One of the hallmarks of superior transit is the ability to nimbly respond to changing conditions while maintaining the utility required to meet the needs of users. For decades, the Tri-Valley has been ably served in this regard by the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority’s Wheels services. In September 2023, BART changed its schedule to respond to ridership changes after the pandemic and improve service overall. The new schedule significantly increased evening services every day of the week, added some trains to the San Francisco airport route, and reduced total wait times in the system. But it also increased the time between trains from 15 minutes to 20 minutes on the blue line that serves the Hacienda BART station. That particular change was a challenge for the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) and the Wheels bus service it operates in the Tri-Valley. Many Wheels bus routes had been aligned with the old BART schedule and were now out of sync.

Service Changes Begin March 23

LAVTA needed to respond to the new situation and “decided to make lemonade out of lemons,” according to Executive Director Christy Wegener. Before the agency made any changes to existing service, it checked in with riders and the larger community to assess their needs. The same month the BART changes took place, LAVTA “quickly workshopped three different potential bus networks and launched a comprehensive outreach campaign.”

The preferred bus network was selected after careful analysis of community and rider survey results and stakeholder feedback collected during the autumn of 2023. Not only did LAVTA survey the community before making changes but also analyzed the database of customer comments over the past seven years before making recommendations to its board. In January, the LAVTA Board of Directors unanimously approved the agency's proposed Wheels in Motion network expansion and service enhancements

“Our riders and the community at large favored a bus network that brought more service to more places, albeit a bit less frequently,” says Wegener.

The service changes that take place later this week are the most significant since 2016, according to Wegener. One notable change is extending the 70X express route, which connects the Hacienda BART station to Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. That specific change was sparked by a request in LAVTA’s comment database.

“The tail of that route is going to be extended through Hacienda and terminate near the Stoneridge Shopping Center,” she says. “That means commuters coming from the Walnut Creek area or connecting on BART will have a one-seat ride all the way through Hacienda.”

Overall, the new network provides more community coverage and improves weekend service. For commuters and residents of Hacienda, Wegener says the most significant change will likely be the new alignment of Wheels Rapid bus frequencies with the 20-minute BART train schedules. In addition, a few local neighborhood routes that were suspended during the pandemic will be restored to some areas in Dublin and Livermore

“We are thrilled to introduce our new bus network, significantly expanding the reach of Wheels services,” according to LAVTA Board Chair Melissa Hernandez. “By listening to rider feedback and coordinating with our Bay Area transit partners, we continually evolve to meet the community's needs and improve public transit in the Tri-Valley.”

An Innovative Partnership

LAVTA and Hacienda unveiled an innovative partnership when the transit agency created its first bulk transit pass program for Hacienda in 1989. Hacienda’s Wheels ECO Pass program gives eligible tenants and residents free Wheels passes good for use throughout the system all year, and at any time. Hacienda employees and residents have taken more than six million Wheels trips since the program began.

The Wheels ECO Pass program “is unique to the Tri-Valley,” notes Wegener. “It's a great model. We need to make it easy for people to take transit. For employers, this is just a great offering for their employees, and Hacienda has been a great partner.”

The implementation of the new bus network and schedule changes take effect on March 23, 2024. To help riders get used to the changes and to invite new people to try its service, LAVTA is offering free rides to all between March 23 and April 6. The free rides apply across LAVTA’s entire network

There are other changes in the works as well. As of 2022, LAVTA operated a total of 60 diesel-hybrid buses that ranged from 30-feet to 35-feet to 40-feet long. Such buses are being phased out within the State of California because of regulation that requires transit agencies within the state to transition to zero-emission buses by 2040.

“Based on outcomes of the transition planning study completed by the Center for Transportation and the Environment, LAVTA plans to transition its fleet entirely to fuel cell electric buses (FCEB),” according to LAVTA’s 2022 Zero-Emission Bus Rollout Plan. “By 2034, LAVTA expects to operate a zero-emission fleet of 68 40-foot FCEBs.”

“The Board approved a vision that gets the agency to zero emissions by 2034, six years in advance of the mandate,” notes Wegener. “We've received funding to build a hydrogen fueling station, so that project will start to move this year. We'll be purchasing fuel cell buses and starting our transition in fiscal 2025. We're really excited about moving into our zero-emissions future and embracing hydrogen fuel cell technology. We will place our first fuel cell zero-emissions bus order later this year.”

In the meantime, LAVTA officials will be watching to see how riders respond to its new network, schedule, and route changes. “For years, transit agencies have seen ridership gains because of frequency,” she adds. “This is a little bit of a shift. I'm hopeful that with better weekend service and more coverage, this community will respond positively to the changes. My position is that ridership may no longer be the right measure of success. It is increasingly about access. It is about equity. It is about having a solid, reliable transit network.”

For more information about the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, please visit https://wheelsbus.com/about-lavta

For more information about riding Wheels, please visit www.wheelsbus.com.

For more information about the LAVTA Zero-Emission Rollout Plan, please see www.wheelsbus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/LAVTA-Zero-Emission-Bus-Rollout-Plan.pdf.

For more information about Hacienda’s Wheels ECO Pass program, please visit www.hacienda.org/special-offer/wheels%20eco%20pass.