BILL NUMBER: AB 2488 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 28, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 22, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to add Section 35400.9 to the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2488, Williams. Vehicles: buses: length limitations.
Existing law imposes a 40-foot limitation on the length of
vehicles that may be operated on the highways, with specified
exemptions. Existing law exempts from this limitation an articulated
bus or trolley and a bus, except a schoolbus, that is operated by a
public agency or passenger stage corporation that is used in a
transit system if it is equipped with a folding device attached to
the front of the vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles, does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment, and does not extend more than
36 inches from the front of the body of the bus or trolley when
fully deployed. In addition, existing law prohibits a bicycle that is
transported on the above-described device from having the bicycle
handlebars extend more than 42 inches from the front of the vehicle.
This bill would authorize Gold Coast Transit (GCT) to install
folding devices attached to the front of its buses that are designed
and used exclusively for transporting bicycles if the use of the
device meets certain requirements, including, but not limited to,
that the device does not extend more than 40 inches from the front of
the bus when fully deployed, and that the handlebars of the bicycles
being transported do not extend more than 46 inches from the front
of the bus. The bill would require GCT, if it installs the bicycle
racks, to report to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the
Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing on or before December
31, 2017, regarding safety issues and mobility improvements.
The bill would also require GCT, prior to installing a folding
device on a bus that is 45 feet in length, to establish a route
review committee, as specified, in order to determine, by unanimous
vote of the voting members of the committee, which routes proposed by
GCT are suitable for the safe operation of a 45-foot bus that is
equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack and to obtain
certification approved by a licensed traffic engineer that all
proposed routes are safe for travel by buses so equipped. The bill
would require the committee's initial review to include a field
review of the proposed routes.
The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 35400.9 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
35400.9. (a) Notwithstanding Section 35400, Gold Coast Transit
(GCT), created pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500)
of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code as a
joint powers agency, may install a folding device attached to the
front of a bus that is designed and used exclusively for transporting
bicycles if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The device does not extend more than 40 inches from the front
body of the bus when fully deployed.
(2) The device, including all bicycles transported on the device,
is mounted in a manner that does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment.
(3) The handlebars of a bicycle that is transported on a device
described in this subdivision do not extend more than 46 inches from
the front of the bus.
(b) (1) GCT shall establish a route review committee prior to the
installation of the initial folding device, pursuant to subdivision
(a), on a bus that is 45 feet in length. The purpose of the committee
is to ensure the safe operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped
with a front-mounted bicycle rack.
(2) The committee established pursuant to this subdivision shall
perform an initial review of the routes on which GCT proposes to
operate a 45-foot bus equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack. The
review shall include a field review of the proposed routes. It is
the intent of the Legislature that the field review required under
this paragraph include consultation with licensed traffic engineers
from affected public agencies that have jurisdiction over segments of
the route or routes under review, to ensure coordination with all
affected state and local public road agencies that may potentially be
impacted due to the operation of a 45-foot bus with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
(3) (A) By unanimous vote of all voting members, the committee
shall make a determination of the routes that are suitable for the
safe operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
(B) Before conducting a vote pursuant to subparagraph (A), the
committee shall obtain certification approved by a licensed traffic
engineer that all proposed routes are safe for travel by 45 foot
buses equipped with the bicycle racks specified in subdivision (a).
(4) Upon any proposal to make substantive changes or additions to
approved routes, those changes shall be subject to review and
certification pursuant to paragraph (2) prior to being approved by
the committee.
(5) The members of the committee shall be selected not more than
30 days after receipt of the GCT proposal to equip a 45-foot bus with
a front-mounted bicycle rack and shall be comprised of the following
members:
(A) One member from GCT who shall be appointed by GCT's general
manager and who shall be a voting member of the committee.
(B) One member who is a licensed traffic engineer selected by the
governing board of GCT and who shall be a voting member of the
committee.
(C) One member appointed by the labor organization that is the
exclusive representative of the busdrivers of GCT. If there is no
exclusive representative of the busdrivers, a busdriver member shall
be chosen by a majority vote of the busdrivers employed by GCT. This
member shall be a voting member of the committee.
(D) One member appointed by the governing board of GCT who shall
be a representative of the bicycling community and who shall reside
within the area of GCT's jurisdiction. This member shall be a
nonvoting member of the committee.
(c) If a folding device is installed pursuant to subdivision (a),
GCT shall submit a report in compliance with Section 9795 of the
Government Code to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the
Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing on or before December
31, 2017. The report shall include a summary of any vehicular or
traffic incidents where the size of the folding devices was a factor,
and a summary of the mobility improvements that these folding
devices provide.
SEC. 2. Due to the unique circumstances of a large number of
bicycle riders using buses operated by Gold Coast Transit and the
need to determine whether there are safety considerations in having
40-inch bicycle racks on the front of its buses, it is necessary
that, and the Legislature finds and declares that, a general statute
cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article
IV of the California Constitution.