EDIT 2/19/2026: Minor edits for spelling and grammar.
On Monday, February 9, the transit transportation service was put on immediate hold as Regional Transportation District (RTD) drivers drove back to the Stockton DTC station in protest against the termination of Alex Clifford, CEO and leader of San Joaquin RTD which left multiple riders, including students, without transportation and students with an open opinion on the topic.
An early morning meeting ensued at the RTD station that wasn’t publicly disclosed, revolving around these three points: the release of an unnamed Employee, an Appointment with an Interim CEO, and a meeting with labor negotiators regarding the Interim CEO. The unnamed employee was later identified as CEO Alex Clifford. Once found out, multitudes of RTD Drivers came in, bus after bus, ending their routes effectively to protest against what sensed to be a wrongful finish to their CEO.
After learning about the service shutdown, Mayor Christina Fugazi called for a prompt restoration to all bus services. In a public statement taken from KCRA news, Clifford explained, “I understand some drivers did go out of service, and service was disrupted. And I apologize to the public for that. We never mean to harm the public, but I’m proud of my operators for wanting to stand by their CEO and the direction the organization is going.”
Board Director Aaron Edwards states that the board’s decisions were mainly based on the loss of confidence in administrative leadership, as the disruption with RTD Busses should not have occurred. Edwards also continued to deny spiking rumors on a change in routes, reduction in staff, clearing confusion within the public.
For students and families, this shutdown raised major concern for student transportation and attendance. For many students, RTD buses are their main source of transportation. Studies show that a student being tardy to school or late for even 2 days can impact their learning experiences. Senior Jose Ruiz said he wakes up as early as 6 in the morning. When asked what he does when the bus is scheduled to be late, or sometimes doesn’t arrive at all he said, “I actually have to end up waiting for the next bus, which is like either 30 minutes or an hour late.”
If services continue to be interrupted and internal conflict continues to be shown within the RTD board, this could not only show setbacks within the corporation, but within local schools as well. Yet, some students, when asked if it’s fair for RTD Buses to be halted from lingering issues within RTD, showcasing bus drivers using their right to protest, tended to believe so.
Martin Griffin, an attending Junior said, “Yeah, They’re doing it for a reason. The bus drivers have had enough,” reflecting his support amid the ongoing situation, standing with the bus drivers.
Ruiz also shares this same idea, asserting that though he believes it to be fair, schools should be more lenient to those that are caught up in these situation. “There’s little issues going on in the world and it causes the bus to be late all the time. I don’t think it’s our fault.” Demonstrating that while students may suffer from the challenges associated within the city, they align themselves with those who are asserting their rights to protest.
These recent events that convey how leadership within the RTD Board can directly affect students’ education, also shows us that students are willing to stand with what they believe is right, regardless of loss in public transportation. As of now, Clifford has resigned from office with no official CEO leading RTD. As RTD moves forward, many students and other differentiating riders hope to see a more stable and dependable bus service.
