Bus Depot: 82 International

We decided to park next to the bus stop, as this was the most peopled area. This was one of the end points for the 82 International, that runs along International Boulevard starting at 11^th Street running all the way through East Oakland to the Hayward BART station. Traveling this bus route would give you an excellent snapshot of Oakland through its cultural transitions.

As we were unpacking our gear, one of the bus drivers asked us what we were up to. So we asked her if she knew where West and East Oakland were. We figured if anybody ought to know, it would be a bus driver. But she told us, “I just drive from one point to the other, and I really don’t know where West or East is; if we have to make a detour for an accident or construction, they tell us where to go. I really don’t know this city; I’m from San Francisco.” But then she got curious, so she called her dispatcher and asked where the borders of West and East are. She was told that East Oakland begins just beyond Lake Merritt at 1^st Avenue and ends at 104^th Avenue. And West Oakland starts at 11^th and Jefferson. She even asked one of the passengers her opinion as she was getting on the bus. The passenger didn’t know. Then it was time for the driver to take off; she gave us a hearty wave and wished us luck.

The next bus driver to pull up was prepared to give us some answers. She got off of the bus and started pointing here and there. She told us that West MacArthur and Grand Avenue separate North Oakland from West Oakland. And East Oakland begins near Highland and 14^th Avenue. She described the downtown area as “Central Oakland”, a designation that we hadn’t heard of. We also talked about how in the eastern region, all of the streets start with an ‘E’ before the number, but in the west, only West MacArthur and West Grand specify geographic location. She has been a driver for five years and told us, “Yeah, when they train us, they just tell us the route. They don’t tell us anything about the areas around the route."