AC TRANSIT ALERTS RIDERS OF TECHNOLOGY DISTRUPTIONS FOR EAST BAY RETURN-TO-SCHOOL, BEGINNING APRIL 19

Several online technologies will not properly operate between April 19 - 23

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) wishes to alert return-to-school riders of technology disruptions on reactivated 600-series supplementary bus lines to some schools in the Newark Unified, Oakland Unified, and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts.

The technology disruptions are expected, from Monday, April 19 through Friday, April 23.

AC Transit provides service to six school districts and several independent schools in the East Bay. Unfortunately, many of these schools did not provide timely communication about their in-school schedules or repeatedly changed return-to-school dates. As a result, AC Transit’s massive digital fleet management system is now delayed. The fleet management system digitally integrates volumes of data to ensure real-time bus predictions, populate online bus schedules, track boarding’s for the Rider Capacity Feature, trip planning, third-party apps, and onboard announcements.

Despite months of outreach, AC Transit has only received confirmed responses from Newark Unified, Oakland Unified, and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts, and those responses were past the deadline to update information technologies as well.

AC Transit, however, is making every effort to accelerate this elaborate data input process for each reactivated supplementary bus line.

While we work behind the scenes, riders are reminded onboard automated announcements, including electronic displays of approaching stops, will be silent. Trip planning, third-party apps, 511, rider capacity, and online schedules may not function or display inaccurate information. Real-time details will also be limited at our Call Center and Customer Service Center. Nevertheless, our highly skilled Bus Operators will help bridge this short-lived technology gap with audible onboard announcements and boarding assistance.

This technology disruption only affects reactivated supplementary bus lines. All data supporting other AC Transit bus lines are accurate and will operate as scheduled.

A listing of the technology-impacted supplementary bus lines, and static schedules (e.g. schools, stops, and times), can be found at actransit.org.