Transit Times Volume 11, Number 2

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Transcript of Transit Times Volume 11, Number 2

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    nbehalf of the 1 25 drivers of C Transitbuses I want to express appreciation toour riders for their fine cooperation in theready-fare plan.

    And to those businessfirms which recognizedthe problem of robberiesand assaults on busdrivers as a communityproblem and arecooperating in thesale of tokensour special thanks.

    R. P. LIVINGSTON

    OPERATOR R P LIVINGSTONwho survived three gunshotwounds suffered une 10 when he washeld up aboard his bus.

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    E. Guyarren

    Robert M.Copeland WiliiamH.Coburn, Jr. JohnMcDonnell WiliiamE.Serk Ray H.Rinehart Will iamJ.ettencourt

    ct ions o the oardAt a regular meeting July 24, the

    Board of Directors: Adopted resolution to give notification of election of three District Directorson general election day, Nov. 5, onmotion of Director Coburn . Authorized District Secretary to receive qualification statements and deposits for handling of statements to candidates for Board of Directors, on motionof Director \Varren. Approved the following recommendations of Finance Committee: creationof youth fare ticket books; preparationof specifications for requesting bids on

    order of additional tokens; evaluation ofprogress of ready-fare plan; and compensation of Operator Livingston forpromotional services, on motion of Director Rinehart.

    District gainsontinue strong

    Year-end figures showed continuedstrength in District growth-highlightedby a $301,876 surplus of income overexpenses-enabling the District to endthe year in the black for the second yearin a row.AC Transit also recorded a 1.64 percent increase in total passenger volume,for the fiscal year ended June 30, carrying 52,372,481 riders. Riding nationallydecreased 1.29 percent for the sameperiod.

    The District reversed the three-yeardownward trend in riding on East Baylines, as volume moved up one percent.

    Operating revenues increased 3.08 per-2

    Authorized $600 reimbursement toOperator Livingston for meritorious services relating to promotion of ready-fareplan, on motion of Director Rinehart.(See story, Pg. 3)

    *At an adjourned regular meeting Aug.14, the Board of Directors: Gave easement to City of Oaklandfor sewer construction at Seminary Division, on motion of Director Copeland. Approved creation of temporary position of Assistant Treasurer-Controller;position to be abolished when presentTreasurer-Controller retires, on motionof Director Coburn . (see story Pg . 6)

    ransitlimesPub lished month ly by the

    ALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICTLatham Square Building 508 Sixteenth StreetOakland, California 94612 Te lephone 6547878

    BOARD OF DIRECTORSJOHN McDONNELL . . PresidenlWard IIIWILLIAM E. BERK . . . .

    iA'DMALAN L B f l \ ~ROBERT E. NISBJOHN F. LARSON . .

    . Vice PresidentDirector at LargeDirector at Large... Ward I... Ward IV. Ward V

    GEORGE M. TAYLOR. . . . SecretaryDENNIS J . O'CONNOR Public Information Mgr., ~ 9cent over last year, while operating expenses soared 7.12 percent, reflectingincreased labor costs and additional service mileage.

    ounded driver goes o goodwill tourAC Transit driver Ralph P. Livingston,victim of a shooting aboard his bus on

    June 10, was back at work this monthbut not driving a bus.Although not fully recovered from hiswounds, Livingston began a personalgoodwill tour of the East Bay businesscommunity, thanking the hundreds ofbanks and stores participating in the saleof tokens for their help in making theReady-Fare plan a success.

    Everywhere he went, Livingston waswelcomed by sympathetic well-wisherswho seemed more anxious to personallycommend the 15-year veteran driver forhis heroic role than to receive his thanksfor their help.

    t was Livingston, 48, whose seriousinjuries - resulting from three gunshotwounds received during the June holdup-prompted the District to adopt theReady-Fare plan starting July 14.

