Tempo (bus rapid transit)

Tempo
A southbound bus at Downtown San Leandro station
Overview
Operator	AC Transit
Garage	Division 4
Vehicle	27 New Flyer XDE60 [1]
Began service	August 9, 2020 (2020-08-09)
Predecessors	1, 1R
Route
Locale	Oakland, San Leandro
Start	Uptown Transit Center
Via	International Boulevard
End	San Leandro BART station
Length	9.5 mi (15.3 km)
Stations	34
Service
Frequency	10 min (6 am–7 pm) 15 min (7 pm–midnight) 30–60 min (midnight–6 am)
Journey time	40–47 min
Daily ridership	13,615 (Fall 2022) [2]
Ridership	4,106,130 (2023) [3]
Timetable	AC Transit Tempo
Map	AC Transit Tempo
Route map Tempo highlighted in purple Show interactive map Legend BART to Richmond and Antioch Uptown Transit Center 14th Street BART to Millbrae (via San Francisco) City Center Harrison Street Madison Street Lake Merritt (BART) 2nd Avenue 5th Avenue 10th Avenue 14th Avenue 20th Avenue 24th Avenue 28th Avenue 31st Avenue Fruitvale 39th Avenue High Street 48th Avenue 54th Avenue Seminary Avenue Division 4 63rd Avenue 67th Avenue 73rd Avenue 77th Avenue 82nd Avenue 86th Avenue 90th Avenue 95th Avenue 98th Avenue 103rd Avenue Durant Avenue Oakland San Leandro Georgia Way San Leandro Civic Center Downtown San Leandro San Leandro BART BART to Berryessa/​North San José All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram ←    List of AC Transit routes   6  →

Tempo is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service in Oakland and San Leandro in California. It is operated by AC Transit as Line 1T. The route has dedicated lanes and center-boarding stations along much of the corridor, prepaid fares, signal preemption, and all-door boarding. It is AC Transit's busiest bus route, with an average of 13,615 riders boarding each weekday in Fall 2022.

Route

The northern terminus of the line is at the Uptown Transit Center, located at the 19th Street/Oakland BART station. The lines continues down Broadway in mixed traffic, passing 12th Street/Oakland City Center BART station before the southbound and northbound routes split at 11th and 12th Streets, respectively. Both directions simultaneously meet at and run on Lake Merritt Boulevard before splitting again to 12th Street and International Boulevard. Southbound buses join International Boulevard at 14th Avenue and begin median running in an exclusive bus lane. Services continue to a station near Fruitvale BART and onward to San Leandro, where operation in mixed traffic resumes and the line continues down Davis Street to terminate at San Leandro BART.

Articulated buses call at specially built high-curbed bus stops at the north and south ends of the line while the majority of International Boulevard stops feature median strip boarding platforms.

History

Planning

A 1993 AC Transit study designed the Berkeley–Oakland–San Leandro corridor as a potential alignment for major transit investment. ^{[4] : 1.19} The agency began work on a Major Investment Study (MIS) for the corridor in 1999. Telegraph Avenue was selected as the Berkeley–Oakland alignment in 2011; Shattuck Avenue had lower expected ridership, while College Avenue had fewer opportunities for transit-oriented development. ^{[5] : 8} The 2002-released MIS recommended bus rapid transit (BRT) for the corridor; light rail was deemed not to be cost-effective, while enhancements to conventional bus service would not generate significant ridership increases. ^{[4] : S2}

A route 1R bus in Oakland in 2012

Prior to 2007, Telegraph Avenue was primarily served by the 40/40L local/limited-stop routes, while International Boulevard and East 14th Street were served by the 82/82L pair. Service changes on June 24, 2007, included the establishment of Berkeley–Downtown Oakland–Bay Fair routes 1R and 1; the 82/82L were discontinued and the 40/40L were cut back to no longer serve Telegraph Avenue. ^{[6] : 2.3  [7] [8]} Route 1R (the International Rapid) operated as a limited-stop overlay of local route 1; it had some bus rapid transit features like transit signal priority and wide stop spacing, but not all-door boarding or dedicated lanes. It was intended as a first phase while the full BRT service was planned. ^{[5] : 8, 16}

The 2007 Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report considered whether to have Bay Fair or San Leandro as the southern terminus, and whether to have separate local and express services or a single combined service. ^{[4] : S1} AC Transit later selected a combined service to San Leandro station as the Locally Preferred Alternative. ^[9] In April 2010, the Berkeley City Council voted against the inclusion of center bus lanes over concerns about reducing Telegraph Avenue to a single general traffic lane in each direction. The city's preferred alternative, with curbside stops and no dedicated bus lanes, was not compatible with BRT service standards. Berkeley withdrew from the project in 2011. ^{[10] [11]} San Leandro also objected to center lanes on its portion of the line. ^[12]

The Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report, released in January 2012, removed the center lanes south of Georgia Way in San Leandro. It also included a Downtown Oakland–San Leandro alternative to allow the project to proceed without the Berkeley and North Oakland section. AC Transit approved this shorter alternative in April 2012, followed by the Oakland and San Leandro city councils that July. ^{[10] [13]} (That June, the center lanes had been further cut to Broadmoor Street near the Oakland/San Leandro border by the San Leandro city council. ^[10] )

Construction and service

The southbound BRT platform at 19th Street under construction in April 2020

Route 1R was eliminated on June 26, 2016 to allow for construction. Route 1 was changed to run only between Downtown Oakland and San Leandro station; new routes 6 and 10 were created to serve the Downtown Oakland–Berkeley and San Leandro–Bay Fair segments. ^[14] Groundbreaking was held in August 2016. ^[15] The project was funded by a mix of local, state, and federal funds; major sources included Federal Transit Administration Small Starts (31%), Regional Measure 2 bridge tolls (24%), AC Transit (10%), and Alameda County Measure B/Measure BB sales tax (9.2%). ^[16]

The service was branded Tempo in July 2020, with the service numbered 1T. ^[17] Route 1T service began on August 9, 2020, with local route 1 eliminated. ^[18] Tempo was fare-free for the first 90 days of service; fare collection started on November 9, 2020. ^[19] The total cost of the project was $232 million. ^[18]

On March 31, 2023, overnight service was curtailed to City Center (northbound) and 14th Street (southbound) due to street closures in downtown Oakland. ^[20] On August 6 of the same year, late-night trips (after 9 pm) were also truncated in the same way. ^[21] In 2024, a "quick build" project by AC Transit and the City of Oakland added delineator posts, pavement markings, and signage between 14th Avenue and 107th Avenue in response to safety concerns. Speed cushions to discourage motorists from illegally driving in the bus lanes were also planned. ^[22]

A 2016 AC Transit study of potential improvements to major corridors proposed extensions of the Downtown Oakland–San Leandro corridor to Emeryville via West Grand Avenue, and to Bay Fair station via East 14th Street. ^[23]

Station list

Note: Bold indicates frequent bus route service.

north to south

Station	Platform	Intersection/ address	Connections	Notes
Uptown Oakland	curb (2)	Broadway and 17th Street (northbound) Broadway and 20th Street (southbound)	BART – 19th Street/Oakland station: Red Line Yellow Line Orange Line AC Transit: 6, 12, 18, 33, 51A, 72/72M/72R , 800, 802, 805, 851, NL walking distance of Uptown Transit Center	Northern terminus Serves Uptown Oakland, BART Headquarters, Fox Oakland Theatre, Kaiser Center, Paramount Theatre no canopy on northbound stop
14th Street	curb (2)	Broadway and 14th Street	AC Transit: 6, 12, 14, 18, 33, 51A, 72/72M/72R, 800, 802, 805, 851	Serves Downtown Oakland, Oakland City Hall, Frank Ogawa Plaza, AC Transit Headquarters
City Center	curb (2)	12th and Broadway (northbound) 11th and Broadway (southbound)	BART – 12th Street Oakland City Center station: Red Line Yellow Line Orange Line AC Transit: 6, 12, 18, 19, 20, 29, 33, 40, 51A, 72/72M/72R, 88, 96, 800, 802, 805, 840, 851	Serves Downtown Oakland, Chinatown, Lafayette Square, Oakland City Center, Oakland Convention Center, Oakland Public Library Asian Branch
Harrison	curb (2)	12th and Webster Streets (northbound) 11th and Alice Streets	AC Transit: 19, 20, 29, 33, 40, 88, 96, 840	Serves Downtown Oakland, Chinatown stops located further from Harrison Street
Madison	curb (2)	12th and Madison Streets (northbound) 11th and Madison Streets	BART – Lake Merritt Station (walking distance): Orange Line Blue Line Green Line AC Transit: 29, 33, 40, 88, 96, 840	Serves Downtown Oakland, Lake Merritt, Laney College, MetWest High School, Oakland Main Library, Oakland Museum
2nd Avenue	curb (2)	International Boulevard and 2nd Avenue (northbound) East 12th Street and 2nd Avenue (southbound)
5th Avenue	curb (2)	International Boulevard and 5th Avenue (northbound) East 12th Street and 5th Avenue (southbound)	AC Transit: 62, 96
10th Avenue	curb (2)	International Boulevard and 10th Avenue (northbound) East 12th Street and 11th Avenue (southbound)	AC Transit: 96
14th Avenue	curb (2)	International Boulevard and 14th Avenue (northbound) 14th Avenue and Solano Way (southbound)	AC Transit: 96
20th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 20th Avenue		Serves Community School for Creative Education
24th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 24th Avenue	AC Transit: 62
28th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 28th Avenue
31st Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 31st Avenue	AC Transit: 20, 21, 39	Serves Fruitvale
Fruitvale	median	International Boulevard and 34th Avenue	BART – Fruitvale station (walking distance): Orange Line Blue Line Green Line AC Transit: 54	Serves Fruitvale Village and Oakland Public Library Cesar E. Chavez Branch
39th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 34th Avenue		Serves Fruitvale
High Street	median	International Boulevard and 45th Avenue	AC Transit: 14	Serves Fremont High School (walking distance) and Oakland Public Library Melrose Branch Stop is two blocks east of High Street
48th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 48th Avenue
54th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 54th Avenue
Seminary	median	International Boulevard and 58th Avenue	AC Transit: 45	Stop is one block west of Seminary Avenue
63rd Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 63rd Avenue
67th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 67th Avenue		Serves Oakland Public Library Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch
73rd Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 72nd Avenue	AC Transit: 73, 805	Stop is one block west of intersection with 73rd Avenue/Hegenberger Road
77th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 77th Avenue
82nd Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 82nd Avenue	AC Transit: 46L
86th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 86th Avenue	AC Transit: 90	Serves Oakland Public Library Elmhurst Branch
90th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 90th Avenue	AC Transit: 90
95th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 95th Avenue
98th Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 98th Avenue	AC Transit: 98	Serves Elmhurst United Middle School
103rd Avenue	median	International Boulevard and 103rd Avenue	AC Transit: 45	Easternmost stop in Oakland
Durant Avenue	median	East 14th Street and Durant Avenue		Serves Durant Marketplace Westernmost stop in San Leandro
Georgia Way	curb (2)	East 14th Street and Euclid Avenue (northbound) East 14th Street and Georgia Way (southbound)
San Leandro Civic Center	curb (2)	East 14th Street and Haas Avenue		Serves San Leandro City Hall
Downtown San Leandro	curb (2)	Davis and Hays Streets (northbound) Davis Street and Dan Niemi Way (southbound)		Serves downtown San Leandro
San Leandro BART	island	1401 San Leandro Boulevard	BART – San Leandro station: Orange Line Blue Line Green Line AC Transit: 10, 28, 34, 35, 801 San Leandro LINKS	southern terminus

