AC TRANSIT’S COVID-19 EMPLOYEE VACCINE REQUIREMENT DEADLINE IS THURSDAY, MARCH 17

Vaccine compliance exceeds 80 percent and full compliance is anticipated.

OAKLAND, Calif. – By a vote of the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Board of Directors, in December 2021, employees, Board officers, and Board Directors are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 without a testing option. The deadline to fully comply is Thursday, March 17.

“Our Board of Directors wants to ensure a healthier workforce and build a safer workplace, and through its vote, believes the COVID-19 vaccines provide our transit district a critical path forward,” said AC Transit General Manager Michael Hursh.

AC Transit personnel were mandated to complete the regimen of one of the three FDA authorized vaccines within a 60-day implementation period, which began on January 12. Implementation of the Vaccine Requirement followed weeks of discussions with our employee unions to finetune processes, regulations, and compliance requirements.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement does permit exemptions for sincerely held religious beliefs and medical conditions. However, personnel who decline the vaccine or an exemption will be issued a notice of intent to terminate as early as Friday, March 18.

As a result, AC Transit wishes to notify our communities and riders that a reduction in our frontline workforce could affect service. We will take advanced measures to avoid any cancelation of service. However, if service modifications are required, riders are alerted that delays or the temporary suspension of low-use bus lines are possible. In keeping with established policies, AC Transit will marshal resources to support the bus lines in greatest demand, including those lines critical to riders in under-resourced communities.  

In the hours that remain before the deadline, proof of vaccinations continues to flow into AC Transit’s administrative offices, and that bolsters our transit district's assurance of full compliance. Already, our employee vaccine compliance exceeds 80 percent.

Many employees received their COVID-19 inoculations at AC Transit worksites, made possible through our grateful partnerships with Rite Aid Pharmacies, Haller's Pharmacy, Alameda County Public Health Department, and Holy Names University School of Nursing.

“We are encouraged by the lifting of restrictions by public health officials,” said Hursh. “Nevertheless, recovery for public transit, will not be as simple as the transition from the term pandemic to endemic. Instead, AC Transit's pandemic recovery will involve a multitude of considerations, including retirements, new hiring and training, and funding support from our state and federal lawmakers. As a result, our recovery will be slower and executed in timed phases.”

We appreciate the continued support and understanding of our riders and communities. As always, up to the minute information is available on actransit.org.