Public Ownership Introduced

California’s State Legislature passed an enabling act in 1955 providing for the creation of the state’s first Special Transit Service District in the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. One year later, the electorate voted to establish the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District – and publicly- owned AC Transit was born.

AC Transit actually rolled into operation October 1, 1960, a year after voters approved a $16.5 million bond issue to buy out Key System. The publicly - owned District introduced an aggressive program of route additions and extensions as well as 250 then-new “transit liners” –the first of many innovations.

The system is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors elected by East Bay voters to four year terms. Five of the seven Directors represent geographic wards while two are elected at-large. This Board has full power to conduct all business of the District including: the right to acquire, construct, own, operate, and control transit facilities; to fix rates; and to establish routes and levels of service.

The District’s Board may accept assistance from the federal and state governments, and it may incur indebtedness and exercise the right of imminent domain. The Board is empowered to impose property taxes within the service area to support transit operations – a power severely limited with the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, the “Jarvis-Gann Property Tax Initiative.”

For administrative purposes, AC Transit has two distinct segments: Special Transit Service District No. 1 includes Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Hayward, Oakland, Piedmont, Richmond, San Leandro, and San Pablo…plus unincorporated areas of Ashland, Castro Valley, El Sobrante, Kensington and San Lorenzo. Special Transit Service District No. 2, which joined AC Transit in 1974, includes Fremont and Newark in Southern Alameda County.