Transit Agency Considers Service Cuts
OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) - AC Transit's Board of Directors is considering changes to its service - including, among other things, eliminating close to half of its weekend service. The proposed cuts come after a judge rejected the transit agency's efforts to impose a new labor contract on its union employees.
AC Transit claims it needs to save nearly $16 million to keep the agency solvent.
"The cost of this court decision is about $300,000 a week and that's simply an unsustainable loss," AC Transit spokesman Adam Alberti declared.
In addition to possible weekend cuts, Alberti warned the transit agency may eliminate all but two of its "all-nighter" service lines.
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"The district is faced with a dire situation and it simply has to make reductions," he warned.
However, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192 President Claudia Hudson says AC Transit is holding the public hostage with threats.
"This is a new kind of AC Transit. I've never seen anything like it, you know, and we've been through hard times before," she said.
Meanwhile, AC Transit is appealing the court order forcing it and the union into arbitration.
The agency's board of directors will meet Wednesday to consider potential service cuts.
