Don't count on the late-night transbay 800 line! Privately owned vehicles are for the clueless and self-absorbed. After walking (or biking, skateboarding, rollerblading, etc), public transit is the next-best mode of transportation for the enlightened. However, after last weekend's experience, I've vowed never to set foot on an AC Transit bus again. Although I live in Oakland, my job and most of my friends are in SF. I usually use the fairly-dependable BART system to cross the bay, but that closes too early for me to use when I'm out late. On Saturday, 3/11/06, I was at a party at a friend's place in SF and was counting on AC Transit's late-night transbay 800 line to get me home. I checked AC Transit's website earlier that day to confirm the fare & schedule, but when I tried to catch the 4am bus I was dismayed to see it go flying up Market St just before I got to the bus stop, a full ten minutes early. I waited to catch the last bus at 5am, but finally gave up at 5:20am when it didn't materialize. The next day I used their website to email them a complaint, and checked the box they provided to receive a response from them. Over three weeks later, I finally got a call back from their designated apologist. He tried to convince me to give them another shot by running through his stock of excuses, but it seemed like he had barely skimmed my complaint. Anyway, this isn't the first time this happened. A few years back the old late-night AC Transit line left me stranded at the 1st & Mission bus station. You may think that two occurrences could be anomalies, and they could, but I've only tried using AC Transit's late-night service to get back to Oakland about fifteen to twenty times in the past six years, so that's at least a 10% failure rate. I guess I should have listened to our wise and eloquent President when he said, "There's a saying in Tennessee - I don't know if it's Tennessee but it is in Texas: Fool me once, shame on, shame on ... you? Fool me twice, shame on..., uh, can't get fooled again!" read more

It's very hit and miss what kind of bus driver you encounter when you take the AC Transit. I've definitely met really nice drivers and also really cranky ones. While the drivers' attitudes change, things that do no are: buses always not running on schedule, and buses being PACKED. Nextbus helps with scheduling, but it still doesn't help if the buses are delayed and you have to wait for 45 minutes, and then see two of the same lines come by. Honestly, if UC Berkeley didn't force its students to buy an AC Transit rider's pass, I would have avoided the AC transit in general. Just recently, I was on the 51B and as it was pulling away from a stop, the rear of the bus hit a pole. A window shattered and everyone had to get out and file into the next available bus, which was already packed. I'd rather walk 5 miles than to suffocate on a crowded bus. No wonder public transportation has a bad rep. read more

one time I entered and payed then the bus just started moving quickly and I almost fell and it smells bad and the buses are always dirty

Quality: 2 Value: - I have a Berkeley AC transit pass since I'm a student, and it's definitely been very useful. The AC Transit itself, however, definitely needs a lot of work. Buses rarely follow the schedule, and I've had numerous instances where I've waited nearly a half hour without the bus arriving (52L). The Nextbus displays for the 1/1R stops are nice, but they're not always accurate. For instance, sometimes they'll say that a bus is coming in 50 minutes, but there's actually one coming in 25 minutes before that one. However, they are more or less right about three quarters of the time, especially the one at the BART station. Adult tickets are $2, which are pretty expensive. If it weren't already included in my mandatory registration fees, I'd probably just bring my own car up and pay the $75/month parking. read more

The bus drivers are awful. I saw the bus driver cut someone off and proceeded to drive like a jerk. Avoid AC transit if you value your life.

Driver got here on time but is taking a break for 10 minutes, either adjust the schedule to account for breaks or allow fewer breaks.

Terribly unprofessional. Lact of accountability and punctuality. Not reliable, clean or safe. DO NOT RIDE IF YOU DON'T ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.

Positives 1. Affordable way to get around, works with clipper. 2. All nighter service is the best way to get around at night without using a car and is very reliable. 3. Real time departures info helps show if a bus is late/missing. Negatives 1. Bus no shows maybe 5pct of the time, and you have to wait for the next bus read more

I'm a regular commuter on the AC Transit NL line. Having taken Bart before as an alternative to getting into SF from the East Bay and also doing the drive. I have to say taking the NL is a most excellent way to commute into the city. A monthly pass costs $116, and if you use Wage Works that can get taken out of your check from pre-tax dollars. The NL line runs from 6am-Midnight every 15 mins up to every half hour, depending on the time of day. Then even after that from Midnight until 6am you can take the N (Late Night) and get home in your drunken stupor. Now the stops for the N are different than the NL, so getting dropped off on Broadway in Downtown Oakland at 4am might not be your fancy, but if your sporting a Bike or what-not all night affairs in the city might soon be in your future too minus a lovely DUI.. read more