    Over 400 business firms in the EastBay have volunteered to sell tokenshelping make tokens readily available tobus riders. This unusual support by thebusiness community has been a primaryfactor in the success of the program,says Alan L. Bingham, AC Transit general manager, along with the tremendous cooperation shown by our customers.Results promising

    During the first 28 days the ReadyFare plan was in operation, 3,164 redemption coupons were issued as refundsto patrons paying more than exact fares.They deposited $2,342 in the fare box,with $1,337 representing the amount oftheir overpayment. Only 470 coupons,worth $325, were redeemed during this28-day period.Sales of the new 20 and 40-ride ticketbooks for East Bay riding, which wenton sale August 1, showed promise.Available by zone, the ticket bookssell for 4 and 8 for 20 and 40-ride,single zone; 6 and $12, 2 zone; $7 and

    TH N KS - Operator R P. Livingstonthanks Chester Yothers (left), owner ofPlaza Drug Co., San Leandro, for helping in the ready-fare plan by sellingtokens in his store. 400 other East Bayfirms are being personally thanked bLivingston.$14, 3 zone; 9 and $18, 4 zone.

    The new youth fare ticket book, selling 10 rides for $1.50, went on saleAugust 19, and will be sold in most EastBay public and private schools beginningnex t month.Take-one leaflets, listing outletswhere tokens may be purchased, areavailable aboard all buses . Also includedon the leaflet is a coupon for orderingthe new ticket books by mail.At the conclusion of the first monthof the Ready-Fare plan, .there had notbeen a single robbery attempt aboardan AC Transit bus. .

    eminary wins treatDrivers at Seminary Division tallied13,843 miles per c c i d ~ n t in July to beat

    the newly-revised higher safety goal of13,000 miles. They celebrated with atreat of coffee and doughnuts.

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    McSorley

    EARLY TROLLEY UNIT At turn of century, unknown young boy drew this view ofOakland Transit Co. car and trailer.f youngsters want to draw, encourage them - with crayons. And point

    them toward buses and other means oftransportation.The result, in decades from now, maybe a scrapbook similar to one revered bytrolley historians. It contains drawingsof a lad known only as w McSorley-and the date of May 4 1900.While the identity of th e young artist

    is unknown, his ability is not.Cha rles Smallwood, foreman at the

    Cable Car Barn and Visitors Gallery, atWashington and Mason Sts. , San Francisco, considers th e drawings extremelyaccurate-and those colored by crayon ,indicate the paint job of the day.Smallwood purchased the book for afew cents in a bookstore in Oaklandsome 30 years ago and believes McSorley was an East Bay boy, who aroundthe turn of the century, occupied himself by drawing street cars seen on local

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    streets, in San Francisco, and in carbarns.The boy's eye for detail, which in

    cluded numbering equipment, has proven invaluable for present-day historians.Many of the drawings showed East Baycars after 11 independent electric railways had been consolidated into Oakland Transit Co . one of predecessors ofKey System-and AC Transit.A list of numbers on the cover, withdescriptions such as smashed, badlywrecked, not badly, are cars whichsurvived 1906 fire and earthquake andwere sent to San Francisco boneyard.

    One drawing, of an open car with aload of dirt in middle, long puzzled experts until photo finally confirmed accuracy. t showed car, same number onOcean Ave. in San Francisco, 1907,working on after-earthquake road construction.RECORD IN CRAYONS- W. McSorleymade drawings left in B1 00klyn car barn on13th Ave., between East 11th and E. 12thabout 1900. Drawing of car No. 1115 belowpuzzled historians until photo confirmed itwas working on Ocean Ave . in San Fran-cisco in 1907 after fire and earthquake.

    orkers hit retirement trailIn 43 years in transportation , therewas hardly any phase of work missed byGeorge L Harrison, 65, retiring Sept. 1as schedule analyst.Harrison went to work for Key Systemin 1925 as a street car motorman atNorthern Division in Richmond and

    later transferred to Central Division.He moved from there to motor coach

    headquarters at 45th and San Pablo andsubsequently worked as dispatcher, chiefclerk and chief dispatcher. In the middle1940's, Harrison was made assistantsuperintendent at Division 2, servinguntil he moved up stairs as a scheduleanalyst in 1950.Harrison, who lives at 1083 Via Palma,San Lorenzo, plans now to catch up onwoodworking projects and on reading.One goal is ancient history-right fromthe beginning.T. E. Tommy Powers is turning inhis b rass Sept. 1, shortly before his63rd birthday to go along for the rideon a new house and country squireliving in Cloverdale. Tommy ended hiscareer on Line 59/ 76 after putting in a

    lot of years onthem all . Hestarted as a motorman on the streetcars in Jan., 1930,and started hisseniority all overagain as a busdriver at Western

