By Huda Ahmed/510 Report

AC Transit and UC Berkeley are considering changes to the bus shuttle that serves the campus, which could result in the layoffs of several drivers employed by the university.

Under an existing agreement, the university offers the service and leases the buses from AC Transit. But the long-term lease expired in June 2008 and has been month-to-month since then. The transit agency elected not to continue the deal past December of this year, said Seamus Wilmot, UC Berkeley’s acting director of parking and transportation. 

Perimter bus driver Bob Mayer talks to a passenger.

But AC Transit spokesman Clarence Johnson would not confirm the end of the relationship with UC Berkeley, and said that the lease was not terminated and talks still continuing. “Anything is possible, and there is no way to know what will happen because the talks are still on and there is no timetable to get something out,” Johnson said.

Wilmot, though, met with the drivers in mid-April to tell them that the lease would not continue and they would likely lose their jobs by August.

Bob Mayer has been working as a driver on the campus for almost 16 years. He said he’d be disappointed to stop driving the campus routes, where he’s come to know the area inch by inch and has developed a good relationship with the passengers. Mayer talked as he drove the perimeter bus, which skirts the campus from Shattuck up the north side of the university, south past the Haas School of Business, and then down Bancroft to Shattuck again.

Anita Ross has used the bus for 30 years and said there’s a community connection between the drivers and the campus. “It is a big loss,” she said. “I’m a staff employee here and I get free transit, and I don’t know if I will have to pay for the bus in the future. The drivers are very generous and gentle and they wait for us when wave at them, unlike AC Transit.”

The university is looking for options to make sure the campus is still served by bus service. One solution might be to give AC Transit access to campus, and allowing the transit agency to provide the sole service to the campus area, although that would likely mean an increase in student and staff fees. Another option might be for the university to purchase its own vehicles, fuel and insurance, and also do its own maintenance, but this would also lead to higher fees and probably cost the university more than an agreement with AC Transit.

Currently the bus service costs more than $2 million, which the university pays to AC Transit. Student and staff fees cover about $1.2 million of that. Students pay $58.50 for an unlimited ride pass, while Berkeley staff members pay $37 per month.

The 17 drivers who drive the campus routes, meanwhile, are worried that if AC Transit takes over, they’ll lose their driving jobs because AC Transit will staff the routes with its own drivers, and does not have to budget to hire more. Wilmot said the university could try to find jobs elsewhere on campus for the displaced drivers. “Unfortunately,” he said, “this is the hardest part of the whole thing.”

Mayer said he’s thinking of seeking an alternative job with the Berkeley campus if he loses his driving job. “I would have to seek my options if there is another department job on the campus I can go to and work on my benefits and years of service in Berkeley,” Mayer said. “If I start with AC Transit I will have to stop everything I learned here and start all over again and it will be different. I will have to make a decision if I want to make that change.”

Linda Jerkins started driving one of the buses two years ago, and said she loves her job. She actively passes out fliers to passengers, whether at a bus stop or while she waits for her shift. “I want to stay here and I was thinking to keep working here until I retire,” Jerkins said.

The decision will be finalized in the next two weeks to a month, according to Wilmot, who said that they are still looking for options to solve the problem.