Line 88 caters to West Oakland's Black neighborhood as feeder route
By Toshi Maeda
In late August, Bendina Walker, a 34-year-old single mother, joined the ranks of AC Transit's nearly 1,500 drivers. Now, she sits behind the 21-inch steering wheel of a Flyer bus five nights a week.
Ranked low in seniority, Walker is not yet assigned to a particular bus line. She spends two nights a week on Line 88, her primary workplace, which runs between downtown Oakland and North Berkeley BART. On each of the other three nights she works on different bus lines, including relatively long-distance Line 51.
"I don't see many white people here,'' Walker said as she drove the 88 north on Market St. on a Wednesday night. ''More than 80 percent of the passengers on this bus are black people.''
Walker, who is African American and a native of Oakland, attributed the large number of black riders to the fact that the bus runs through West Oakland, a largely black neighborhood.
As Market St. turns into Sacramento St., the bus enters Berkeley and eventually reaches North Berkeley BART. It's a four-mile run one way, which takes 23 to 34 minutes depending on traffic.
Four vehicles and nine regular drivers are assigned to Line 88 to make a total of 56 round trips between the two BART stations on weekdays, said AC Transit spokesman Gary Ward.
Many passengers, including University of California, Berkeley students, take Line 88 in combination with connecting buses, such as Lines 51, 52, 65 and F, which run along the area's main streets, like University and Shattuck avenues, and pass the UC campus.
"I would say this is a feeder line, which takes passengers to BART stations and other connecting buses,'' said another Line 88 driver, who identified himself only as Rich.
"There are more regular riders than occasional riders,'' said the 50-year-old nightshift driver, adding that during the busy hours around 6 p.m., the bus fills with some 20 to 30 commuters heading home.
Among the regular riders is Thomas McCraw, who uses the 88 every day to take his great-granddaughter to and from her school on San Pablo Avenue.
"This bus is quiet and comes on time. I like that,'' said McCraw, 62, who lives near Market Street.
After 9 p.m., business on the 88 gets slow-five passengers at most, sometimes none at all. Shuttling the same route more than five times a night in silence can be monotonous for the drivers.
"Sometimes, I try to speak to myself loud (to stay awake)," said novice driver Walker. What about karaoke? "Don't think I haven't tried that," she said with a laugh.
On a layover between runs, Walker called her 10-year-old son, Cory, who is cared for by her brother while she's behind the wheel.
Walker also enjoys talking with passengers: "I say hello to everybody," she said. "If you have a good attitude, people have a good attitude toward you."