AC Transit

The city of Berkeley took the first steps toward providing fare-free access to Sunday AC Transit bus rides originating in the city — garnering qualified support from many but facing an uncertain future.

Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to advance two citywide affordable housing initiatives as well as a budget referral for a homelessness coordinator for a portion of South Shattuck Avenue at its regular meeting Tuesday.

AC Transit will be offering fare-free rides every Friday in September as many people begin to return back to work and school.

Some UC Berkeley students arriving on campus have struggled to receive their Cal 1 and Clipper cards from campus, adding unexpected inconveniences to their return.

As students and employees return to schools and offices around the Bay Area, AC Transit announced an expansion to its services effective Aug. 8.

Berkeley City Council heard the terms of UC Berkeley’s Long Range Development Plan, or LRDP, and adopted items on its consent calendar Tuesday.

The proposed project will establish a two-way protected bike lane, traffic signal improvements and a bus boarding island on Dana Street between Bancroft Way and Dwight Way. To allow for emergency vehicle access and the construction of the bus boarding island and protected bikeway, on-street parking and commercial and passenger loading zones will be moved from the west to the east side of the street. 

UC Berkeley senior Shashank Dholakia was ready to start using public transit again after finally getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Dholakia, a frequent user of his campus-issued “EZ Pass,” was using AC Transit normally until a few days ago, when his card was suddenly declined.

The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District stopped operating fare-free rides April 19 to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, a mass COVID-19 vaccination site.

AC Transit’s COVID-19 safety measures, past and projected federal financial support for pandemic-related revenue losses and ongoing green initiatives, were among the topics covered at the 2021 virtual AC Transit/UC Berkeley Class Pass Online Forum.