MTC Lifeline Transportation Program Funds Free Library Shuttle

OAKLAND, CA — Thanks to a $150,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Lifeline Transportation Program, children in West Oakland are now riding a free shuttle to the library. The two-month-old West Oakland Library Shuttle Program transports preschool and kindergarten students, teachers and parents to the West Oakland branch of the Oakland Public Library. Over the next three years, the shuttle is expected to transport more than 1,500 children, parents and teachers from two elementary schools and eight preschools.

MTC’s Lifeline Transportation Program is designed to improve transportation for low-income residents throughout the nine-county Bay Area. In Alameda County, the program is administered by the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency. Other Alameda County initiatives funded through MTC’s Lifeline Transportation program include providing day and evening bus service to jobs, schools, BART and other destinations in Hayward; expanded bus service from residential areas of Livermore to the city’s downtown and to regional transit services; improved access for disabled people to the Ashby BART station in Berkeley; and improved pedestrian access to buses in the Ashland and Cherryland districts of unincorporated Alameda County;

“The flexibility of the Lifeline Transportation Program makes it possible to address low-income residents’ transportation needs in innovative ways,” says Dennis Fay, Executive Director of the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency. “We’re pleased to provide the shuttle program and to deliver a critical transportation link between Oakland residents and the library.”

“The program has a ripple effect,” says Oakland librarian Catherine Francioch. “Once the children come to the library, we see them returning with their siblings, parents and grandparents.”

Once the children are at the library, the librarian and her assistant conduct special story times to expose children to the joy of books and reading. During their visits, the children also learn how to use the library and discover the other resources it has to offer.

“Studies have shown that being exposed to the library at a young age helps ensure the children’s future success,” notes Francioch. “The program is an ideal partnership between transportation agencies and educators.”

For more information on using the Oakland Library Shuttle, contact Oakland Librarian Catherine Francioch at (510) 238-6585. For more information on the Lifeline Transportation Program in Alameda County, contact Congestion Management Agency Senior Transportation Planner Diane Stark at (510) 836-2560. MTC is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

Contacts: 

Therese Knudsen, MTC: (510) 817-5767

Dennis Fay, ACCMA: (510) 836-2560