AC Transit - NL west-bound - Public Transportation Near Me - Oakland, California

Transbay bus FEAR FACTOR is what happens whenever bart breaks down. By the time the bus gets to your stop, everyone else and their grandmother have already piled on, therefore the driver might not even stop for you. During one of those glorious overpacked commutes, no thanks to stupid unreliable bart, I was wedged up front, next to the bus driver at the front windshield, with this incredible yet horrifying shotgun view. It was like surfing on the freeway, except you have absolutely no control and inside your head, you're wondering if this is really how you're going to die. To make the best of these situations, it helps to pretend that you are training for the next snowboarding season. Not bad for those who live around the end of the bus route and do the transbay commute to the city. It's quick (15-20 minutes) & mostly painless. Less stinky. Better view. Above ground. More reliable than BART lately. Fairly ordinary commuter crowd during commute hours (versus the creepy bus-riding degenerates who ride because they are not allowed to drive.) read more

AC Transit - Public Transportation Near Me - Oakland, California

rude behavior of driver bay area san Leandro ac transit route 10 and bus no. 1653 female driver didn't stop on bus stop and drop me after 3 stops she ruined my more than 1 hour very bad experience I pressed the stop request button but she stop after 2 stops read more

This review is for the customer service location on Franklin in Oakland. I haven't used the live people behind the 11" thick missle-proof plexiglas, but I do regularly use the Clipper fee machines. What a joke. An old Apple IIe computer would be better than these machines. But if you persist, you can make them work sometime before the sun goes down. I'd prefer another solution, but don't know of one. read more

AC Transit - Clipper machine that rarely works - Public Transportation Near Me - Oakland, California

The last time I rode the bus was about a year ago. It was thru Oakland. The ride was nice, and the bus was semi clean. Then this ''person'' gets up and used the back exit for a urinal while we were moving. LOL, hahahahaha read more

The last time I got onboard an AC Transit bus was back in October 2005. I was coming out of Oakland High School after finishing the SAT Reasoning Test. The one AC Transit bus route I rode on was the 15 traveling from Park and MacArthur to Downtown Oakland. I'm not in the East Bay too often but AC Transit does provide one of the best transportation services. One thing I do like about AC Transit is the cleanliness of their buses. read more

I haven't rode ac transit in decades. after i started driving, i became nausous whenever i rode the bus. guess i'll have to readjust myself should retirement hit me in the ass. i may get a senior citizens pass to ride all day for practically nothing. read more

I have a car, but I hate dealing with parking, so I try to use public transit as much as possible. However, I will walk, ride my bike, order a Lyft, or just not go somewhere before I use AC Transit. I'm not sure why they publish schedules for their bus lines, because regardless of the day of the week or the time of day, the buses never run on time. The lack of reliability would be bad enough, but that's compounded by the bad attitudes of the drivers. A couple times, I attempted to confirm with the driver that the bus I was on was heading where I needed to go. Once, the driver just stared at me and blinked; the other time, the driver either grunted at me or said something unintelligible -- I'm not sure which, but either way, it wasn't helpful. The drivers can't even be bothered to say "yes" or "no" (or shake or nod their heads, for that matter). read more

worst service ever. buses are not on time. ive lost many job interviews and appointments because of this company.

