transit times volume 3, number 8e

8/14/2019 Transit Times Volume 3, Number 8E

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New coaches roll off assembly lines

First of Luxury fTransit Liners' EnterTransbay Service on Christmas DayThe first of 250 new streamlined "Transit Liners" were scheduled to go into service between East Bay cities and SanFrancisco on Christmas Day.

Forty of the new ultramodern motorcoaches will be in service by the end ofthe year. All of the coaches will be delivered from the manufacturer andplaced into service on East Bay lines bynext April.With the initial delivery of 40 buses,all transbay service during the middle ofthe day will be operated with the new"Transit Liners."

The fleet of new buses, built at a cost

of $7,700,000, will contain latest featuresin motor coach design, including air con ditioning, bright modern interiors, fluorescent lighting, wide deep-cushion seats,air-ride suspension and large "picture"windows.

One-half of the new buses, totaling 125coaches, were ordered specially for EastBay express and transbay lines and willbe air-conditioned and, for transbay lines,equipped with soft high-back seats.A colorful Travelcade of Progress alsowas scheduled by the district Dec. 22 toherald arrival of the new motor coachfleet. (Cuntinued on Page 2)


2/5

Directors Adopt: Policy Against Smoking onDistrict Buses, Order Tighter Enforcement

The long time ba n against smoking onbuses will remain in effect under ACTransit operations, according to a recentdecision of the district's board of directors.A possible exception was seen, however, on the new air-conditioned "Transit Liners," due to begin arriving fromthe factory late this month.Smoking may be allowed on the newbuses, if air-conditioning equipment completely prevents any offense to other nonsmoking riders.

The board ordered a step-up in enforcement of the non-smoking regulation,though rules prohibiting smoking werecontinued by the district when it tookover from Key System Transit Lines. Infact, Key equipment already carries "no

smoking" signs.Drivers will be thoroughly instructed,however, to call the regulation to the attention of any smokers and to ask themin a courteous manner to extinguish cigarettes, pipes or cigars.Drivers will not, however, ask violators to leave the bus. Robert E. Nisbet,attorney for the district, told the boardthat drivers have no police powers thatwould legally entitle them to force off thebus those who refused to comply withnon-smoking rules.Along with adhering to the no-smokingban, the district is following all othersafety practices required of privatelyowned transit companies by the StatePublic Utilities Commission, GeneralManager John R. Worthington reported.

Service Expanded to Meet Rider IncreaseCommuter service was expanded on

four transbay lines this month to accommodate increased patronage.

The improvements, a forerunner of extensive schedule changes planned in thenear future, provided more frequent serv-40 New Buses will beIn Service by Ne w Years(Continued from Page 1)The parade included all forms of EastBay public transportation since the daysof the horse and cable cars nearly 100years ago.

In addition to the parade, the newbuses were stationed throughout the EastBay area for public inspection prior toentering regular service Dec. 25.District engineers have estimated that

th e new equipment, plus new an d expanded service, will increase transit papatronage by at least 3 per cent a year.2

ice to San Francisco for commuters inEast Oakland, the Hayward area, Albany,Berkeley and Kensington.An additional schedule was added tothe evening express trips on Line G serving Albany from the Transbay TransitTerminal in San Francisco.

On the Sacramento St. H-Line, the busdeparting the terminal at 4:50 p.m. wasextended into Kensington along Arlington Ave., to Tulare arid Barrett Aves.Morning rush hour service on Line Nbetween Seminary Ave. an d San Francisco was improved by increasing thenumber of local buses from 11 to 12.

Service also was expanded on Line Rserving the Hayward area. An additionalschedule was added to the special expressroute operating via Davis St. in San Leandro. The improvement increased thenumber of buses on this route from 11to 12.

SOMETHING NEW-Nick P. Alevizos, transportation superintendent of Division 3 andtraditional Santa Claus, shows (left to right) Cindy Charles, 3, Kathy Barton, 5, andCharles Barton, 3, models of what East Bay riders can expect for Christmas-the firstof 250 new "Transit Liners" ordered by AC Transit.

New Buses Fill Santa's Pack in RichmondSanta Claus will go streamlined-and

air-conditioned - in the Richmond areathis year as Nick P. Alevizos, AC Transit's traditional St. Nick, adds new busesto his more usual pack of goodies.Alevizos, superintendent of Division 3,has been playing Santa Claus for 30 years,but this will be the first time he can ad da fleet of new "Transit Liners" for serviceon Christmas Day.

The new buses, which first will go intoservice on the district's transbay lines,will be included by Nick in his community Santa Claus activities. He plans tolead a parade of new equipment in hisdecorated Santa car and also will have abus on exhibit at a downtown location.

Right next to showing off new buses,Nick enjoys playing Santa for the youngsters and it is a rare day during theChristmas season that doesn't find him inred suit and whiskers.Nick started his Santa activities for theShrine, portraying St. Nick at the Christmas celebrations for crippled children.They loved him and he's been St. Nickever since, and just about as busy, too,as the real thing.This year, for th e thirteenth time, hewas Santa at the annual Christmas luncheon of the Richmond Kiwanis Club. Allin one day, he made two appearances atth e Ford school, took the traditional St.Nick role at the Division Christmas party .

