Union City Transit is a public transit service in Union City, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of March 2021, Union City Transit operates 5 bus lines that connect riders to local destinations, such as schools, shopping centers, and the Union City BART station. All routes operate 7 days a week.

Union City Transit
Union City Transit buses at Union City station
Founded1974
Headquarters34650 Seventh Street
LocaleUnion City BART
Service typebus service, paratransit
Routes5
HubsUnion City station
Fuel typeCNG
OperatorMV Transportation
Websiteuctransit.org

Union City Transit serves Union City and along Whipple Rd in southern Hayward.

AC Transit, Dumbarton Express, Stanford Marguerite Shuttle[1] also provide service to and from Union City.

History edit

Union City Transit began operations in 1974 with the opening of the Union City BART station[2] as "the Flea."[3]

On 12 October 2013, the transit agency expanded its service significantly[4] by providing:

  • New routes on top of its existing services (removing the A and B suffixes from Route 1)
  • More hours on its most popular services
  • Saturday service on seven routes (Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8)
  • Sunday service on six routes (Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8)
  • A more frequent service along Alvarado-Niles Road, one of the city's main arterial roads (Routes 1, 3, 5, 8, and 9)
  • A new express service (Route 9) that operates peak periods between BART and residential neighborhoods on the western part of the city

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Union City transit changed to a 5 route service starting 22 March 2021, down from the previous 8 routes, with routes 7, 8, and 9 being eliminated. Saturday and Sunday schedules were consolidated into a single weekend schedule, and vehicle frequencies on 3 of the most used routes were increased (Routes 1, 2 and 5).[5]

Fares edit

Union City Transit accepts cash and the Clipper card. Fares are effective 1 January 2020 [6]

Type Adults (19-64) Youth (6-18) Senior (65+)/Disabled
Single ride US$2.00 US$1.25 US$1.00
31-day pass § US$55.00 US$35.00 US$26.00
Transfers Fees
Union City Transit Transfer FREE
AC Transit & Dumbarton Express Transfers US$0.25
BART-to-Bus§ US$0.50
  • † Children under the age of 5 may ride free, but must be accompanied by an adult.
  • ‡ Appropriate identification must be presented to obtain the discounted Senior/Disabled fare.
  • § Only available on the Clipper card.
  • ₮ Union City Transit paper transfers are issued only at time a cash fare is paid. Paper transfers are not needed when using Clipper. Union City Transit transfers are valid for one transfer within 90 minutes of issue. Electronic BART-to-Bus transfers are loaded onto a Clipper Card upon exiting the BART station via the fare gates. Transfers and passes must be valid.

Routes edit

The main transfer points for Union City Transit are located at Union City BART and the Union Landing Transit Center.

Route & Name Terminals Days of Operation Via Notes
1
Delores
Union City BART Dyer St &

Union City Blvd

Daily Union Sq, Alvarado-Niles Rd, Union Landing Transit Center, Dyer St, Meteor Dr, Contempo Park, Delores Dr, Jean Dr, Rocklin Dr, Union City Blvd.
2
Whipple
Union City Blvd & Whipple Rd Decoto Rd, 9th St, E St, 6th St, Whipple Rd, Calaveras Landing Shopping Center, Kaiser Permanente Union City Medical Offices, Kohoutek Way Previously continued as the suspended

Route 8 at Kaiser Permanente

3
Almaden
Union Landing Transit Center Union Sq, Alvarado-Niles Rd, Medallion Dr, Tropics Mobile Home Park, Alamaden Blvd, Union Landing Transit Center Continues as Route 4 (Tamarack) at Union Landing back to BART
4
Tamarack
Decoto Rd, Seventh St, Veneto St, Masonic Home, Mission Blvd, 2nd St (Union Landing direction only), Tamarack Dr, Whipple Rd,

Calaveras Landing Shopping Center, Dyer St, Union Landing Transit Center

Continues as Route 3 (Almaden) at Union Landing back to BART
5
Dyer
Dyer St &

Union City Blvd

Union Sq, Alvarado-Niles Rd, Union Landing Transit Center, Dyer St, Alvarado Blvd, Mark Green Sports Center, Union City Blvd, Regents Blvd

Former/ Suspended Routes edit

Route & Name Terminals Days of Operation Via Notes
6

Central

Discontinued

Union City BART East Plaza Weekdays Mann Ave, Perry Rd, H St., Civic Center, Alvarado-Niles Rd, Central Ave, Whipple Road, Decoto Rd, East Plaza
  • Operated two morning (from 6am to 7:50am) and three afternoon trips (from 3:30pm to 6:20pm)
  • No BART access available from East Plaza terminal
7
Alvarado Circulator

(Suspended)

Union Landing Transit Center Weekdays & Saturdays Union Landing ▶Dyer St ▶Calaveras Landing Shopping Center ▶Whipple Rd ▶Kohoutek Way ▶Kaiser Permanente ▶Union City Blvd ▶Mark Green Sports Center ▶Smith St ▶ Dyer St ▶Union City Blvd ▶Delores Dr ▶Contempo Park ▶Union Landing No Sunday service

Last trip of every weekday started at Union City BART, with stops along Alvarado-Niles Rd

8
Alvarado-Niles

(Suspended)

Union City BART Union City Blvd & Whipple Rd Daily Union Square, Mann Ave, Perry Rd, Royal Ann Dr, Alvarado-Niles Rd, Union Landing Transit Center, Smith St, Union City Blvd, Kaiser Permanente Union City Medical Offices Previously continued as Route 2 at Kaiser Permanente
9
Dyer Express

(Suspended)

Union City Blvd & Rocklin Dr Weekdays Alvarado-Niles Rd (2 stops only at Royal Ann Dr/ H St and Central Ave), Union Landing, Dyer St, Union City Blvd Weekday Service:
  • AM commute to UC BART from UC Blvd & Rockin at 6:27, 7:12, and 7:57 AM
  • PM commute from UC BART to UC Blvd & Rocklin at 3:33, 4:18, 5:03, 5:48, and 6:33 PM

Gallery edit

 
A Union City Transit Orion VII NG at Union City BART on route 4. A Gillig Low Floor on route 3 can be seen in the background.
 
Interior of a Union City transit bus Orion V

References edit

  1. ^ "East Bay Express | Stanford Transportation". transportation.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  2. ^ Nelson/Nygard Consulting Associates (November 2007). "Short Range Transit Plan: FY 2008-2017" (PDF). Union City, CA: City of Union City: 1. Retrieved 2008-03-28. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ "Union City Time-Line". Union City Historical Museum. Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 1974: First City-Wide Bus Service (The Flea) starts
  4. ^ Union City Transit Short Range Plan (2013-2022)
  5. ^ "Union City Transit". www.unioncity.org. Retrieved 2021-05-04. Union City Transit has increased vehicle frequency on three (3) of the most used routes (Routes 1, 2, and 5) to address your travel needs and decrease wait times.
  6. ^ Union City Transit

External links edit