I've been riding AC Transit since High School and currently still riding AC Transit as a College Student. Now let me say, yes the buses get you to and from your destination, but there are still many problems. I've taken the following AC Transit Routes: 210 - Fremont Blvd to Union Landing 621 - American High & Thornton Junior High School Bus 264 - Discontinued, but Fremont Blvd to Newark, CA 232 - Paseo Padre to Newark, CA Let me start off by saying, I've experienced a lot with AC Transit. Being a former student at American and riding AC Transit to and from school, I've had my share of problems. The 621 is the AC Transit school bus specifically for American High School, it was not always reliable. In the morning, sometimes it would be late at my stop, therefore being late to all other stops and eventually leading to it being late to school, making students tardy. And sometimes the bus wouldn't even come making it that students don't end up going to school at all or waiting for another bus to come and then transfer to the 210!!! In the afternoon, there are some smart bus drivers and some really dumb ones. Like for example, certain bus drivers would pick students up from American High School at the stop in front of our school, and then when they leave, they stop at the next bus stop which is like not even 5 mins from the school. Which is like really!? Why are you stopping, you just picked kids up 5 mins ago and now you're stopping, when the school is like 5 mins behind us!!! The first stop for the 621 is on Decoto by McDonald's. Yet some bus drivers stop at the 2 stops before that (Brookvale Shopping Center Stops), like really nobody ever gets off there, it's a 10 minute walk from school, the students could have been there already if they walked...(because the bus takes time to load b/c it's a school bus, so by the time we leave AHS, they'd be at the Brookvale Shopping Center already...) Also, some bus drivers skip half the route of 621 and instead of turning on Decoto, just end up going straight on Paseo and skipping the Northgate area. LOL that's soo funny when it happened like 4 times... In the afternoon, when we got out early, for minimum days, the bus wouldn't always be there making us wait, and wait for the 264 (now discontinued). That one thing that sucked the most. Oh and you wanna know the best part? One time I called the night before asking if the bus would be there at 12:30 when we got out b/c of early day, the guy said yes, the bus should be there. Well, guess what the bus was not there!!!! I've e-mailed AC Transit many times about the 621 and have gotten responses, the problem is you don't get a response till a year later which then doesn't really help you! You're just like, I didn't e-mail AC Transit recently, and then you open it and it's like oh....that was such a long time ago....... Customer Service quite frankly is not good at all. Horrible, because they take forever to respond when you contact them here: http://www.actransit.org/customer/customer-feedback/ They'll respond a year later..... Oh and Clipper Card is a whole another story it's ridiculous! Bad, bad, bad service. But props to Pete on the 210, one of the nicest bus drivers out there!!! Very helpful to riders and takes his time to assist riders unlike other bus drivers!! He deserves bus driver of the year and a raise haha :))) read more

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fucked up service and drivers. no schedules at all. its like they move whenever they want to. also if you want to ride a bus be sure you have an extra half hour or so in your schedule to wait for the bus. and yeah do not forget about the frequent cancelled buses. read more

I have used AC Transit for about a year now and am really impressed with the bus system. The routes are generally always on time. There of course are your every now and then late busses. But for the volume of rides and riders I'm highly impressed. Occasionally there is a bus that has a lot of debris, but not that often. There are some of the neatest, friendliest and realest people I've ever met driving these busses. They have seen and heard of everything and still keep a pleasant warming energy about them. With the amount of abuse they endure during the day that's a hard task to accomplish. I say BRAVO, KUDOS and thank you. I have a couple favorite drivers that go above and beyond the call of bus driving. Ms. D. Who drives the morning route 45 bus. This lady right here is classy, funny, a safe and experienced driver. She has everyone who enters her bus in a better mood when we see her. It because of employees such as her that I don't take Uber or Lyft. I enjoy my morning Ms. D. read more

AC Transit - Public Transportation Near Me - Oakland, California

fucking one 51B on a Sunday night evening in Berkeley. No wonder Covid keeps spreading the bus is completely full of people because they only have one bus running... how is that even fucking possible? read more

I was in a bus accident Aug 28th 2020. My thoughts about it, it seemed staged. I can't prove it but I know someone will. I was already injured on my left side. Same side again. Long story short, to the bus drivers in question someone set you up and put me in the middle of it. OONLY because they are seeking to now use my information (Identity theft) for there claim..I'm not here to be the bad guy..But whom ever you chose to trust with this incident it has now caused me to question Why) I mind my own business everyday..To myself..I have experienced a lot of foolishness on AC transit Because of this..I ALL those involved will be dealt with accordingly.. My experience today, today as usual, routinely I'm given a disable pass..These drivers make it seem as if this is courtesy. (NO) IN FACT this is how manipulative and calculating these individuals are..I SEE YOU..I'm sure this has to do with the fact, I'm not F!@#ing with this fake A$$ BLM $h!t..To bad this reason a lot of people that really believe BLM, can be disappointed. This is heartbreaking for all races that supported.. This driver try to make it seem as if I was in the wrong for wanting my paid for day pass..He wanted me to take this pass.. the supervisor and sheriff's that showed up full of $h!t. When going over the video make sure you see I ended up on the same drivers bus with no issues.. heading back home. I had no issue. I always had my fare..Why is this an issue. I missed my physical therapy appointment for this mess.. Oh it was classic that they put some dude on the bus that could pass for my son (SMH) LOL read more

