E (AC Transit)

The E is a bus service operated by AC Transit in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the operator's many transbay routes, which are intended to provide riders a long-distance service across the San Francisco Bay between the East Bay and San Francisco. The service is descendant of a Key System streetcar and ferry line that operated prior to the formation of AC Transit. The line is noted for its role in the development of the Claremont Hotel.^[1]

E
Loading at Ashby & Domingo, 2013
Overview
Operator	Key System (1906–1960) AC Transit (1960–present)
Began service	()
Route
Locale	Oakland, Claremont, San Francisco
Start	Caldecott & Parkwood Community
Via	Claremont, Tunnel
End	Salesforce Transit Center
Stations	10
Timetable	E
Map	E
Route map Legend Caldecott Ln & Parkwood Community 261 Tunnel Rd Tunnel Rd & Vicente/Roble Tunnel Rd & Bridge/Uplands Ashby/Tunnel & Domingo Av Claremont Av & Webster St Claremont Av & Woolsey/Uplands Claremont Av & Eton Av Claremont Av & College Av Claremont Av & Chabot Rd Claremont Av & Hudson St San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge across the San Francisco Bay Yerba Buena Tunnel Salesforce Transit Center Bay 33 This diagram: view talk edit ← D  List of AC Transit routes  F →

Route description

From the outbound terminus where Caldecott Lane dead-ends at the Parkwood Community,^[2] coaches run on Caldecott Lane, which becomes Tunnel Road. After running one block on Ashby Avenue, buses turn southwest on Claremont Avenue and run until Highway 24. It then begins highway running,^[3] cross-bay on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge before terminating at the Salesforce Transit Center.^[4]

History

The Claremont Line was the fourth streetcar line built by the Key System. It was built to exploit real estate development in the area and to support the operation of the forthcoming Claremont Hotel, which was being built by business interests connected to Francis "Borax" Smith and the Key System.^[5][6] The company acquired a franchise in 1904 to operate on 55th Street, and service from the Berkeley main line to Telegraph Avenue began on August 1, 1906 — the line was operated as a shuttle with connections to ferry cars along Adeline Street. Tracks were extended down Claremont Avenue to College in September the following year, with tracks reaching the Claremont Hotel property in December.^[7] Tracks terminated between the hotel's tennis courts.^[8] Full train-ferry service to the site began on May 10, 1910, and the hotel would go on to open in 1915, giving the service a leisure-oriented destination for its outbound terminus. The line's expansion was successful in spurring development in the area.^[7]

v t e E Line (Key System)
Legend
1906–1958
Claremont Domingo Avenue Webster Street Northgate Eton Avenue College Avenue  6  Chabot Road Hudson Street Telegraph Avenue  5  Shattuck Avenue  4  Grove  3  Market Street  F  H  46th Street 43rd Street  C   1  2  40th & San Pablo  A  B  Central Pacific Bridge Yard rerouted 1939 Key System Mole San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge across the San Francisco Bay Yerba Buena Island Yerba Buena Tunnel Transbay Terminal

Cars began running across the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge to the Transbay Terminal upon the facility's opening in 1939. The Key System adopted letter designations for its transbay routes at this time, with the Berkeley route designated as E.^[9] Rail service ended on April 19, 1958 and the line was thereafter operated by buses.^[5]

E San Francisco–Claremont served by a GM TDH-4801 Old Look coach, originally built for the Key System in 1958

Public ownership

AC Transit took over operation of the Key system's assets in October 1960. In February 1961, the E Claremont's routing was changed to operate on 55th, Vicente, Ayala, Miranda, and Claremont.^[10] Motor coaches making transbay runs began operating on the Grove-Shafter Freeway in September 1969.^[3] Some rush hour trips were extended to the Parkwood Apartment complex starting December 1975.^[2]

An E Flxible New Look bus followed by an L GM New Look bus approaching the Bay Bridge with a third bus trailing at upper-right frame

Buses ceased serving the Transbay Terminal on August 7, 2010, and the San Francisco terminus was moved to the Temporary Transbay Terminal. The E line began serving the Salesforce Transit Center on August 12, 2018. Service ceased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with operations suspended between April 2020 and August 2021.^[11][12]

References

1. Buchannan, Bill (July 31, 2023). "Key System was the Bay Area's original BART, and then it vanished. Here's how to find it". SFGate. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
2. "Bus service extended". Berkeley Gazette. October 25, 1975. p. 4. Retrieved November 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Express Buses for Grove-Shafter Freeway". Oakland Tribune. September 7, 1969. p. 20. Retrieved November 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Line E (PDF) (Map). AC Transit. August 7, 2022. p. 2. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
5. Demoro1 1985, pp. 138
6. Wollenberg 2008, pp. 52–53
7. Demoro1 1985, p. 33
8. Jim, Clifford (October 9, 2017). "Call for Golden Gate trains unlock Key System memories". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
9. Demoro2 1985, pp. 189–190
10. "Bus Route Shifted to Ease Turn". Oakland Tribune. February 23, 1961. p. 19. Retrieved November 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Savidge, Nico (April 7, 2020). "Bay Area coronavirus transit cuts: Can't keep up? Here's a round-up". The Mercury News. Retrieved November 18, 2023. As for transbay service, four lines — F, NL, O and 800 — are still operating, but weekday-only routes have been shut down.
12. "AC Transit Service Changes Effective Sunday, August 8" (Press release). AC Transit. July 27, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2023.

Bibliography

• Demoro, Harre W. (1985). The Key Route: Transbay Commuting by Train and Ferry, Part 1. Interurbans Specials. Vol. 95. Glendale, California: Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-66-1.
• Demoro, Harre W. (1985). The Key Route: Transbay Commuting by Train and Ferry, Part 2. Interurbans Specials. Vol. 97. Glendale, California: Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-68-8.
• Wollenberg, Charles M. (2008). Berkeley: A City in History. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520934252.

External links

• E — via AC Transit