AB 946, as amended, Stone. Transit buses: Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz.
Existing law creates the Monterey-Salinas Transit District and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District with various powers and duties relative to the operation of public transit in those counties. Existing law generally requires vehicles to be driven upon the right half of a roadway, defined to include only that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. Existing law generally prohibits the driver of a vehicle from overtaking and passing another vehicle by driving off the paved or main-traveled portion of the roadway.
The
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bill would authorize the Monterey-Salinas Transit District and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District to conduct abegin delete transit-bus onlyend deletebegin insert transit bus-onlyend insert
program using the shoulders of certain state highways asbegin delete transit-bus onlyend deletebegin insert transit bus-onlyend insert traffic corridors, subject to approval by the department and the Department of the California Highway Patrol. The highway segments to be used for the program would be jointly determined by thebegin delete districts andend deletebegin insert districts,end insert thebegin delete department.end deletebegin insert department, and the Department of the California Highway Patrol, as provided.end insert The bill would thereby authorize
the operation of transit buses on the shoulder of a segment of a state highway designated under the program within the areas served by the transit districts. The bill would require the districts to actively work with the department and the Department of the California Highway Patrol to develop guidelines that ensure driver and vehicle safety and the integrity of the infrastructure. The bill would require monitoring of the state of repair of the highway shoulders used in the program, and would require the districts to be responsible for all costs attributable to thebegin delete program.end deletebegin insert program, including costs related to repairs attributable to the operation of transit buses on shoulders.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 148.1 is added to the Streets and
2Highways Code, to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
4Monterey-Salinas Transit District and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan
5Transit District may conduct a transit bus-only program using the
6shoulders of certain highways in the state highway system within
7the areas served by the transit services of the districts, with the
8approval of the department and the Department of the California
9Highway Patrol.begin delete The program shall designate segments of each
10highway where it is
appropriate to designate shoulders as transit
11bus-only traffic corridors, with the segments to be determined
12jointly by the department and theend delete
13of the California Highway Patrol, and end insert participating transit districts
14begin insert shall jointly determine the segments of each highway where it is
15appropriate to designate the shoulders as transitend insertbegin insert busend insertbegin insert-only traffic
16corridors,end insert based uponbegin insert factors that shall include, but not be limited
17to, right-of-way
availability and capacity,end insert peak congestionbegin delete hoursend delete
18begin insert hours, end insert and the most heavily congested areas. Under the program,
19the participating transit districts shall actively work with the
20department and the Department of the California Highway Patrol
21to develop guidelines that ensure driver and vehicle safety and the
22integrity of the infrastructure.
P3 1(b) The development of the guidelines shall be done with
2transparency, including the opportunity for public comment.
3(c) The department and the participating transit districts shall
4monitor the state of repair of highway shoulders used in the
5program,
including repairs attributable to the operation of transit
6buses on the shoulders.
7(d) The participating transit districts shall be responsible for all
8costs attributable to thisbegin delete program.end deletebegin insert program, including costs related
9to repairs attributable to the operation of transit buses on
10shoulders.end insert
11(e) The program may commence operationbegin delete ,end delete as soon as
12guidelines are agreed to by the transit districts, the department,
13and the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
14(f) As used in this section, “highway” includes “freeway.”
Section 21650 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
Upon all highways, a vehicle shall be driven upon the
17right half of the roadway, except as follows:
18(a) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding
19in the same direction under the rules governing that movement.
20(b) When placing a vehicle in a lawful position for, and when
21the vehicle is lawfully making, a left turn.
22(c) When the right half of a roadway is closed to traffic under
23construction or repair.
24(d) Upon a roadway restricted to one-way traffic.
25(e) When the roadway is not of sufficient width.
26(f) When the vehicle is necessarily traveling so slowly as to
27impede the normal movement of traffic, that portion of the highway
28adjacent to the right edge of the roadway may be utilized
29temporarily when in a condition permitting safe operation.
30(g) This section does not prohibit the operation of bicycles on
31any shoulder of a highway, on any sidewalk, on any bicycle path
32within a highway, or along any crosswalk or bicycle path crossing,
33where the operation is not otherwise prohibited by this code or
34local ordinance.
35(h) This section does not prohibit the operation of a transit bus
36on the shoulder of a state highway in conjunction with the
37implementation of a
program authorized pursuant to Section 148.1
38of the Streets and Highways Code on state highways within the
P4 1areas served by the transit services of the Monterey-Salinas Transit
2District or the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District.
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