing current Line 39 and suspended Line 339.
(Note that this new Line 31 has no relation to the previous Line 31 that served West Alameda and Alameda Point from 2010 to 2017) |
| 51A [7] and 851 [8] | No major changes. |
| 96 [9] | Line 96 will be rerouted between Lake Merritt BART and 14th Avenue in Oakland to serve Brooklyn Basin. |
| 314 and 356 | Lines have been suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic and will be permanently discontinued. |
| O [10] | Line O buses will come every 60 minutes on weekends instead of every 30 minutes. |
| OX | Line OX will be eliminated and replaced with an extension of Transbay Line W into Bay Farm Island. |
| W [11] | Line W will be rerouted to serve Bay Farm Island from High Street to replace Transbay Line OX. |
| 631 [12], 663 [13], and 687 [14] | No major changes. |
[15]In a recent General Manager’s report [16], AC Transit explained that updated line numbers help communicate whether an existing route’s destinations or end points have changed.
“The existing Line 21 is receiving significant terminal adjustments and will be renumbered as Line 31,” the report stated. “Its current companion route, Line 20, serving Fruitvale Avenue and Park Street, will become the new Line 30, strengthening the link between these coordinated routes.”
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[20]Other notable service changes in the East Bay include:
- New, frequent, 15-minute service along Cutting Boulevard in Richmond, Park Boulevard in Oakland, and East 14th Street and Mission Boulevard through San Leandro, Hayward, and Union City.
- New bus service along Alcatraz Avenue and Stanford Avenue in Oakland on new Line 22 [21].
- Line 72R limited-stop service on San Pablo Avenue will be renamed Line 72L [22], and its frequency will be reduced from 12 minutes to 30 minutes.
A full chart and system map [23] details changes to all AC Transit routes starting August 10, as well as each route’s individual map and schedule.
Ken Der is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post [24]. Contact him via [email protected] [25]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Ken-Der [26].