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For the Good of Your CommunityVol. 9, No.7 OAKLAND, NOVEMBER, 1966

District ends fiscal year with newPassenger gains; public support citedMore people are riding AC Transitbuses than ever before.Passengers carried during the 12

month period ending June 30 carne to52,083,157 - an increase of nearly twoper cent over the previous year. Theadditional business resulted in a betterfinancial condition for the District thanexpected, according to a report on annual system operations, released thismonth.Like most business firms and individuals, the District spent the yeartrying to make "ends meet." But asurge in patronage and public supportof a fare increase enabled AC Transitto cut an estimate deficit from $983,000to $171,124 for the year.

Special concentration was givenduring the year to expanding servicethrough line extensions and in scheduling additional express operations.

Delivery of another 30 new busesenabled the District to put 370 modern coaches on the road, well over halfof the total fleet of 661 buses.The new "stop-off and go-again"transfer system was numbered amongthe most valued changes.

The public also was introduced to anew concept in traveling luxury, theexperimental "Freeway Train," anarticulated duo-bus which carries 77passengers in greater utilization ofcrowded freeway space.

Travel was down slightly on locallines, but showed a substantial gain ontrans bay and East Bay intercityexpress service . Passenger revenuefor the full year totaled $13,427,987,up 5.15 per cent over the year past.The district carried 38,889,260passengers on local lines, a decreaseof 0.6 per cent below the preceding

Copies of the 1965-66 annual report, which features the City ofEmeryville on the cover, may beobtained at the general offices, 415Latham Square Building, Oakland,or through the mail by telephoning654-7878.fiscal year. Transbay travel, however,continued to grow with 13,193,897passengers taking the bus, a hike of9.52 per cent. Intercity express linesshowed a revenue gain of' 12.14 percent.Operating expenses spiraled to ahigh of $15,469,239 - up 8.10 per centover the year before - caused primarily by increased labor costs.With a deficit of almost a milliondollars looming, the District wasforced to put good transportation tothe test in January. Transbay commutefares were raised two cents a ride andEast Bay children's fares were boostedfrom 10 to 15 cents.

Riding, nevertheless, continued togain in the following months.

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AC / transit PASSENGER REVENUE ... COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS YEAR1,240 ,0001 ,220,0001.200 ,0001,180,0001,160,00 01,140 ,0001,120,0001, 100,0001,080 ,0001,060,0001,040 ,0001,02 0 ,0001,000,000

980,000960,000940,000

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Transit business showed a favorable increase for the month of September, inth e number of riders carried an d in passenger revenue.Revenue from passengers totaled $1,162,267, up $84,082 or 7.80 pe r cent over$1,078,185 collected in September, 1965. Of the total, revenue on East Bay lineswa s up 6.63 pe r cent and on transba y service, 9.54 pe r cent. Commute book salesalso showed an increase, with a total of $175,361, up 1.3 per cent over sales of$173,055 in the same month a year ago.The number of riders carried by the District reached 4,345,008, an increase of1.24 pe r cent over the 4,291,640 who rode District service in September, 1965.Th e District operated 1,898,147 miles of service, an increase of 21,362 or 1.1miles over mileage of a year ago. Operational costs reached $1,269,999, up$93,417 or 7.9 per cent greater than year-ago expenses of $1,176,582 .

Total income of $1,480,558 was sufficient to cover the month's operation expenses, bond debt requirements and equipment replacement costs.Nationally, the industry showed a passenger revenue increase ofO .10 per centfor the month.

Two new revenue reeords set by DistrietBrisk transba y travel on Friday, Oct.14, gave th e District it's highest levelof transbay revenue for any single day

of operation - a total of $20,957. Th eprevious high wa s reached Ma y 20,with revenue of $20,935.44 collected.2

Flags also flew with a flurry on EastBay express lines Oct. 7, as a ne w revenue record wa s se t fo r intercityservice of $3,286.08 for th e day. Th eprevious record of $3,233 .61 wa stallied on Jan. 14.