    Tommy Powers car barns in 1932.He worked as a supervisor from 1942 to1949, spent th e rest of the years behindthe wheel. Powers lived at 5345 ShafterAve., Oakland.Retirement has given mor e time toR. L. Lee Brushwiller to tend thedisplay of over 120 varieties of cactusplants he has in a dot-sized plot in frontof his cottage at 1801 Rose St., Berkeley.He also is waiting patiently for one rarevariety, the Turkish Temple from Africa, to bloom.

    Brushwiller, whoalready has waitedseven or eightyears to see anorchid-like flowergrow from thepointed end of thecactus-it looks likea football-figuresLee Brushwiller he'll be rewardedin perhaps another year.Brushwiller went to work for KeySystem in 1946 and had been at Rich

    mond since 1951. After a Septemberoperation , he plans to do some traveling.No time was lost by Henry HankSouthern, 65, who left San Pablo, theday after he retired to move his mobiletrailer to Paradise. From there, Southernand his wife were headed for a traveltrailer trip and some fishing in Oregonand Washington.Southern went to work for Key Systemin 1943 after driving a truck in the bayarea. He spent almost 25 years at Emeryville Division, driving mostly on transbay lines.

    For O. J. Miller, 61, who recently losthis wife, retirement meant a driving triparound the United States alone, insteadof the joint adventure long planned.Miller planned to return to his home at2400 109th Ave., Oakland, to take up ahobby of woodworking. He entered service in 1942.Mcse Jordan, 62, of 547 North Street,Oakland, a utility service employee atEmeryville Division, plans to try tostay out of trouble during his retirement by taking odd jobs. He went towork for Key System in 1946. Jordanworked at Emeryville shops before moving to the division.

    P. E. Pearman, 49, of 4028 San JuanSt., Oakland, who retired July 1 after along illness, went to work in 1945 at theshops as a service employee. He lefttrain work in 1958 for buses at SeminaryDivision.

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    -_ . - - - -

    Treasurer-Controller t retire;ew finance head named

    Retirement of John F. Larson, DistrictTreasurer-Controller for nearly nineyears, and appointment of his successor~ V a s announced this month by Alan L.Bingham, general manager.

    The newly-appointed replacement forLarson will be Robert D. Tough, 46,who has resigned his post as TreasurerController for the Theo. Hamm BrewingCo., St. Paul, Minnesota, to enter thetransit field. Tough will assume Districtduties in September as assistant generalmanager for finance and will take overas Treasurer-Controller when Larson retires.

    Tough, a 1949 graduate of San JoseState College, received his master ofbusiness administration degree inbusiness fromStanford University in 1952. He is anative of Chicago,Illinois and wasraised in Richmond, California.Tough joinedHamm's in 1957and served in several executive accounting positionsRobert Tough in the San Francis-co plant before being transferred to theSt. Paul headquarters in 1962.

    He previously served as senior auditorof the accounting firm of Touche, Ross,Bailey and Smart in San Francisco forfour years. Prior to that time he wascontroller with a Palo Alto real estateconcern.Tough was commissioned a pilot by

    the Air Force during World War II andrecently resigned as a director of theNortheastern State Bank of St. Paul,Minnesota.6

    Larson, 67, who joined the District in1959, is schedued to retire December 31.He was chieffinancial officer forthe world -w ideWinslow Engineer

    ing and Manufacturing Co., prior tojoining AC Transit,and was formerlyTreasurer-Control ler of a major LosAngeles powertransmission andb,earing distribution firm. During

    fohn Larson World War II, heheaded the accounting department of thebusy California Shipbuilding Corp., active in government contracts. With nearly 50 years of accounting and financialexperience, Larson has also been associated with Laborde and Hoover, a certifiedpublic accounting firm, Stauffer Chemical Co ., Santa Fe Railway, and GeneralPetroleum Co.