AC Transit - Public Transportation Near Me - Oakland, California

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Totally unreliable. My current commute is nearly TWO HOURS to go 11 miles from Alameda to Berkeley to get to work at 10am, which is outside of rush hour. And most days I'm still late. This costs me money because I either take a pay hit from clocking in late, or have to pay for a Lyft. And i have habitual tardiness on my employee record. Not to mention my commute home, which isn't that different, and the time lost to get things done at home. Those hours of my life are gone forever. That's time AND money. Same issues others have reported: buses are significantly late or don't show up at all, and the online predictions don't mean much. It's impossible to accurately predict when to leave and when I expect to get somewhere. I pay attention to traffic and construction and that's not the issue. When I first moved to Alameda a few months ago this commute was 45 minutes, and over the past three months it's steadily gotten worse, and i imagine it will get even more so as winter approaches. Also, they don't issue transfers. I've taken public transit for most of my life, in smaller and larger cities, and AC Transit is definitely the worst I've experienced. As soon as i figure out an alternative I plan to avoid it at all costs. read more

Cleaner than MUNI in San Francisco's. The only thing I don't like is there are no transfers on a Clipper card. I can take my line to downtown Oakland & BART in 15 minutes. The arrival times are reliable. They have newer and better maintained buses, hence the cleaner vehicles. read more

AC Transit - Jump on the bus, Gus! - Public Transportation Near Me - Oakland, California

Worst service of Bus #57. It has happened to me at least 5 times, when I waited for the bus at the stop Christie street/Powell, half and hour, past, and the bus never showed up! I had to reach MacArthur on time, couldnt, missed my train, as well as my booked appoinment. I highly recommend taking Watergate Express (if available) or Uber, but never should you rely on this bus! read more

I tried taking bus #70 today around 2pm body # 1420 or 1480 (bad eyes) in Richmond Bart station and this mean driver just drove off. I and an elder lady was right in the door and the driver don't care, it just left. I understand busses have set schedules because I have families that work for Muni transit. If your late even for one its like a domino effect. BUT in this case I was right in the door knocking and the driver won't open the door and just drove off. Very very bad customer service. AC transit doesn't need passengers? Fortunately, I have other alternatives. I can get off El Cerrito Del Norte instead and take Westcat. Or worst comes to worst, for more dollars, I can take Uber. I feel bad for the ones who doesn't have a choice but to take this driver's route. :( There are options out there. Just go to 511.org. It's a very useful website. You enter your point of origin and destination and it will give you different options and schedules on how to get there. read more

No one really expects a bus to be on time but what the heck is going on with the 47 Maxwell Park? There are a handful of us that use it to commute to Bart and back to our homes and the folks that leave work before 5:00pm are continually screwed over by trying to catch the 5:06 back to Maxwell Park. Bus driver rolls in to Fruitvale around 5:00 and tells us he ( or she) needs to take the bus back to the bus yards on 55th and they will come back to get us? Why?? Every Wednesday? WTF? This busline is the ugly red headed step child and I'd love to know why all the drivers hate it. read more

Please oh dear AC Transit! When will you become reliable?????????????????????????????? I am listening a kid crying for 5 minutes already and the mom keeps saying the bus will come.. oh my dear AC Transit read more

AC Transit - The bus just never comes! :( - Public Transportation Near Me - Oakland, California

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I don't know what's more impressive, the fact that you manage to fail keeping a consistent schedule, to the point where you cancel busses entirely while only having to work half the amount (busses once an hour instead of every hour) or the fact that you overload veal calves have the sheer gall to say you're not making enough and need a government bailout, especially at a time when BART stops running over three hours early, so missing a connection can mean missing a way home or to work so the people who pay taxes have to either get a car which means gas, registration and parking or pay for Uber. read more

This review is in honor of the 50 cent fare hike, which brings the total round trip bus fare from Alameda to San Francisco to a whooping $8. You decide if you think it's worth it: If you're lucky, you get to ride one of the, "Reno Buses" - the green buses with the cushy reclining seats, reading lights, your own personal stop request button, and wifi. Not so lucky? You slide around on plastic seats ... hostage of the resident leadfoot driver. During peak commute hours the bus runs about every 15 minutes like clockwork. I love that the 5:20pm bus actually leaves the Transbay Terminal at 5:20pm. Translink cards can be purchased and automatically refilled if desired. Generally, I take casual carpool in the morning, so I only have to pay $20 a week to get home, but I still think that's pretty steep...maybe it would be worth it if they added a coffee machine and hot towel service. FYI: The O Line, OX Line, and the W Line are the three transbay bus lines that service the city of Alameda. The W runs from Broadway & Blanding to Otis to Central to Webster, on to SF. The OX starts on Bay Farm Island, goes all the way down Park to 880, and then on to SF. The O Line starts at Fernside Blvd. & Versailles Ave., down Santa Clara to Webster and thru the tube to SF. read more

