PRESS RELEASE
January 5, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sarah Henry, Public Information Officer
(510) 747-4714
NEW AC TRANSIT BUS SERVICE OFFERS CONVIENCE AND TRAFFIC RELIEF TO THE CITY OF ALAMEDA
The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) and the City of Alameda jointly announce the launch of bus Line 19 – a new bus route operating between Fruitvale BART and Downtown Oakland via Alameda’s Buena Vista Avenue. The new service borrows the line number and serves some of the same streets of a line retired by AC Transit several years ago. The number 19 was reactivated after it resonated with Alameda’s public transit riders and residents, who also played active roles in returning new service to Buena Vista Avenue and the placement of new bus stops along the route.
Line 19 began operating on December 18, 2016 and represents the second phase of AC Go: AC Transit’s unprecedented expansion of service funded by voter-approved Measure BB (or the Alameda County Transportation Commission Sales Tax). An estimated $30 million in tax revenues annually will fund a nearly 14 percent increase in AC Transit’s overall bus service.
Line 19 operates from 6 am to 10 pm, seven days a week, with 20 minute frequency during peak periods, and 30 minute frequency during off-peak hours. What’s more, Alameda riders now have direct access to the 12th Street/Oakland City Center and Fruitvale BART stations. Along the way, Line 19 riders will enjoy the added convenience of frequent service to:
· Fruitvale Avenue
· Bridgeside Center and Nob Hill Market
· Downtown Alameda and Park Street
· Atlantic Avenue and Marina Village
· Webster Street and College of Alameda
Under a public-private funding partnership, AC Transit will receive more than $175,000 in annual support for Line 19 from Alameda’s Northern Waterfront developers. The funding partnership provides increased Line 19 frequency during peak commute hours. The homeowner associations of new developments in the Northern Waterfront – e.g. Marina Shores and Del Monte – will also provide group discount bus passes to their residents.
Line 19 not only offers new public transportation options to Alameda residents, workers, and visitors but is designed to reduce traffic congestion along Alameda bridges and tunnels.
The City of Alameda would like to thank our Northern Waterfront developers, especially Lennar and Tim Lewis Communities, for their support, as well as AC Transit’s Board of Directors and staff, the City of Alameda’s Transportation Commission, the Alameda City Council, the Transportation Planning Division, and our Public Works department staff.
To view the new Line 19 map and schedule, please visit: http://www.actransit.org/maps/schedule_results.php?quick_line=19&Go=Go.
*Attached Photos by Maurice Ramirez
(Line 19 is celebrated by the Alameda City Council, AC Transit’s Board of Directors, and community members. Ride Line 19 rain or shine!)
