AC Transit Commuters Sound off with Complaints
By Dante Higgins
RICHMOND -- When Ken Anderson was left at a stop by an AC Transit bus, he had a special reason for running it down.
On Lancaster Street, Anderson, 25, waited for the 72 bus to start his commute to work. This particular evening his bus passed him by. "The driver stormed right past me and I had to literally chase the bus to the next stop," Anderson said. "I think he assumed that no one was at the stop because he passed other people at stops once I got on."
In Richmond, near Hilltop Mall buses are few and far between in the evening. If Anderson misses the 72 he has to wait 38 minutes for the next bus, causing him to miss his connection at BART at El Cerrito Del Norte, making him a total of one and a half-hours late for working San Francisco. "One and half hours late for me is about $30 and a reprimand," Anderson said.
Being passed up by a bus is one of the nine highest complaint categories that AC Transit hears about. Driver conduct or discourtesy, and hazardous operation or unsafe driving are also common complaints.
A tabulation of complaints prepared by Kenneth Rhodes, customer service manager reported complaints in the nine highest categories are up about 12 percent from last year. The reason for the rise in complaints is unclear to Rhodes. "It's a bit tough to say, the problem is that the complaint process is evolving…Complaints are up but no specific categories have skyrocketed," he said.
Rhodes is the new customer service manager at AC Transit and ultimately responsible for handling these grievances. Rhodes has held the position for two months and recently ordered a new step to the handling process. When complaints are received at the call center, they are now logged and tracked, documenting what is done to resolve the complaints. "We do take the complaints very seriously and follow up I think, very appropriately," said Rhodes.
With a service area spanning 13 cities, from Fremont to San Pablo, AC Transit serves about 230,000 people a day and complaints come in around the clock. Most customer complaints are funneled through the company's telephone information center, staffed by three senior information clerks who receive, document and process each complaint. Each person receives approximately 60 phone calls a day. Clerks also respond to 15-20 email and phone messages per day, as well as mail. The complaints fall into any of 50 categories. The complaints are then forwarded to the appropriate department and action is taken.
Rhodes said that if a passenger is left at the stop and makes a complaint, it is sent to the operations department where the driver will be asked about the incident. He added that pass ups generally happen because a bus is too crowded or because the driver didn't see the passenger. Bus drivers agree with Rhodes on these reasons for pass ups, but add that it can take weeks for a complaint to reach them. By then, the driver may not remember what happened on the day in question. Drivers are not penalized for passing up passengers as long as it doesn't appear that they are leaving passengers on purpose.
Ken's wife, Keysha Anderson, 22, also depends on public transportation for her commute. She says that AC transit drivers seem to be in a hurry. "I see people on the bus all the time who fall into seats or other people because the bus speeds off so fast. It's scary to watch elderly people or people with groceries because they can't grab onto anything right away and the driver's don't seem to care" she said. "There shouldn't be so much pressure getting on the bus. I feel safer when the bus stop is on a corner because the bus is forced to wait a few seconds."
Rhodes was not surprised to hear this complaint and explained that sometimes a driver must pull off sooner to make up time on a schedule. "We are very proud of our on-time rate," he said. Breaks for drivers have been replaced with "recovery time" and this can give incentive to rush a route. "If you don't make it to the end of your route in time, you miss a break," said driver Jerry Collins. Drivers could lose their break if traffic is heavy or if there is a large number of wheelchair passengers. At the end of the route drivers must get back on the road in time to keep the schedule. "Our union tells us to drive at the speed limit," says Collins. "If you can't make the schedule they just have to rewrite it next year
The Andersons have also witnessed drivers who seem uneasy when asked for directions or help. "Sometimes it's like you are bothering them or taking too much time," said Mrs. Anderson. "I've seen people get on the bus lost and confused who get off the bus the same way," added Mr. Anderson.
Other problems passengers experience are with dangers of buses failing to pull up to curbs, a lack of buses on the one route that travels to their home, and refusal of drivers to wait for passengers obviously running to catch the bus. Some solutions the Andersons suggest are to train drivers in customer service and passenger needs, increase bus frequency so that it isn't devastating to a passenger's schedule to miss one bus, and to speed up the process of getting people on the bus. "The time it takes to get on the bus and pay your fare cheats riders and drivers of precious time," said Mrs. Anderson.
The couple doesn't see AC Transit as all bad. They acknowledge that to have service at all is a good thing. "I am glad AC Transit exists since we depend on it," said Mr. Anderson, "I just think for as much as you pay, you should get more."
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Nine Highest Complaint Categories at AC Transit |
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| Hazardous operation | Unsafe driving, speeding, swerving, running red light |
| Driver conduct/discourtesy | Something driver has said or done |
| No show | Bus doesn't arrive for schedule |
| Pass up | Bus arrives at a stop, but does not pick up the passenger |
| Late | Bus is late |
| Cancellation | Bus didn't make schedule due to mechanical or personnel issues |
| Sharp | Bus arrives at a stop and leaves before scheduled time |
| Fare/transfer dispute | Disagreement on fare between driver and passenger |
| Refusal to allow aboard | Driver refuses to allow a passenger on board |