Five months after AC Transit implemented a new bus schedule that had been two years in the making, the transit agency is now readying for a round of adjustments that will take effect next month. 

Robert Lyles, an agency spokesperson, said the updates will take effect on the first day of February and include some needed changes. The agency issues four service changes a year, but this is the first time it has made changes to the new schedule since August. 

One of the changes involves adding a stop on Line 31 at Balmoral Drive and Skyline Boulevard, in front of Skyline High School, about once an hour until 9 p.m. That’s likely to help kids get home after late sports practices or matches at the Oakland Hills public school. That change from the current schedule, however, will make the end-of-line stop at the Chabot Space Science Center less frequent. 

The agency says some of the changes are designed to improve overcrowding, especially on Lines 73, F, and O. For the 73, which runs from Oakland airport to the Eastmont Transit Center and back, for example, one additional trip is being added in the morning in the Eastmont direction, while three trips to the airport are being added, giving airport workers who use the line five total trips before 7 a.m. 

Other notable changes include ending the 281 Line’s weekend service an hour earlier, with the last bus leaving NewPark Mall at 8:05 p.m., and one fewer daily trip for the 19 Line, which will no longer pass through Seminary Avenue on its way to the Fruitvale BART. 

The remaining adjustments to the schedule are available on the agency’s main service update page. 

The agency has not specified whether officials expect that these schedule changes will lead to more overall service or increased ridership. Last summer, schedule planners indicated that current service remains at around 85% of pre-pandemic levels due to revenue shortages.

When AC Transit released the Realign plan last summer, some bus drivers, through their union and independently, expressed concerns that their feedback was not fully considered in the development of the schedules. A few drivers also mentioned feeling burned out from long hours without adequate bathroom and meal breaks, which they said could eventually impact service reliability and rider experience.

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