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NEW BUSES-Photos show part of assembly line operation at Pontiac, Mich. where250 new "Transit Liner" m otor coaches are being manufactured by General MotorsCorporation for AC Transit. Final riveting of roof section is shown in upper photowhile, in lower photo, workmen are shown moving front body section into place.

1 i l : 1 < l l : I ! i ~ I ( I ( ' , [ ! ! i [ ! ! i [ ! ! i [ ! ! i [ ! i ! ! i [ ! ! i [ 1 < l 1 , @ i ! ! i [ ! ! i [ l : ! ! i [ ! ! i [ ! ! i [ I ~ ! ! i [ I ! ! i [ ! ! i [ ! ! i [ ! ! i [ ! ! i [ I ( I ( I ( ! ! i [ ~ I ( l : ! ! i [ ! ! i [ 1 ( I ( 1 ( 1 1 ( 1 l : 1 ( 1 1

~ ~ I ctCbrigtmas ~ r t i n g i~ ~ Season's Gre etings!i!iii The cooperative and enthusiastic spirit shown by everyone during our

formative operating period has been most pleasing. We know from per-!iii sonal observation that it will continue and that we hav e been able to form

a team that will make ours the b est .!iiiMay I extend to you and yours, not on ly for myself, bu t for our Board I

of Directors and Executive Staff, c est wishes for a joyous holiday season .!iI!!iI! Sincerely,~ ~ !iii

!iii!iii

~ IGENERAL M AN AGER

' l l > l l ! l i ~ l ! I i l t r i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i i ' l > l l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l ! l i l : ! i : l t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ l ! I i ~ Operators Cautioned on Winter Driving

AC Transit bus operators were reminded this month by Safety EngineerGordon G. Wadsworth to "winterize"their operating practices.Wadsworth, in a bulletin to operatingpersonnel, not ed that "wet streets requiremore distance to stop, more caution is required when approaching intersectionsand , above all, a safe following distancemust be maintained .

Past experience has shown that although operators are familiar with safedriving practices, a reminder about certain conditions, such as we t weather,helps to prevent accidents, Wadsworth.said.

Oth er drivers on the streets and highways not only hav e the same problem ofreduced visibility, but ma y not be observing "defensive driving practices,"

Wadsworth explained. He urged driversto operate as if they expected the otherdriver to make a "quick stop, beat thesignal, cu t in, or follow some other hazardous driving procedure."Transit Board Approves

New Contract with IBEWA contract with the International

Brotherhood of Electrical W orkers, Local1245, was approved this month by theAC Transit Board of Di rectors.The re -negotiated agreement will be

come effective Jan . 1, 1961. The agreement provides for percentage wag e incre ases and other benefits matching termsof th e contract recently negotiated withDivision 192 of the Carmen's Union.

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4/5

~ ' d t o ' t f l (In ?1t'oeteWorking Timetables Eor First Key Route

Service Given District by Walter OedingBy Virginia Dennison

Some rare souvenirs of the past-thefirst four working time tables of the oldKey Route-were turned over to ACTransit th is month by Walter J. Oeding,a transit veteran in his own right.Oeding, executive secretary to GeneralManager John R. Worthington, startedwith Key System 29 years ago and hassince logged considerable time and experience in posts ranging from information clerk to executive secretary.

The time tables, collected by his father,the late Frank J. Oeding, include the firstworking schedule of the San Francisco,Oakland and San Jose Railway, which inaugurated transbay rail and ferry servicebetween Berkeley and San Francisco onOct. 26, 1903.

The success of the Key Route, as it soonwas called, can be gauged by the rapiditywith which the time tables grew. Thefirst schedule provided for hourly trips.Twelve days later, trains were runningevery 30 minutes. By the time the KeyRoute was a month old, service was on a20 minute basis.

Oeding senior, bounced across the bayby the San Francisco earthquake, wentto work for the railway in 1907 and in his37 years with Key System, moved fromconductor to supervisor and chief instructor before his death in 1944.

The schedules, kept by him as a nostalgic symbol of early transit days, arenow so rare they may be the only ones inexistence. They are being featured at ahistorical transit exhibit this month at th emain Oakland Library.

The Oedings can tally up an impressive father-son working record of 66years, compared to the nearly 60 years of6

--.....,Walter J. Oeding

showing yellowed timetableconsecutive service tallied by James P.Potter, first superintendent of the SanFrancisco, Oakland and San Jose, and hisson, D. J. Potter, general superintendentof transportation for AC Transit.

The younger Oeding also can claim arecord number of interests. He's a studentof archeology, a collector of unusual pets,including a South American monkey an d- in the past-skunks and Siamese fighting fish-and an expert at color photography.

He also is a tinkerer at electronics andan enthusiast about fire arms-Civil Warvariety.