See also

• Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards Electric Railway

References

1. Almond, Elliot (August 9, 2020). "AC Transit rolls out new service linking Oakland and San Leandro". The Mercury News. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
2. "Individual Route Profiles (Fall 2022)". AC Transit . Retrieved April 26, 2024.
3. "2023 Annual Agency Profile - Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (NTD ID 90014)" (PDF). National Transit Database. Federal Transit Administration . Retrieved April 17, 2025.
4. Federal Transit Administration; Alameda Contra Costa Transit District (May 2007). AC Transit East Bay Bus Rapid Transit Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report (PDF).
5. Martin, Ajay; Perkins Haslam, Angie; LaVigne, Cory (February 9, 2011). "Line 1R Service and Reliability Study Final Report" (PDF). AC Transit Service and Operations Planning.
6. Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates (March 2008). "International/Telegraph Corridor Rapid Bus Study: Phase III" (PDF). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District.
7. "Change Happens: June 24" (Press release). Alameda Contra Costa Transit District. May 15, 2007. Archived from the original on November 1, 2007.
8. "AC Transit Service Changes: San Pablo to Hayward—Effective June 24, 2007". Alameda Contra Costa Transit District. May 15, 2007. Archived from the original on November 3, 2007.
9. Federal Transit Administration; Alameda Contra Costa Transit District (January 2012). "Summary" (PDF). AC Transit East Bay BRT Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report. p. S.1-1.
10. J. Douglas Allen-Taylor (July 19, 2012). "BRT Coming to East Oakland". East Bay Express.
11. Swan, Rachel (March 4, 2019). "East Oakland, despite resistance, edging out SF in building bus rapid transit". San Francisco Chronicle.
12. J. Douglas Allen-Taylor (February 2, 2011). "What's left of BRT?". East Bay Express.
13. "San Leandro City Council Approves Bus Rapid Transit" (Press release). Alameda Contra Costa Transit District. July 16, 2012.
14. "Service changes effective Sunday, June 26" (Press release). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. June 15, 2016.
15. "AC TRANSIT ANNOUNCES THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR THE EAST BAY BUS RAPID TRANSIT" (Press release). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. August 26, 2016.
16. "BRT Funding". Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District.
17. "Meet AC Transit Tempo" (Press release). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. July 14, 2020.
18. "AC TRANSIT TEMPO OPENS TO RIDERS SUNDAY, AUGUST 9" (Press release). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. August 7, 2020.
19. "Tempo Line 1T Fares Start November 9" (Press release). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. October 28, 2020.
20. "New: Nighttime Downtown Oakland Service Disruptions and Changes". Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. March 27, 2023.
21. "Service Changes Effective Sunday, August 6". Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. July 13, 2023.
22. "AC Transit and the City of Oakland Partner to Roll Out Multiple International Boulevard Safety Enhancements in Upcoming Launch" (Press release). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. April 10, 2024.
23. "Major Corridors Study Final Report" (PDF). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. July 15, 2016. p. 54.

External links

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Media related to Tempo (bus rapid transit) at Wikimedia Commons

• Tempo site at AC Transit