I cannot imagine that people actually pay 1.75 to ride these things. I am lucky to be a Berkeley student and ride for free. But even free I find AC Transit nearly intolerable. Some folks on here, like Nat M. give them "a break" because they are "going bankrupt". I would respond that well run companies that listen to their customer's needs; respond to customer's questions and complaints (at all, and in a timely manner); provide reliable service; don't over-spend on flawed equipment (those ridiculous Van Hools Buses); and whose employees respect their customers and don't have caustic, bitter, sulfuric attitudes, rarely go bankrupt--especially when the company is a bus company providing a service with no competition at a time when gas costs 3.50 a gallon. Can you even imagine how bad a bus service has to be to alienate riders / go bankrupt at a time when gas is priced at an all-time high?! Thus, I think that Nat M. has her causal reasoning a bit cart before horsey. Then there are the people who suggest that "If you don't like it get a car!" These are the same people that brought us, "If you don't like the war move to France!". Now I would love to buy a car and move to France but, as a student, this is not practical for me at this time. But is this a reason to assume that I and others who cannot afford cars or who choose not to own/drive can be treated like crap? Maybe we don't opt for property ownership and/or excess usage of fossil fuels (ethanol's bad too people), but this doesn't mean there are "Kick Me" signs taped to our backs. Am I alone in thinking that it might actually be possible to have buses that: *run pretty much on time. *have an automated number that you could call 24/7 to find out when the next bus was expected at your stop (since they've taken the schedules down in many places and 511 transfers you to their 7-7 operators who stop answering the phone at 6:45). I've heard that there are these things called "computers" that might help with this. *buses that are comfortable and don't force half the people to ride backwards. One time I was seriously across from and facing a guy with Leprosy. Or, okay, "Hansen's Disease." *drivers who get decent enough pay, vacation time and benefits so that they value their jobs and don't take their road rage out on us. *lower fares (more people would ride -- see: New York) *drivers who stop when people are waiting and don't speed past the stop pretending they don't see you as you flail your arms. *drivers who tell you what's happening when some accident or emergency ensures. *Hydraulic (?) doors that stay open until you and your bags of groceries are clear -- one time one of those Hools "Jaws of Death" doors slammed on me, grabbing my ankle and making me auger on the sidewalk. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen drivers totally ignore stops just to make up time. There are some VERY NICE drivers. They get this one star. And then there are the drivers who should have become forest rangers working solo in the fire look-out towers because they have no idea how to behave around other human beings while commandeering a several ton moving vehicle. Re: Van Hools: Did you know that a committee at ACT re-designed the interior of the Van Hools buses, revising the successful design used in Europe? Did you know that subsequently, before the ACT's version of the Van Hools bus design was adopted, ACT's own Riders Advisory Committee (RAC) said that the design was unacceptable and yet, instead of listening to the RAC the board eliminated the RAC so that they wouldn't need to listen to their recommendations and complaints? Did you know that two lawsuits are pending which claim that the bus design violates the Americans with Disability Act (ADA)? Did you know that AC Transit is the only transit company in the US whose board is elected? Who gets to vote?!?! Did you know that the reason ACT felt comfortable choosing the VH's bus design was because they knew that the East Bay had "a lower number of articulate middle- and upper-class riders" than San Francisco? It all just makes me sick. read more

It's pricey and not very inviting, yes, but I've never had a bad experience with AC Transit. The fact that it exists is good enough for me. I came home last night from a Yelp event later than usual and missed my normal shuttle, thus I had to resort to AC Transit lest I wonder hopelessly through Oakland. It was only a few minutes before the bus came. I only had a $10 bill, but the driver let me on for free. He let the tourist couple in front of me on for free too, because they only had a $20. When I disembarked and thanked him again, he says back to me, he says, "Hey man, no problem. I'm just glad I could help." Let me rewind that for you: "I'm just glad I could help." Wow, I believe in people again... read more

