New Scoop: AC Transit Slashing Buses?
Categories: Politics, SchoolIf you’re like me, the only bus you ever use is the 51. And if you’re also like me, then you’ve noticed that during the past week every 51 bus has been mysteriously packed to the brim, to the point that those of us getting on near campus can’t even fit on the buses anymore, making our expensive class passes useless.
Well, like any good reporter, I’ve got a scoop, and I’ve got two sources to back it up: the woman on the bus who told me and me when I repeated it to my girlfriend. Anyway, word on the street, or rather, on the incredibly cramped dangerously overloaded bus, is that AC Transit has slashed the number of 51 buses by 25%.
Why they chose the most popular and useful line in Berkeley I don’t know. I guess because it was the biggest thing to cut. Some people think it’s just a test and they’re gonna add more buses back to rebalance the load, but my theory is they’re gonna keep it like this for a while until people get so sick of the cramped buses that they stop using them and the load magically fixes itself through fewer people using it.
I have no idea why they’d do that, but it seemed to be the most sinister and least charitable interpretation, so that’s what I went with.
Another alternative sinister theory would be that this is an AC Transit ploy to get people complaining and to drum up support for more taxes on local businesses to pay for more buses. I’d promise you more on this as it develops, but I just remembered I’m not an actual reporter and will probably just go back to posting things about Cal football.
Are you sure it isn’t just those damn college students (i.e. all of them except us) coming back?
Comment by Beetle — September 9, 2006 @ 11:34 pm
It was fine the first week and a half that class was back in session, then mysteriously halfway through the week every single bus is as packed as I’ve ever seen it.
Also are you calling my two sources liars? In which case you’re calling me half a liar! … wait, or, maybe, you’re calling me a … fuck, fractions are hard.
Comment by tiltedfish — September 10, 2006 @ 3:08 pm
I complained to AC transit about sucky Northbound 51 service and how whenever a bus does roll by, I get waved off to the ever-elusive “next bus” (among other things that irk me about AC Transit). I also mentioned this tip about fewer buses, which they promptly and vehemently denied. They added that, later this year, they plan to “perform a study of the 51 line,” “potentially add new buses in late Spring,” and “speak to drivers about making greater efforts to accommodate more passengers during peak hours.”
…So from the secondary horse’s mouth, your sources were wrong? Or AC Transit’s lying…
Comment by k — October 26, 2006 @ 4:58 am