Fix AC Transit First.
Candidate Gabriel Morales for AC Transit Ward 4
East Bay riders deserve buses that are reliable, safe, and accountable. Too many people face late or missed buses, overcrowded Transbay service, unsafe conditions, and route changes that leave communities behind. Gabriel Morales will put riders and taxpayers first with a practical “Fix It First” approach: improve service, cut waste, and hold leadership accountable before asking the public to pay more.
Gabriel’s Plan for Better Service
- Make buses reliable: Raise on-time performance to at least 85%, respond quickly to missed trips and service gaps, and provide riders with accurate real-time updates through mobile apps and stop signage.
- Support and retain operators: Reduce exhausting split shifts, reward attendance, expand wellness and mental-health support, and make AC Transit an employer where skilled drivers want to stay.
- Make every trip safer: Install full-height driver shields across the fleet and expand non-armed Transit Ambassadors on high-incident routes to help de-escalate conflict and protect riders and operators.
- Correct harmful Realign changes: Restore critical community service, including Line 33, and fix long, delay-prone routes that have left transit-dependent riders behind.
- Stop Transbay pass-ups: Use real-time passenger data, stage articulated buses at key bottlenecks, and add supplemental trips when overcrowding means riders may be passed by.
- Make transfers seamless: Work with BART, MTC, and regional partners to coordinate schedules, eliminate transfer penalties, and reduce the long waits that make multi-agency trips difficult.
- Protect service and taxpayer dollars: Audit operations, stop running empty buses on outdated routes, improve first- and last-mile connections, and pursue stable regional and state funding instead of fare hikes and service cuts.
Judge the Board by Results
The current Board may point to endorsements and accolades, but riders and taxpayers should judge leadership by results. If AC Transit were truly on the right track, riders would not be dealing with unreliable service, operator shortages, crowded buses, and a projected $200 million structural deficit. Endorsements and awards do not make a missed bus arrive, prevent a packed bus from passing riders by, or solve a financial crisis.
Riders and taxpayers need a new director for AC Transit Ward 4—one who demands accountability, protects service, improves safety, controls waste, and delivers results rather than excuses.