Transition to the Transbay Temporary Terminal

Robert del Rosario

AC Transit, Director of Service Development

Oakland, California

TRANSITION TO THE…

ALAMEDA-CONTRA

COSTA TRANSIT

DISTRICT

BACKGROUND

• Built in 1939

• San Francisco Terminal for the Key System across the Bay Bridge

• Served 26 million passengers annually

• Rails removed from the Bay Bridge in 1958

• Converted to a bus-only facility in 1959

• Closed in 2010 –11,000 daily riders

TRANSBAY

TERMINAL

• Hub for local and regional bus and rail, including High-Speed Rail

• $4.5 billion project

• “Grand Central Station of the West”

• 5.4 acre footprint

• 100,000 daily passengers

• Phase 1 completion in 2017

TRANSBAY TRANSIT CENTER

TRANSBAY

TRANSIT

CENTER

PROGRAM

TRANSBAY TEMPORARY

TERMINAL ALTERNATIVES

BEFORE…

• 1 city block

• 25 bays to 17 bays

• Elevated to street level

• Indoor to outdoor

• Two-way loop circulation

• Minimize ped crossings

… AND AFTER

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE RAMP?

PHASE 1 OPERATIONS WITH RAMP

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

1. Simulation

2. Partner Coordination (City of SF, TJPA and Caltrans)

3. Staffing Plan

4. Training Program

5. Final Traffic Engineering Review (Signage)

6. Auxiliary Staging Space

7. Public Outreach and Communications

8. Dedicated Operations Control Center

• Real-time, peak hour

• Full scale

• 40 buses

• Alameda Naval Air Station

• Helped determine staffing need

• Generated minor adjustments to the design

SIMULATION

• Hired an additional 13 supervisors and assistant supervisors for a total of 20 dedicated staff

• Coordinated with the City on using the Parking Control Officers (PCOs) to manage surrounding traffic

• Hired a Transportation Manager to oversee day-to-day bus operations

• TJPA hired facilities security to assist with pedestrian management

• Volunteer and hired ambassador program

STAFFING

• Trained the trainers,

supervisors, and non-ops

staff and received input

on operational

adjustments

• Developed instruction

videos

• Provided on-site training

field visits and dry-runs

prior to opening

• Trained all Transbay

operators and Extra-

board operators

• All operators are trained

to operate through the

Temp Terminal today

TRAINING

• Focused marketing and

public information

campaign

• Wayfinding materials

from old terminal and to

other destinations

• Installed digital kiosk for

wayfinding and real-time

information

• Emphasized safety

• Strong media coverage

PUBLIC

OUTREACH

AND

MESSAGING

• Pluses

• Zero ped, bike and

major vehicle collisions

• Ramped down in staff

to 8 total

Transportation

Supervisors

• Able to operate above

and beyond

expectations

• Minuses

• Shelters are too tall

• Queue management

due to growing peak

popularity

• Slower travel speeds

RESULTS

• Live simulations pave the

way for project success

• Thorough hands-on

training assures sound

operations

• Hope for the best and

expect the worst –

manage expectations and

overcompensate

• Manage projects through

operations, not just

through construction

• Receive visible buy-in

from the top down

• Safety is always first!

CONCLUSIONS

THANK YOU!