On Sept. 10, the AC Transit Board of Directors held an open comment for speakers to talk about the AC Transit 33 Bus, which recently stopped service to upper Piedmont, impacting PUSD students and families.
According to the AC Transit website, the line was replaced by the AC Transit 88 bus, the AC Transit 18 bus, and the AC Transit 633 bus. The 33 bus line was replaced by the 88 bus line.
Assistant superintendent Ariel Dolowich said that he began coordinating with PHS Principal David Yoshihara and MHS Principal Irma Muñoz-Daniels over a week ago to share the local advocacy opportunity with all high school students upon learning the impact AC Transit route 33 had on students.
“My goal was to gather as many student speakers as possible to advocate virtually to restore AC transit bus route 33 in Piedmont at the AC Transit Board meeting on Wed. Sept. 10,” Dolowich said.
Dolowich said he held two informational meetings for students at lunch before Sept. 10 and wanted to let interested students know this opportunity to advocate locally also aligns with an ability for students to earn the PUSD State Seal of Civic Engagement on their transcript.
Senior Walden Pan was one of the 22 students who spoke to advocate for the reinstatement of the AC Transit 33 Bus.
“After school, I used the AC Transit a lot to get home and sometimes to school, when my parents are busy,” Pan said. “So it’s helped me a lot for the past six years.”
Pan said the 33 bus helped him a lot because he doesn’t have his license, and that he talked to a lot of PHS and PMS students who used the bus to help their parents save time by commuting to school.
“Now I’m just depending on my dad a little bit more, which I feel pretty guilty about because he’s pretty busy,” Pan said. “For the first few weeks of school, I walked to school and back, which is like an hour and 30 minute walk.”
Pan said that he thinks the meeting would likely help restore the bus.
“It’s not just a Piedmont thing. It’s affecting the whole community,” Pan said.
