Yesterday Oakland Local reported that the AC Transit Board of Directors has begun considering a much less drastic plan of bus service reductions than had been proposed earlier this year.

Today, AC Transit Deputy General Manager Jim Gleich told Oakland Local that the agency will almost certainly find a way to implement the smaller service changes.

"We were getting feedback that the originally proposed changes -- which were serious cuts to our core services -- would have been devastating to people throughout our service region," said Gleich. "We had been looking at having to cut almost 320,000 service hours per year. But now we think we'll be able to just about halve that impact."

How might bus service changes affect you? See AC Transit's Revised Service Adjustments Plan proposal, where you can compare the originally proposed changes to the current proposals for specific routes. Most of the changes involve reducing hours and frequency of bus service, not cutting routes.

The current layout of this information is rather difficult to read. Gleich said a map-based display should be available on the AC Transit site by early next week.

However, if bus service is important to your life, it's a good idea to check out the existing information now, even though it's tedious to read. AC Transit is accepting public comments on the revised plan only through Wednesday, Dec. 2 -- less than a week away. The easier-to-read maps might not be online before then.

If your access to work, school, childcare, family, or other crucial parts of life depends on bus routes and schedules, this comment period might be your best opportunity to influence what happens with your local buses. Meeting the Dec. 2 comment deadline is important if you want your voice heard.

(See the end of this article for info on how to submit your comments to AC Transit.)

Realistically, any service changes won't be implemented before March 2010, said Gleich.

MOVING MONEY AROUND

The main reason drastic bus service cuts were proposed in the first place was that the State of California's budget crunch severely reduced how much operations funding AC Transit can get from the state right now. State money is an important source of transit funding, but it's not the only one. AC Transit is figuring out how to move other pots of money around in order to pay to keep more buses running at least for the next couple of years.

The current plan is to get permission from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to shift $35 million in federal funding currently allocated AC Transit's Bus Rapid Transit program (which is still in the planning stages) into the agency's operations budget that pays for existing services. "We've been very encouraged with what we've been hearing so far on that front," said Gleich. "It's likely -- although not yet certain -- that this will be approved."

A decision on this funding strategy is expected by the Dec. 16 MTC board meeting.

But just in case this particular funding diversion doesn't get approved, Gleich claimed it's virtually certain that AC Transit could find some way to shift at least $35 million into its operating budget and avoid the most drastic service cuts. For instance, so far AC Transit has not tried to shift $45 million in bridge toll revenue currently allocated for Bus Rapid Transit. "We haven't tried to touch that yet, but it's an option," Gleich said.

While it would be easiest for AC Transit to shift around pots of money it already controls, the agency could also seek to swap funds with other transit agencies.

There's always a tradeoff. The $35 million in federal funds AC Transit is currently trying to divert from its Bus Rapid Transit program comes from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program. CMAQ funds pay for projects that reduce air pollution from transportation-related sources.

The Bus Rapid Transit program has a strong environmental motive. According to AC Transit, this project would ease road congestion (and thus air pollution) by constructing "bus-only lanes and light rail-like station structures along an 18-mile long stretch from downtown Berkeley and UC Berkeley in the north to Bay Fair BART in the south. The system would allow buses to offer riders a rail-like transit experience that operates more quickly and reliably than regular bus service today."

Gleich said the environmental tradeoff to sustain near-term core services is unclear. "BRT is a $235 million capital investment. Its environmental assessment is still underway. We won't know what the impact of shifting this $35 million would be until we complete the environmental work."

HOW TO COMMENT ON AC TRANSIT'S REVISED BUS SERVICE CHANGES PROPOSAL

Deadline: AC Transit says that comments on the revisions must be submitted by 5 pm on Dec. 2.

Here's how you can register your comment for official consideration:

• Online comment form
• In person at the community open house on December 1 (see below)
• E-mail planning@actransit.org
• Postal mail to the AC Transit Board of Directors, 1600 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612
• Fax: 510-891-4874

On Tuesday, Dec. 1, AC Transit is having an open house at its headquarters in downtown Oakland for interested locals to discuss potential impacts of the bus service changes. Details:

Tuesday, December 1, 5-7 pm

AC Transit General Offices
1600 Franklin Street
2nd Floor Board Room, Oakland

Take the bus: All lines serving downtown Oakland (also BART to 19th Street)

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Photo illustration: George Kelly, via Flickr, CC license