AC Transit held the first of three public forums Monday aimed at fostering community discussion about Line 51, the agency's most popular bus route in the East Bay.

According to AC Transit statistics, an average of nearly 19,000 riders use Line 51 daily. At the meeting, the agency's planners said problems with the route include late buses, overcrowding and multiple buses arriving at stops at the same time.

The agency began planning improvements for the route in 2006. AC Transit spokesperson Clarence Johnson said the meeting was designed to gather public feedback on potential plans to upgrade the route.

"In a general way, it is an effort to improve the ridership experience with the Line 51," Johnson said. "We're taking more recommendations from the public and we're going to try and filter through them and then come up with a plan to make improvements."

The planners introduced solutions such as creating an additional express Line 51 for major stops, splitting the line into two separate routes and removing less-used stops entirely.

But Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin said he was concerned that a proposed bus stop removal at University Avenue and Milvia Street could inconvenience elderly and disabled riders.

"(The problem) has to be considered in assessing how it will really improve service to those in the area," Arreguin said.

UC Berkeley freshman William Chou said it takes him half an hour on Line 51 to ride the two miles from Rockridge BART station to a Berkeley stop near campus.

"That's unacceptable," he said. "It is the same time to walk."

Chou said he would support splitting the line at the Rockridge station, one of the proposals brought up at the meeting.

However, some riders at the meeting, including Oakland resident David Vartanoff, expressed their concern that splitting the line could mean paying extra to transfer to the alternate route.

"I certainly favor mass transit, but half the time I feel that AC Transit is helping us out and half the time they're giving us the finger," Vartanoff said.

Councilmember Gordon Wozniak said he supports the plans to improve the line despite potential problems with the suggestions.

"There are some improvements that can be made and can be seen in a year," Wozniak said. "We should do what we can to improve (the line). If we're serious about mass transit, we should improve the existing mass transit."

The agency will hold two more public forums on March 12 and 14.

Tags: AC TRANSIT, LINE 51