T

W. ]. Bettencourt R. M. Copeland ] . L. McDonnell E. Guy WarrenRecord voter turnout returns four

Incumbent transit directors to oHiceFour incumbent directors were returned to office this month by a substantial majority of voters .Three of the incumbents faced opposition at the polls.Col. Robert M. Copeland, of Ken

sington, a director at large, won anoverwhelming majority in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Unofficial returns gave hi m 161,431 votesin Alameda County against th e 82,426for his opponent, J. Howard Arnoldof Berkeley. In West Contra CostaCounty, th e vote for Copeland was25,561, compared to 11,412 for Arnold.As final official figures were beingtabulated, Vice President John L. Mc Donnell, of Oakland, ha d a five to on emajority over his opponent in Ward III,Hector Reyna of Oakland. McDonnell's vote stood at 57,371, as against11,514 for Reyna.William J. Bettencourt, of Sa nLeandro, representing Ward IV, ha d

Bargain for speetatorsWest Bay ice hockey fans are ableto ride express buses to the OaklandColiseum Arena - an d save moneyin the process. Combination ticketsbeing sold by the District for th e firsttime at the Transbay Transit Terminaloffer transportation an d admission, ata 50-cent savings.

a three to on e lead over his nearestopponent. Th e unofficial count stoodat 48,218 votes for Bettencourt, an d17,507 for John T . Muldowney, ofOakland.The three who \'von contested elections have been directors since theDistrict was created by voters in 1956.A fourth incumbent, E. Guy Warren,of Hayward, director of Ward V, wasreelected without opposition, polling45,753 votes.

lit MemoriamA. J. KLIMAX, who at 100 was theoldest pensioner on AC Transit rolls,died Oct. 14 at Forestville. He worked

as a car repairman at Central carhousefrom 1908 until he was pensioned in1938 .CHARLIE C. STEWARD, 69, streetcar operator from 1924 until heswitched to bus driving in 1947, diedOct. 7. He w ~ s pensioned in 1959.FR EDER IC K W . COOK, 77 ,machinist from 1917 until pensionedin 1954, died Sept. 16.

HENRY "CHARLES" HANSON,70, street car operator from 1927 until1948; a bus driver from 1948 until 1950and a trainman for the next eight years,until he returned to driving in 1958,died Oc t . 28 . He retired in 196 1.3

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Bus driver works in double harnessIt might be a rare bus driver who canharness a horse, bu t it's a rarer one yet

who can completely make th e harness,right down to the last buckle.

Glen D. Fowler, Emeryville Division operator, has varied hobbies, withth e fashioning of scaled-down horsetrappings - an offshoot of a major interest in "bui ld ing" articles fromleather.

His rigs include padded leatherhorse collars, hand-carve double tree,tongue, neck yoke an d all of the straps,buckles and reins needed for hi s toyhorses to pull the "covered wagon"lamps he' puts together for sale.

Drawing on memories of when hisfather ha d a rural mail delivery routein Kansas, Fowler insists on perfectionin the gear. He uses metal towel racks,for instance, in making th e 42 bucklesrequired for a se t of harness for twoplastic horses.

He uses manufactured coveredwagon kits for th e lamps, bu t is makinghis own miniature buggy, to a one-fifthscale, for a horse he already has harnessed and "ready to go."

Fowler was introduced to leatherwork by another operator in 1948 an dimmediately wa s captured by th e sat-

isfaction of watching something "takeshape in my hands.""I sure remember that first wallet.I gave it such a whang I knocked a holeright through it."

Since then, Fowler has turned ou tcountless hand-tooled wallets, morethan 50 purses, four gunbelts an dholsters, along with the miniatureharnesses.

Always good with his hands, he especially likes to work with leatherbecause he can "see it come to life."But he also does some woodwork inhis shop behind his home at 621 43rdSt., Richmond, an d has th e specialgratitude of his wife fo r some ne wgarage wall cabinets.

Sh e shares hi s enthusiasm foranother hobby, model trains an d th e"transportation system" he is settingup in on e section of th e shop.A bus driver since Sept. 1, 1944,Fowler probably is on e of the biggestoperators behind the wheel.He figures his weight at "about 2112"- meaning 250 pounds - an d addscandidly:

" I wa s a fa t Ii tl e boy. I 've al waysbeen fat. But my health is good an dI can pu t a bus any place it's supposedto go."

HITCHING UP - With one team harnessed and "ready to go," Operator Glen Fowlershows details of rigs he makes as part of leather "building" hobby. The double harnesshas 42 hand-made buckles, is authentic to last detail.

A ot of time!Years count upFor two friends

Two District veterans, who startedou t together on th e streetcars 43 yearsago, have decided to wrap up theircareers at about the same time andhead for Florida an d leisure time.

Fo r Carl H. Brooks, top of the seniority list at AC Transit, retirementplans came as a surprise - even tohim.

