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AC Transit’s $216 million bus rapid transit project through Oakland and San Leandro has a name, a distinctive new fleet and, finally, a launch date.

The new Tempo line will start service on Sunday, taking riders from Oakland’s Uptown district to the San Leandro BART station. The new rapid buses will zip for most of the 9.5-mile route along a corridor of dedicated bus lanes running down International Boulevard, stopping at dozens of gleaming new canopied stations along the way.

While people have spotted black and grey training buses plying the route in recent weeks, when the Tempo line launches its buses will come wrapped in a purple and blue livery that looks nothing like the other coaches in AC Transit’s typically green and white fleet.

And the project’s boosters say Tempo, which replaces AC Transit’s route 1, won’t act like a conventional bus line either.

With no car traffic in the dedicated lanes, plus frequent service and technology that gives buses priority for green lights, the system is meant to function more like a sleek light rail line, saving riders time and, supporters say, making Tempo a more appealing option than driving.

Buses will arrive every 10 minutes between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., and every 15 minutes from 7 to midnight. Early morning service on the 24-hour line will run every 30 minutes on weekends, and hourly on weekdays.

Passengers will pay their fare at the bus stop — each station will have Clipper card readers and ticket machines — then step onto the long, articulated coaches from the middle or rear doors, rather than the front door. AC Transit says it will have fare inspectors come around to ensure riders have proof of payment.

And, to keep car drivers out of the bus lanes, AC Transit has mounted cameras on its coaches that can capture photos of any scofflaw cars’ license plates and mail the owner a ticket.

But if those dedicated lanes are meant to ensure a smooth trip for riders, the process of building the Bay Area’s most extensive bus rapid transit line has been the opposite.

The project has faced complaints from car drivers worried the dedicated bus lanes will worsen traffic, as well as businesses bemoaning the loss of parking in front of their shops. Supporters counter that the lanes will carry far more people on buses than in private vehicles, and that the route will help deliver customers to businesses.

Perhaps the thorniest question facing the line, though, is whether it will fuel gentrification in the Oakland neighborhoods it will serve. Many residents have greeted the project with trepidation, worried that the new infrastructure will help spur the kind of economic development that pushes out longtime residents and businesses, particularly along the diverse International Boulevard corridor.

The multi-year construction project to build the new line and its stations didn’t ease those concerns. The owners of an East Oakland furniture store that closed in 2018 said construction on International Boulevard delivered the death blow to their 70-year-old business. And other merchants have complained that a business assistance fund meant to make up for the disruption has moved far too slowly to disperse money.

Finally, delays in finishing the line have meant Tempo’s opening is being spoiled by COVID-19, which threatens to make the job of luring drivers out of their cars and onto buses even harder.

But there is a silver lining for riders: To celebrate the start of the line, and make up for the delay, AC Transit won’t charge fares to ride the new rapid buses until Nov. 8. After that, Tempo riders will be charged the usual local AC Transit fare, which is $2.25 for an adult with a Clipper card.