    Weare certainly going to miss thefinancial talents and good judgment ofMr. Larson, said Bingham, however,we feel that Mr. Tough comes to theDistrict with exceptional capabilities,particularly in the area of data processi '.g [l'-:.d computers, and will offer a greatdeal to AC Transit in years to come.

    District employees offeredFree chest X-raysThe Tuberculosis and Health Association of Alameda County will have itsChestmobile at Emeryville Division onSeptember 3, 4, and 5 for the convenience of District employees who wish afree chest X-ray.The service will be available betweenthe hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. oneach of these dates.

    C / transit P SSENGER REVENUE ... COMP RISON WITH PREVIOUS YE R1,300,0001,280,000

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    1,260,001,240,001,220,001,200,00

    o ~ J \1,180,001,160,00 \~ ~ l1,140,001,120,0001,100,0001,080,0001,060,0001,040,0001,020,0001,000,000

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    owCusiness activity holds steady

    The District's pattern of steady growth leveled off in June, with passenger revenue showing a slight gain. The number of riders carried duringthe month decreased slightly, although transbay travel continued to grow.Passenger revenue for the month totaled $1,143,811, an increase of10,110 or up .89 percent over year-ago revenue of $1,113,701. Revenueun trans bay lines was up 2.73 percent, while income from East Bav linesu'as down .48 percent. Commute book sales totaled $187,536 up 2:7 percent over sales of $182,694 recorded in June, 1967.

    The numbel' of passengers carried during the month reached 4,116,451,down .26 percent compared to the riding count of 4,117,136 made in thes m ~ month, a year ago. East ay lines showed a passenger decrease of .68percent, while riding on transbay lines was UI} .84 percent.Operation costs during the month reached, $1,411,874 up 1.40 percentor $19,535 mOre than year-ago expenses of $1,392,339. The District operated 1,916,590 miles of service, a decrease of 18,740 miles or .97 percent over mil(j age for the same month, a year ago.Total income of $1,562,345 was sufficient to cover all operational costsand depreciation but left a deficit of $36,503 with bond debt reqmrernents.ThA transit industry nationally in1icated a riding decrease for themonth of 4.57 percent.

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    SMILING FACES The Oakland Park Department'sFree Wheeler has its own happt/ face and amatching smile by driver David Bell at left. DriverOSCa1 Owens wears ranger hat for start of servicearranged blj East Bay Regional Park District and CTramit to regional parks.

    op a park us for vacation funAC Transit buses were flying pennants and wearing happy, summertimelooks this month in separate activities

    designed to get people out into the parksto enjoy vacation fun .In a new experiment, special direct

    bus service was being operated to Tilden Regional Park and Lake Chabot inAnthony Chabot Regional Park, underan agreement between the park andtransit districts.At the same time, the Oakland ParkDepartment's Free Wheeler was carrying capacity crowds around Lake Merritt on Sundays - sporting a smilingface, topped by a beanie and a propeller.

    The regional park buses, called theTilden Tripper and the Chabot Clipper, were operating seven days a weekto encourage maximum use of the parksby youngsters in urban areas and bypeople unable to drive.Regular fares were being charged, but

    Alameda-Contra Costa Transit DistrictLatham Square Building

    Oakland, California 94612

    eturn equested

    no zone collections were being made onthe special buses. f patronage fails tomeet expenses, the park district s making up the deficit.

    The Oakland Park Department bus offers free riding around Lake Merritt onSundays to solve parking congestionproblems. Visitors are invited to parkaway from crowded areas and use theFree Wheeler to reach attractions.

    Funds for the service s provided throughpromotion funds supplied by the concessionaires around the lake.The popular bus took on its new look

    after park department craftsmen made amouth, cheeks and nose from plywood,which can be fastened easily to thebumper. The headlights form the eyes ,while the windshield represents the forehead. The face s topped by a perky plywood cap, which carries the FreeWheeler name on the bill. And on tops a whirling propeller.

    The service runs into September.