" I just suddenly decided I was tiredof working an d made up my mind Iwas going to quit, so I di d - nevereven said anything to my wife aboutit," Brooks explained at his home,1824 Reliez Valley Rd., Lafayette.In contrast, Ernest "Ernie" Burgess,

413 61st St., Oakland, had been planning to ask for his pension for severalmonths. He had a good-bye party thisSpring an d has since been kidded byhis fellow workers because he stillwas on the job.

Both worked together in their earlydays with Key System . Burgess was onth e front en d of a street ca r ou t ofWestern Carbarn an d Brooks w,,'s hisconductor.

Brooks, who went to work in April,1923, switched to bu s driving in 1926and rounded out his career on th e AIcatraz line (No. 17).

History repeated itself most noticeably for hi m when he drove the firstbus through the ne w Webster St. tubeto Alameda in February, 1963, as hedi d when the old Posey tube openedon a dark October morning in 1928.

On his first trip, it was 5 a.m., dark,he wa s alone, and it wa s "kind ofscary." Th e second trip was in the

AFTER 43 years - Carl H. Brooks, left,checks for last time after turning in to]. D. Goodman, transportation superinten-dent at Emeryville Division.~ - : : : : J i i j : i

THAT'S NOT FLORIDA! Ernest "Ernie"Burgess does a little map wandering whileplanning retirement trips. Separately, heand Brooks have scheduled trips to Floridanext year.glare of sunshine, television an d newspaper cameramen and a caravan ofautomobiles waiting to follow Carlthrough the tube.

Both Brooks and Burgess have plansof heading for Florida early next year.Burgess went to work in February,1924, on a ferry boat overhaul, and twoweeks later, transferred to the streetcars. He moved to bus driving in 1936.As the man who helped keep commute buses on the line at the TransbayTransit Terminal, for the past 10 years,he figures he's best known as a "parking lot attendant."

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. . . a number of young peopleboarded the bus. After they had paidtheir fares, the driver announced thatif they got on the bus the next da y an dgave hi m quarters, he would give them"pennies in change" . . . my wife toldme about this and reported that theyoung people were quite annoyedabout the whole performance and thatshe could not appreciate th e att itudeof our children and their complaints . . everyone riding the bus should beencouraged to give the proper change .. bu t to regard the use of quartersfor a 15 cent fare as unreasonable -that is carrying things a bi t too far .. .(Agree. - Ed.)

James A. MorrisonOakland

", ", ",

We just returned from a Job'sDaughters convention in Long Beach .. we were driven there by H. B.Robertson . . . It was a delightful tripand much of that wa s du e to th ethoughtful an d courteous bus driver . . It was like having another chaperone. At al l times he behaved in agentlemanly manner and hi s patiencewith our girls was unending . . . mostimportant of all, his driving was th ebest .. . He knew his vehicle an d th eroad .. . Mrs. R. M. Milan

Oakland" , " , ",

I feel you should know that the current regular operator of the 42 Blairbu s is outstanding .. . on e to be com-6

mended for he r pleasantness, thoughtfulness of he r passengers an d initiative. He r name, I' m told, is Mrs. HelenPitts . . . Mrs . Pitts has not only pleasantly greeted her passengers, bu t shehas religiously waited at Oakland an dHighland Avenues for the arrival ofthe transbay Piedmont-Highland ex.. . to pick up from five to seven passengers ... On behalf of other riders,who I feel certain feel th e same way,please extend to Mrs. Pitts ou r sincerethanks for outstanding service . . .

", " , " ,

John T. BealesPiedmont

. I would like to take this opportunity to bring to your attention thesplendid courtesy at al l times of on eof your bus operators (0 . A. Donais) . ..

Mrs. Ethel RobertsOakland

", " , " ,

. . . for some three plus years I havebeen a commuting passenger . . . Ihave ridden on many different busesan d with many different drivers. Without exception I have found yourdrivers to be courteous, careful an dwell trained. Patience also seems tobe an attribute with which they areendowed which is frequently exhibited under trying conditions of trafficproblems and unreasonable passen-gers . .. T . C. Garrick

San Francisco

HAZARDS - Importance of alert de-fensive driving is dramatized for busdrivers during simulated rainstorm.

"Win te r i z ing"AC Trans i t

It's that time of year again, whenweather puts a test on th e skill of District operators and when it's "all-out"with all departments to keep passengers an d buses on th e safe side ofstatistics.

And AC Transit drivers headed intoth e rainy season with an enviable recor d of accident reduction tucked undertheir belts.

