SERVICE ENDED as of JUNE 30, 2017
The last day of Estuary Crossing Shutle operations was June 30, 2017. Former shuttle riders are encouraged to use 511.org to find a new transportation option. AC Transit’s Line 96 connects Lake Merritt BART/Laney College, downtown Oakland, Alameda Landing, Marina Village, and the College of Alameda, terminating in Alameda Point. Line 19 connects downtown Oakland with Atlantic Avenue and Buena Vista Avenue and then travels to Fruitvale BART. AC Transit Lines 51A, 20, O and W also provide connections through the Posey and Webster Tubes.
People traveling with bicycles can hop on one of these six AC Transit lines, which run every three to nine minutes during peak times through the tubes. All AC Transit buses have front bicycle-racks which hold two or three bicycles.
With AC Transit’s restoration of Line 19 in the Northern Waterfront area and the modified Line 96 (formerly Line 31) in west Alameda, the Estuary Crossing Shuttle has ended. The City launched the Shuttle service six years ago to close the gap for Peralta Community College students attending both the College of Alameda and Laney College, as well to provide another option for people with bicycles to travel between west Alameda and Oakland. These two new AC Transit bus lines now provide more frequent service, for more hours of the day, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. including weekends, than the Estuary Crossing Shuttle which only provided a weekday commute-hour service. Given that these bus lines serve similar destinations as the Shuttle once did, the grant funding which had sustained the Shuttle service would be very difficult to obtain going forward.
The City's press release has further information on this change.
Background
The Estuary Crossing Shuttle service started on August 15, 2011 after the City of Alameda, in cooperation with the City of Oakland, the Peralta Community College District and Bike Walk Alameda, won three consecutive Bay Area Air Quality Management District Transportation Fund for Clean Air Regional Fund program grants to operate the Estuary Crossing Shuttle for four years. Alameda County Transportation Commission's Vehicle Registration Fee for Transit also funded the shuttle starting in August 2013. From August 2015 through June 2017, the shuttle was funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's New Freedom Program, the City of Alameda's Transportation Systems Management/Transportation Demand Management (TSM/TDM) Fund to which Wind River contributed, and Alameda County's Measure B and BB.
Contact Info
For shuttle service questions, email rwheeler@alamedaca.gov or call (510) 747-7442.