State Plan Threatens Transbay ServiceA State proposal to move a portion of

Greyhound Lines' commute service intothe Transbay Transit Terminal in SanFrancisco was under study this month bythe transit district board of directors.

General Manager John R. Worthington, in a preliminary report to the board,stated the move could "seriously" hamperEast Bay commuter service.Some 26,000 passengers are b'ansported each day between East Bay citiesand San Francisco, Worthington said,and in his opinion there is insufficientroom in the terminal to accommodateboth East Bay commuters an d Greyhound's commuters to Marin County.

"That terminal was built for transbaypassengers and it can't handle the MarinCounty load," he said.

Worthington said th e district had been

informed of the plan by Norman C. Raab,chief of the division of bay toll crossingswhich runs the terminal for the State Department of Public Works.

The terminal was built originally foruse by transbay trains, and was convertedfor bus use as part of the Bay Bridge remodeling program still in progress.Since the remodeling, Greyhound'scommuter buses to Central Contra CostaCounty use th e terminal jointly with ACTransit coaches.

Worthington noted t hat San FranciscoMayor George Christopher has urgedthat the Greyhond service be moved fromthe Ferry Building to the terminal.

Th e transit district currently is payingthe State approximately $300,000 a yearfor use of the bridge, terminal an d busparking space.

Rules Relaxed on IO-Cent School FareSchool students under 18 can now rideAC Transit buses any time on schooldays for 10 cents, under a new service

improvement inaugurated this month.Previously, th e special school fare applied only between the hours of 6:3 0 a.m.and 5:30 p.m. and, for night school students, between 6:30 an d 9:30 p.m.By eliminating time restrictions, students may participate in after schoolevents an d other activities without beingpenalized by a time deadline.

Older youngsters now get the same advantages on school days of the low farepaid by children under 13 years of age.The improvement is another step in thedistrict's plan to operate transit serviceat the greatest possible convenience tothe public.Students are entitled to the 10 cent fareafter showing bus drivers either an identification card issued by their school or aregular school student body card.

New Transbay ServiceExtended into Alameda

South Shore CommunityThe first of several service improvements planned for Alameda was inaugurated this month with extension of new

transbay commuter service into th e SouthShore residential development.The new service, operating at peakhours Monday through Friday, providesresidents of the South Shore area for thefirst time with a direct link to San Francisco.The new route is an extension of LineW from its former terminus on EncinalAve. at Walnut Street, along Encinal toPark St., via Park to Otis Dr., and thenwest on Otis to Willow St., looping viaWillow, Shore Line Dr., Grand St. andback to Otis.South Shore residents were informedof the new service by a personal call fromthe district's special customer representative, Ann Castle, who gave each householder a time table and map of the newservice.7


5/5

At an adjourned regular meeting November 29, 1960, the Board of Directors:

Adopted policy to continue banagainst smoking on district buses, andinstructed the General Manager to so inform bus operators, on motion of DirectorCopeland.

* * *At the regular meeting December 7,1960, the Board of Directors: Received a report from the GeneralManager on a proposal of the State tomove the Marin County commuter service of Greyhound Lines into the Trans-bay Transit Terminal, and scheduled ameeting for December 20 to further con-sider the matter. .

Received a progress report from theGeneral Manager that 16 of the busespurchased from Key System Transit Lineshave been refurbished and repainted todate .

Approved a contract with Local

TRANSIT TIMESPublished monthly by the

A L A M E D A . C O N T R A / ~ J R A N S I T DISTRICT...- ..... ~ 5 ~ . ' i i i ~ 1 ; ~ Te l e p h o ~ y l r t p l j ) 3 ; i .. '

Alan L. Bingham, EditorBOARD OF DIRECTORS

ROBERT K. BARBER . . .Director at LargeWM. J. BETTENCOURT . .Ward IVROBERT M. COPELANDWILLIAM H. COBURN, JR . .J. HOWARD ARNOLDJOHN McDONNELLPAUL E. DEADRICH

PresidentVice President

Director at LargeWard I

Ward IIWard II IWard V

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERSJOHN R. WORTHINGTON General ManagerROBERT E. NISBET . . . AttorneyJOHN F. LARSON . Treasurer .ControtterGEORGE M. TAYLOR. . Secretary...,ID1245, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, similar in terms to a con

tract recently negotiated with Division192, Carmen's Union, on motion of Director Copeland.

Los Angeles Transil: Fares Raised 1:0 25 CentsThe Los Angeles Metropolitan TransitAuthority announced this month it will. raise local fares from 20 to 25 cents com

mencing the first of the year.Tokens, currently sold at the rate ofTRANS IT T IMES

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District1106 BroadwayOakland 7, California

five for $1, will be increased to two for45 centsThe fare increase was approved by the

MTA board of directors following therecent settlement of a new labor contract.

BULK RATEU.S. POSTAGEPAI DOakland, Calif.

Permit No. 2105HOBERT E ~ l S B E T A-52687 SHASTA RD.BERKELEY 8. CALIF.

Form 3547 Requested

transit times volume 3, number 8e

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