To remind operators to "winterize"their driving practices, th e safety de-

Transit rolls boostedBy additional workers

Ne w District workers include :General Offices

Treasury: Elmer Marzorini, of Fremont, vault clerk.Emeryville Division

PBX-Information: Patricia Picchi,of Oakland, clerk.

Maintenance: Joe Prince, of Oakland, service employee.

Richmond DivisionBus Operators: E. J. Davenport, Jr.,

an d B. J. Prestridge, both of Richmond.Seminary DivisionBu s Operators: C. S . Styers, Jr ., B. J.

Falls, both of Oakland; D. E. Figas,San Leandro; H . F. Meador, CastroValley.

partment issued a "when-the-rainscome" bulletin for all drivers, and alsosimulated, with photographs, some ofth e problems to be faced .

Summarized, th e hazards that accompany we t weather add up to theseconclusions:

Wet streets require more distanceto stop. More caution is required whenapproaching intersections A safe following distance must bemaintained."Remember the other fellow has

the same problem of reduced visibilitythat you have," G. G. Wadsworth, Distric t safety engineer, advised bu soperators.

"However, he may not be observingDefensive Driving Practices, so op erate your equipment as if yo u expected hi m to make a quick stop, beatth e signal, cu t in on you, or other hazardous driving procedures, and beprepared to exercise all th e defensivedriving skill you possess to prevent anaccident."

During the fiscal year which endedJune 30, the District's accident ratedropped by 12.6 per cent below theprevious year. And another reductionof 3.4 pe r cent wa s recorded in theprevious fiscal year.

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At an adjourned regular meetingOct. 26, the Board of Directors: Directed Attorney for the Districtto reply to correspondence initiated byCounty District Attorney's office inconnection with prior years' electioncosts, on motion of Vice PresidentMcDonnell. Declined to extend western end ofFruitvale Ave. line, as requested byarea residents, because of additionalexpense, on motion of Director Berk. Approved procedure for deve loping agreement with Division 192 of theCarmen's Union to changes in existingpension plan, on motion of DirectorRinehart.

Published monthly by theALAMEDA- CO NTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICTLatham Square Building 508 Sixteenth Street

Oakland, California 94612 Telephone 654-7878BOARD OF DIRE CTO RS

WILLIAM H. COBURN, JR. .Ward IJOHN McDONNELL. Ward IIIROBERT M. COPELAND.RAY H. RINEHART.WILLIAM E. BERK . . . .WM. J. BETTENCOURT.E. GUY WARREN . .

. PresidentVice President

Director at la rgeDirector at Large

Ward II. . . Ward IV. . . Ward V

ADMIN IST RA TI VE O FFI CERSKENNETH F. HENSEl . General ManagerROBERT E. NISBET . AttorneyJOHN F. LARSON. . Treasurer-ControllerGEORGE M. TAYLOR. . . . Secretary.ALAN l. BINGHAM . Public Information Manager____________ ____________

At a regular meeting Nov. 9, the Rinehart .Board of Directors: Approved $250 increase in semi- Authorized payment of $900 spe- annual dues to Oakland Chamber ofcial assessment to American Transit Commerce, on motion of DirectorAssociation, on motion of Director Rinehart.A uni ted response to United Bay Area Crusad e

Workers, who traditiona lly "digdeep" to help others in need, werebacking the line this month with over$17,406 pledged to United Crusade.With the ,drive almost completed,109 employees also had pledged onehour's pay each month as their "FairShare" of giving - a 24 per cent increase over last year. They are: .Executive and General OfficesK. F. Hensel ,F. W. Curcio, R N.

Reinberger, M. W. Pulsipher.Emeryville DivisionAlameda-Contra Costa Transit District

Latham Square BuildingOakland, California 94612

Operating: Ralph Rubin, H. H.Christian, R B. Granger, G. K. Au, M.N. Reed, Murphy Williams, A. S .Lewis, J. M. Boysen, J. C. Wansitler,F . O . Cascadden, F . T. Heaton, E. 1.Ryan, J. F. DeWatney, E. R. Hayes,A. R Blackmon, B. L. Tomlin, C. B.Anderson, J. N. Alder.Mechanical: Mario Benassi, RT.Abraham.

Semi na ry DivisionOperating: R M. Detloff, P. W. Had

den, J. D. Vestal, E. K. Wadsworth.BULK RATE

U. S. PostagePAIDGOOD WIN S-AMME U - 5 Oakland, Cal if.Permit #2105

Return Requested2018 CHANNING WAYB E R K E ~ E Y 4, CALIF.