I hate to sound mean but sometimes you just have to be blunt and straight to the point... Pro - it's a little cheaper than BART Cons - Buses: Let's start here. About 20% of the time, they're damn unreliable. Throughout the years, I've encountered buses breaking down on the freeway, not showing up because the driver overslept or just didn't show up, or the bus was 20 min late. This isn't just a once in a blue moon occurrence; it happens at least once a week. They built these new buses where the exterior says "built locally". I'll be real here..they SUCK. I have two gripes about this...most of the time, the bus I take fills up to capacity, so give or take 50-60 people on a bus. With the new buses, the seats are cut in half. Who in their right mind came up with the idea to cut half the seats and make new buses smaller? Another thing...sign on the bus says wifi on board. No it does not...you can't even connect to it. At least the old green buses were comfy and had wifi. The new buses just plain suck and should be driven on local routes, not ones that go across to the East Bay. - Drivers: This is only applicable to some drivers, but some are just damn rude and if it were up to me, they wouldn't be employed . I've seen cases where the bus driver would pass people up because they were one minute late at the designated stop. Like seriously? And in my morning commute, I've had a driver intentionally drive to some local stops earlier just to avoid picking up passengers up and then wait for 5 minutes at the later stops so the gps tracker installed on the bus makes it appear like the driver is "on schedule". After raising these issues to "management", nothing happened. The driver wasn't replaced, and people started taking either the earlier or later bus. And not to mention, some drivers don't even know the route. You would think with the money they're paid to drive a vehicle, they'd at least be cross-trained on multiple routes. - Service: Absolutely atrocious. I lost my wallet once, and I literally was transferred to three different places. One supervisor gave me a number to call, whoever was on the other line told me to call the dispatcher, then the dispatcher told me to call the garage where they store the buses. Then I was informed that they refuse to check the bus until midnight for missing items because that was "protocol". HUH?!? I'm sorry, but this is by far the WORST transit agency here...and I thought Muni was bad. AC Transit, you take the cake. Congrulations. read more

Dear 57 bus line, You crazy. Two years ago, after 4 years of driving without a license, after 4 years of having tiny heart attacks whenever I saw the police, after 4 years of driving in a zig zag pattern through residential side streets and randomly parking where ever the fuck at the slightest hint of po po, I decided to sell my car. That's when I started riding your thick metallic ass. It hasn't always been honey and sunshine between us. You have me waiting longer than I should at times, and at some of those meeting spots where I stood waiting for you to swoop me up, it was frequented by 1987-Starter-Jacket-wearing weirdo's and dirty bitches. Not cool. But I always waited patiently because you always got me where I needed to go. Sometimes you stink, 57 bus line. Sometimes when I slide inside you it feels like I just got slapped by a wool blanket soaked in a wet-shit-rot-garbage cooch. Sometimes you smell like hot dogs and rubber bands. I can live with that though. I've had past rides who were worse. I have this feeling that you might think of me as distant. Always reading. Always staring out the window watching Oakland pass by like a photo album. But don't worry, boo, I'm there with you. I'm listening. Actually, my favorite thing to do is to listen to your inner works. The rumble of your engine. The squeal of your brakes. And especially, the pack of teenage girls in the back, talking about how "they going to molly wop some bitch as soon as they get back to the East." You crazy. Love, Big Lug. 5 Stars! read more

I get on the 95 bus, which arrives at D and 7th six minutes late. Just before B and Mission, I press the "stop" button. The chime is heard and the light comes on. Driver zips past my stop and the red light is now out. I press button again. Driver blows this stop off and, again, red light has gone out. By the time stop #4 is near, several riders are shouting to the driver to stop the bus! Now, bad leg and hip and cane make my one mile walk to where I was going painful and difficult. I telephoned AC transit and lodged a formal complaint. My own hunch is that the driver, being late, wanted to catch up so he would get to the end of the line (BART station) on time. He inconvenienced the wrong person! I can understand a moment's inattention causing one stop to be muissed. Three in a row? And the light being turned out three times? No, my children, this driver did this intentionally! When I complained to AC, the agent with whom I spoke asked me if I were willing to attend a hearing with the driver and his supervisor present. My answer? "Gladly, yes!" read more

