BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2488|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2488
Author: Williams (D)
Amended: 8/22/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/12/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Simitian, Wyland
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 6/18/12 (Consent)
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Hernandez, Huff,
Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Liu, Pavley, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Bus length
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes Gold Coast Transit (GCT) in
Ventura County to extend the length of its buses by four
inches for a bike rack mounted on the front of its buses.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/22/12 require GCT's bus route
review committee to obtain certification from a licensed
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traffic engineer that bus routes proposed to be used by
buses equipped with folding bicycle racks for up to four
bikes are safe for travel by a 45 foot bus.
ANALYSIS : Existing law imposes a 40-foot limitation on
the length of vehicles that may be operated on highways,
including local streets, with specified exemptions,
including any transit bus equipped with a folding bicycle
rack attached to its front. A bicycle rack of this type
cannot extend more than 36 inches from the front of the
body of the bus and the bicycle handlebars extend no more
than an additional 6 inches. A bicycle rack of this type
carries only two bicycles.
This bill:
1. Authorizes GCT to operate buses on highways and local
streets with a folding device attached to the front of
the vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles, provided it does not extend more
than 40 inches in front of the body of the bus and the
bicycle handlebars extend no more than an additional six
inches.
2. Establishes a three-member route review committee to
review the routes on which buses equipped with the
bicycle racks will operate to ensure that the buses can
be safely operated on the proposed routes. The review
committee will have the following voting members:
A. A member representing GCT appointed by the
agency's general manager.
B. A licensed traffic engineer appointed by GCT's
governing board.
C. A member appointed by a labor organization that is
the exclusive representative of the bus drivers. If
there is not such an exclusive representative, GCT's
bus drivers shall elect a representative to
participate on the committee.
3. Requires the GCT board to appoint to the review
committee a member from the bicycling community that is
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a resident of the district. That person shall be a
non-voting member.
4. Requires unanimous approval of the route review
committee before with longer bike racks buses can be
operated on a route. However, before conducting a vote,
the committee shall obtain certification approved by a
licensed traffic engineer that all proposed routes are
safe for travel by 45 foot busses equipped with the
bicycle racks.
5. Requires GCT to submit a report to the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee and the Assembly
Transportation Committee regarding safety issues and
mobility improvements resulting from the bicycle racks
allowed under this bill by December 31, 2017.
Comments
Purpose . The purpose of this bill is to increase the
number of bicyclists using public transit in Ventura
County. The author's office argues that many bus riders
"mode share;" that is, they drive automobiles to a park and
ride lot or walk to a bus stop. This bill, by increasing
the number of bicycles on a rack from two to three, offers
an opportunity for more bicyclists to take advantage of
combing a bicycle trip with a bus trip. Because of the
increasing demand in GCT's service area from bicyclists who
want to use buses for part of their trip, GCT needs the
authority to attach bicycle racks that can carry three
bicycles instead of two.
Need for route review committee . The purpose of the route
review committee is to ensure that there is agreement
between management and the bus drivers that turning
radiuses on the routes proposed for buses with bike racks
attached can be safely negotiated by buses.
Previous legislation . AB 652 (Skinner), Chapter 369,
Statutes of 2009, served as a model for this bill. The
bill authorized AC Transit, a transit operator in Alameda
and Contra Costa Counties, to attach to its buses bike
racks that hold three bicycles.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/22/12)
Board of Supervisors, County of Ventura
Channel Islands Bicycle Club
Gold Coast Transit
SEIU California
Ventura Climate Care Options Organized Locally
Ventura County Transportation Commission
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Bonilla, Bradford, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Brownley, Cedillo, Davis,
Furutani, Logue, Smyth
JJA:k 8/23/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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