BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 541
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 541 (Daly) - As Introduced: February 20, 2013
SUBJECT : Illuminated signs on public transit buses
SUMMARY : Establishes a pilot program for the University of
California at Irvine (Irvine), allowing their transit buses to
advertise on their side-mounted illuminated signs until January
1, 2019. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes, until January 1, 2019, Irvine to establish a pilot
program allowing their publicly-owned transit buses to be
equipped with illuminated signs that display advertisements.
2)Establishes conditions governing the use of illuminated
display advertising signs including:
a) Signs shall emit diffused non-glaring light;
b) Signs shall not be greater than 4,464 square inches in
area;
c) Signs shall not be installed in a position that
interferes with the visibility of required lamps,
reflectors, or other devices;
d) Signs shall not be forward or backward facing (i.e., not
on the front or rear of the bus); and,
e) Light emitting diodes for illumination may include red
provided the colored formed by the mixing of light from the
diodes in the advertising is not red.
1)Prohibits buses from using the streaming or paging mode for
the illuminated signs when the vehicles are operated on state
freeways.
2)Requires Irvine to submit a specified report to the
Legislature by July 1, 2018, on the viability of advertisement
sales of the illuminated signs.
3)Limits the number of buses with illuminated signs to 25 for
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two years, after which Irvine may increase the total number to
30.
4)Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2019.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes, until January 1, 2017, a pilot program for the
City of Santa Monica (Santa Monica) allowing their transit
buses to advertise on their side-mounted illuminated signs.
Establishes the specifications and prohibitions of the
illuminated signs. Prohibits the buses from using the
streaming or paging mode for the illuminated signs when the
vehicles are operated on state freeways. Requires Santa
Monica to submit a report to the Legislature by July 1, 2016,
on the incidence of adverse impacts, if any.
2)Authorizes buses, operated by a publicly-owned transit system
on regularly scheduled service to be equipped with illuminated
destination signs.
3)Authorizes dynamic messaging on all illuminated signs if the
practice adheres to prescribed requirements.
4)Defines "lighting equipment" as an illuminated sign installed
on a bus that utilizes an electronic display to convey the
route designation, route number, run number, or any
combination thereof.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Public transit agencies have long used static signs
placed on the sides of buses to display advertising. Transit
agencies receive revenue from firms that use the signs for
advertising. A project sponsored by the Transit Cooperative
Research Program, a joint venture of the Federal Transit
Administration and the Transportation Research Board, identified
the emerging media of digital bus advertising as a revenue
stream for transit agencies.
The digital signs are ultra-thin, lightweight, light emitting
diode (LED) screens that can easily be mounted on the sides of
buses. Digital advertising allows for customize advertising,
including a rate structure that varies by the time of day,
because the advertising being displayed can be managed remotely.
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It is, therefore, possible to render the advertising static
when the buses are operating on freeways.
According to the author, the Irvine Student Government
Department has full oversight on the Anteater Express, the
university's public transportation fleet. They anticipate that
the revenue generated from advertisement sales will backfill
budgetary cuts within their department. They believe that this
bill "not only aims to fund much needed student services, but
also highlights their entrepreneurial spirit and embodies sound
public-private partnership."
Legislation was enacted in 2011 (see following "Related bills"
section) that allows the City of Santa Monica (Santa Monica) to
use illuminated advertising on the sides of their public transit
buses for a limited, five-year period. The Santa Monica transit
staff expects the illuminated billboards to raise additional
revenue for operating its transit system. Last year, their
staff reported that its static advertising generates about $4.1
million annually, but expect the digital signs to increase its
advertising revenue to about $8 million. However, in light of
public transit agencies in other states selling digital
advertising at reduced levels than anticipated, Santa Monica is
readjusting expectations and moving slowly into this new
business venture. Santa Monica staff report their intent to
hire a consultant to help them determine how many signs to begin
with and what they might charge to optimize revenues. Although
existing law enables them to equip up to 25 buses with
illuminated signs, because of the high capital start-up cost,
Santa Monica may begin the program with only five signs to test
its viability.
The Santa Monica pilot study will look at the adverse impacts
attributed to having the illuminated signs on their public
transit buses. There have been many distracted driving studies
conducted by a variety of constituencies and focused on a number
of potential distractions. There are studies that use data to
prove illuminated billboards do not lead to negative outcomes,
and other studies that refute these conclusions. Nearly all
studies admit that, in most instances, it is very difficult to
identify one single factor that led to an adverse incident such
as an automobile accident. Research tends to show that
accidents arise from an accumulation of factors, including
distractions in the vehicle and outside, weather conditions, and
even within the driver's mind. Allowing Irvine to participate
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in this pilot program at this time will provide policymakers
with additional information on the impacts of this program on
driver safety especially if Santa Monica's program is either
slow or unable to develop.
This bill is modeled after prior legislation and provides Irvine
with the authorization to implement a digital advertising pilot
program for their campus and surrounding areas. Further, it is
believed that since the two locations (Santa Monica and Irvine)
are sufficiently apart and the localized transit routes do not
overlap, the selling of ads for the digital displays by either
transit entity should not be adversely affected.
Suggested amendment : The existing statutory reporting
requirements of AB 607 (Brownley), Chapter 529, Statutes of
2011, imposed on Santa Monica that requires them to provide a
safety report on the incidence of adverse impacts due to the
utilization of LED advertising signs on their transit buses,
should replace AB 541's existing requirement of Irvine to report
on the economic viability of LED advertising. The author has
agreed to accept this amendment.
Related bills : AB 1984 (Wagner), of 2012, a similar bill that
passed this committee but subsequently failed passage in the
Senate Transportation and Housing Committee for reasons that the
results of the existing pilot program should be consulted prior
to the program being expanded for other public transit entities.
AB 2375 (Knight), of 2012, would have authorized, until January
1, 2018, a pilot program for Antelope Valley Transit Authority
to use illuminated signs for advertising on their public transit
buses. That bill was held in the Senate Transportation and
Housing Committee for reasons similar to AB 1984.
SB 1295 (Huff), of 2012, would have allowed local school
districts to advertise on the exterior of the yellow school
buses. That bill passed the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee but failed passage in the Senate Education Committee.
AB 607 (Brownley), Chapter 529, Statutes of 2011, established a
pilot program for the City of Santa Monica allowing their
transit buses to use illuminated signs for purposes of
advertising. Requires the city to report on the program by July
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1, 2016.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093