Wow, what the fish?! I could say much worse yet I will do my utmost to stifle myself and refrain from cursing AC Transit here on Yelp! I am not at all surprised the overall rating for this public transit agency is low yet I am quite surprised it even merits two stars overall. My overall rating is one star for AC Transit. I can only speak for myself, if I could give it no stars, you bet your sweet bippy I would. I grew up in the SF Bay Area as my home base for most of my entire life taking AC Transit buses. I put off driving because believe it or not, AC Transit used to be quite reliable. My childhood nanny was quite popular with some of the drivers, and she used to take me and The Sibling on excursions on AC Transit. Heck, I even put off getting my driver's license because AC Transit used to run bus services into the evening hours! Used to love that! Key words being "Used to." Used to be that good! Nowadays, I can no longer rely on the AC Transit to be on time and to get me where I need to go ON TIME. I am impatiently waiting for the usual bus to get me home and it still has not shown up yet. I am waiting for another scheduled bus. That has not shown up at all either. What the fish?! I just filed a customer complaint with their customer relations department on the phone. As if it will do any good. . . Because of the quality of the service I have been getting from AC Transit, I am not sure how I am going to vote on certain measures regarding funding for them. This is not and no longer the reliable public transportation system I grew up with. 0 Stars. read more

I have been living in the east bay for close to 15 years now; 75% of that time I have spent relying entirely upon public transit to get around. I can say without question that AC Transit is the biggest disgrace to public transit of all the transit authorities in the bay area. The busses are nowhere near what they should be in terms of punctuality and the drivers are the absolute scum of the earth. At times I have found myself taking cabs, just because I lack the emotional strength required to ride on an AC Transit bus. I absolutely hate AC Transit...in fact even now I know I'm going to have to stop writing as this review is going to cause me to take a cab to work today. Also the price...considering the experience you are going to have on these busses...is abhorrent. read more

Congratulations!!! The AC transit has officially made me hate public transportation! This is the worst ****ing bus ever. All the drivers drive like they're playing a game of mario kart. Like wtf you have all these people's lives in your hands and yet you continue to drive like you're on some kind of nascar raceway?? No, stop it. But the worst thing about the AC transit is how UNRELIABLE it is. Lately the bus has been at least 20 minutes late if it even comes at all. It's really disrespectful and rude to do this to people who rely on that bus to get to places like school and work. I've complained multiple times about my complete dissatisfaction with the AC transit yet this continues to happen. I guess these are my tax dollars hard at work!!! read more

My dear, dear haters of the 72: You have no idea how much worse it gets until you've ridden the 57 around 1130 at night, but i'll spare you the terrifying details. And you don't even need to know the details of the gentleman who has tried to sell me a goldfish (a living one, in a plastic bag, with water, sadly swimming back and forth) on the beloved 18. No, no, no, you don't get it. The 72 is a magical line that runs through the east bay like a torch runner for the olympics. It's so popular, it even has spin offs (just like Grey's Anatomy!) with the 72M and the 72R. While the 72R is faster, usually a little more lush, and typically more crowded, the 72M is often the forgotten line that tends to be a little more spacious (probably because no one really knows why its' the 'M' bus and are a little fearful to get on it, lest they miss their stop. However, in this love letter aimed at the 72 and its' sidekicks the M and the R, I would just like to extend my gratitude. I recently got an unlimited bus pass and have become very accoustomed to taking the bus, and the 72 is almost always the most convienient. Running from Hilltop mall (the R at contra costa college) all the way into oakland via san pablo, it is almost always the best bus to take. Since there are three separate buses running the same line, the wait time is never too much of an issue (an issue with the 18, which runs perpetually unapologetically late). Catching the R is the only tricky one; since it only hits every few stops, it runs quickly, and is usually pretty packed. Otherwise, the 72 and 72M run every few minutes and hit every stop or so. The 72 has saved me from the rain recently, and I do owe it my gratitude. Thank you, dear. Keep it clean. Please. read more

Alameda direct to San Francisco -- $4.20!? Done! I've been on my share of public transit all over the US and Europe the past year or so, so when my host (sister-in-law) told me I'd be taking a bus to SF from their place to my office, I didn't even hesitate. Is it in English and does it go where I need to go? I can do it! So much easier than even expected -- and its quite a lovely ride to be honest. About 25-35 minutes of smooth (mostly freeway/bridge) driving, polite riders and drivers. Picked it up to return home at the temporary Transbay Bus Terminal. The staff was very helpful in pointing me in the right direction. Top up Clipper card or exact change only (or you forfeit your change like I did!). So, if you need to go roundtrip Alameda to SF, this is your jam. I'll certainly be utilizing again when I return to the Bay Area. read more