AC Transit will reroute eight local bus lines and its Tempo Line 1T through downtown Oakland from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, for the Black Panther Party Boulevard ribbon cutting on Broadway. The agency posted the detour notices on Wednesday, Oct. 14, citing an event that closes parts of Broadway while the city formally renames the stretch between 14th and 17th Streets.
The ribbon cutting is set for 11:30 a.m. Saturday at 15th Street and Broadway, during the Black Panther Party's 60th anniversary weekend. For the naming itself and what the three-block honorific covers, see our earlier story on Oakland's Black Panther Party Boulevard.
Which bus lines are affected
According to AC Transit, Lines 6, 12, 18, 51A, 72, 72L, 72M and 88 will leave their usual Broadway stops between about 12th Street and the Uptown Transit Center for the duration of the event window. Riders headed to or from Downtown Berkeley, Northwest Berkeley, Piedmont, University Village, Montclair, Contra Costa College, Point Richmond, Jack London Square and Amtrak will see those lines skip closed Broadway and Uptown stops and use nearby alternatives instead.
Closed stops named in the agency notice include Broadway at 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th and 19th Streets, 11th Street at Clay, 12th Street at Broadway and Clay, Thomas L. Berkley Way (20th Street) at San Pablo Avenue, and several Uptown Transit Center berths next to 19th Street Oakland BART. Exact alternate stops differ by line and direction; AC Transit's notice lists options such as 10th Street at Washington, Broadway at 9th and 11th Streets, Broadway at West Grand Avenue, Telegraph Avenue at 24th Street, 12th Street at Franklin or Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and San Pablo Avenue at West Grand.
Tempo Line 1T station closures
Tempo Line 1T, the bus-rapid-transit route between Uptown Oakland and San Leandro BART, will also detour. Northbound toward Uptown, the 14th Street and Broadway at 19th Street Tempo stations close; riders should use City Center northbound Tempo instead. Southbound toward San Leandro BART, the Uptown Oakland and 14th Street Tempo stations close, with City Center southbound Tempo as the alternate. Those station IDs and directions are listed on AC Transit's separate Tempo notice posted the same day.
What to do if you ride Saturday morning
Give yourself extra time between 8 a.m. and mid-afternoon Saturday if your trip normally uses Broadway between 12th and 20th Streets. Check the AC Transit app or the downtown detour page before you leave, because stop IDs and temporary boarding spots are line-specific. The notices cover AC Transit buses only and do not mention any change to BART service at 12th Street Oakland City Center or 19th Street Oakland.
For the wider anniversary weekend, see our roundup of Black Panther Party 60th anniversary events. Other East Bay transit changes in play this fall include AC Transit's contingency cut plan if regional Measure RTM fails, and Peninsula drivers should also note the southbound Highway 101 Hospital Curve closure Oct. 16–19. Our Nov. 3, 2026 election guide covers Measure RTM, the five-county transit sales tax on the same ballot.