The City of Alameda receives funds from the county specifically targeted at supporting seniors by helping them get where they need and want to go. Previously, the city directed much of these funds to the Alameda Free Loop Shuttle, which curlicued among a number of locations within city limits on a limited number of days. Starting in 2023, the city instead shifted these funds toward providing qualifying seniors with free passes to ride AC Transit buses every day of the week.

Efficiency and effectiveness

The program has been a great success. Usage of the AC Transit pass program is much higher than the Loop Shuttle program, and the city's cost to provide each trip is much lower:

While near the end of the Loop Shuttle's existence, the city was effectively paying a vendor $34 for each actual ride delivered, AC Transit now charges the city just over a dollar per ride delivered. (That's the Clipper Card rate for a senior or disabled rider. More on this rate and how it will be modestly increasing, in a moment.)

Riders are also much more satisfied with their AC Transit passes than they were, overall, with the previous Loop Shuttle. Per a recent staff report:

Customer Satisfaction is exceptionally high. In the 2024 transportation survey for older adults and individuals with disabilities, participants reported that the free bus pass helped them gain independence, financial stability, and improved mental health. They use their passes to travel to destinations such as Park and Webster Streets, Oakland Chinatown, grocery stores, food banks, medical appointments, and recreational spots like the Oakland YMCA.

While the Loop Shuttle stayed within somewhat arbitrary city limits, the new AC Transit pass program helps riders reach a wider range of destinations.

Toward a seamless experience

Along with the shift from the fixed Loop Shuttle to the more flexible AC Transit pass program, the City of Alameda systematically improved the experience of waiting for an AC Transit bus.

Like most American transit agencies, AC Transit is obligated to make its buses wheelchair accessible — but it's neither obligated nor does it have the budget to provide "amenities" like a place to sit at all its stops.

With the city directing more seniors and disabled individuals toward riding AC Transit buses, city staff and a Civic Spark fellow surveyed bus stop locations around the city and installed benches at stops with higher likely usage:

The city didn't just hand out AC Transit passes and say good luck catching the bus, seniors! The city also considered the entire journey, from door to door, and improved this overall experience.

Qualifications

Since the question always comes up around targeted public services, here's a note on who qualifies for this benefit. The application form stated that:

The City of Alameda provides free, unlimited ride AC Transit bus passes to Alameda residents who are Mastick Senior Center members, age 65+, or have a certified disabling health condition, are currently active or planning to be an active bus rider and meet the below income eligibility criteria.

Even with these qualifications, the program is now so popular that there are more qualifying seniors and persons with disabilities than the county funds will cover. The city has had to institute a waiting list to throttle the number of new users of the service.

Continuing this efficient and effective program

At its April 26 meeting, the city Transportation Commission unanimously endorsed staff's proposal to continue the city's AC Transit bus pass program. (It's been operating as a three-year pilot program to-date, alongside another county-funded program that's targeted specifically at supporting paratransit riders — that's beyond the scope of this blog post.)

In the city's proposed operating budget, which this blog has mentioned will be discussed by City Council at a May 5 workshop, staff are according to the presentation:

Requesting $70,000 in General Fund support to continue Senior Free Bus Pass program, impacted by recent 22% AC Transit fare increase and waitlist.

Those funds would supplement the county's contribution to allow more qualifying applicants to get off the waitlist. Those funds would also cover the increase to costs as AC Transit will be raising its fares on July 1 (after much debate).

From many different angles, this program is a success: It's efficiently delivered at a reasonable cost-per-ride. It's well-liked by its users. It's sought out by a growing number of seniors and disabled individuals in Alameda. And it's been accompanied by overall improvements to the city's transportation network. This is a high-quality use of county's funds — plus the proposed addition of some supplementary city funds — to improve mobility and enrich day-to-day lives of Alamedans.