BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 946
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
AB 946 (Stone) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Transit buses: Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz.
SUMMARY : Allows the Monterey-Salinas Transit District and the
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District to conduct a transit
bus-only program on the shoulders of certain highways and
requires the districts to work with the Department of
Transportation and the California Highway Patrol to develop
program guidelines for the implementation of the program.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the Monterey-Salinas Transit District and the Santa
Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (transit districts) to
conduct a transit bus-only program using the shoulder of
certain highways in the state highway system within the areas
served by the transit districts, in conjunction with the
Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
2)Allows the program to commence operation as soon as
practicable after January 1, 2014.
3)Requires the transit districts and Caltrans to jointly
determine segments of each highway where it is appropriate to
designate shoulders as transit bus-only traffic corridors,
based on peak congestion hours and the most heavily congested
areas.
4)Requires the transit districts to work with Caltrans and the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) to develop guidelines that
ensure driver and vehicle safety and the integrity of the
infrastructure.
5)Requires the transit districts and Caltrans to monitor the
state of repair of highway shoulders used in the program,
including repairs attributable to the operation of transit
buses on the shoulders.
6)States that the transit districts are responsible for costs of
the program.
AB 946
Page 2
7)Clarifies that "highway" includes "freeway".
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Monterey-Salinas Transit District Act.
2)Enumerates the powers and duties of the Monterey-Salinas
Transit District.
3)Establishes the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District Act
of 1967.
4)Allows the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District to
acquire, construct, own, operate, control or use
rights-of-way, rail lines, buslines, stations, platforms,
switches, yards, terminals, and any and all other facilities
necessary or convenient for transit services within the
district.
5)Requires vehicles to be driven on the right half of the
roadway on all highways, with specified exceptions.
6)Allows a vehicle to pass another vehicle on the right, if
conditions permit it to be done safely.
7)Prohibits a vehicle from passing on the right by driving off
the paved or main-traveled portion of the roadway.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)This bill allows the Monterey-Salinas Transit District and the
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District to conduct a bus-only
program on the shoulders of highways within the transit
districts' service area, as soon as practicable after January
1, 2014. This bill does not establish specific parameters for
the bus-on-shoulder program, and instead, requires the transit
districts, Caltrans, and CHP to develop guidelines for the
program. This bill directs the transit districts, Caltrans,
and CHP to develop guidelines that ensure driver and vehicle
safety and the integrity of the infrastructure. This bill
requires the transits districts and Caltrans to jointly
designate which shoulders will be used for the program based
on peak congestion hours and the most heavily congested areas.
Under provisions in this bill the transit districts are
AB 946
Page 3
responsible for the costs of the program. This bill is
sponsored by the Monterey-Salinas Transit District.
2)According to the author, "Bus-on-shoulder programs have been
implemented throughout the country, and they have shown
shorter, more consistent commute times and increased ridership
without increases in traffic collisions." The author points
to the success of bus on shoulder programs in over a dozen
cities in the United States and Canada, including Minneapolis
which operates one of the most developed programs covering
over 300 miles.
3)In 2005, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) in
partnership with the Metropolitan Transit Systems, Caltrans,
and CHP implemented a pilot project to evaluate the
effectiveness of using freeway shoulders for transit lanes.
The conclusion of SANDAG's September 2009 report entitled Bus
on Shoulders - Freeway Transit Lane Monitoring Program stated,
"Overall, the Transit Lanes Demonstration Pilot Project has
achieved positive results with the performance measure and
transit criteria on the highway; yielding strong benefits for
transit operations; receiving positive perceptions from
transit drivers and transit passengers; maintaining desired
goals for freeway level of service and maintenance, and
maintaining safety on the highway".
4)Following the SANDAG pilot project, Caltrans issued a decision
memo in June 2008 which proposes to support the introduction
of legislation to allow the use of shoulders for transit
purposes under conditions set by and under the approval of
Caltrans. The memo outlines general criteria which must be
addressed regarding safety, operation, and maintenance of the
facility. Caltrans concluded that the following criteria
would need to be established in the Highway Design Manual in
order to allow the use of a freeway shoulder by transit buses:
"A project is planned to construct a permanent lane to
carry buses and it is a regional priority. The permanent
project is funded. There is a clearly defined ridership
need.
A significant travel-time savings can be demonstrated. It
has been demonstrated that other alternatives, including
the use of city streets is not feasible. The structural
section is adequate to handle the bus loading. Drainage
AB 946
Page 4
modifications, if needed, are adequately addressed. The
shoulder pavement width is adequate. Enforcement,
maintenance, and emergency pullouts are provided. Signing
and striping modifications are adequately addressed.
Excessive grade breaks are eliminated and super elevation
issues are adequately addressed. Lateral obstructions in
the clear recovery zone are eliminated or adequately
shielded. Guardrail and dike modifications, if needed, are
adequately addressed."
5)The Caltrans memo also highlighted the risks associated with
allowing the use of freeway shoulders by transit buses, as
follows:
"The increased potential exists for tort liability for the
Department. The use of the shoulder by disabled vehicles
or for other emergencies is eliminated. Introduces a
conflict with emergency vehicles that may also need to use
the shoulder. Through buses traveling on the shoulder may
have a crossing conflict with other vehicles at the exit
and entrance ramps. Buses may shy away from bridge railing
and metal beam guardrail possibly encroaching into the
adjacent lane. Differential speeds may cause an increase
in collisions. Other vehicles may follow the buses on the
shoulder. Added vehicle loading may reduce the life of the
pavement on the shoulder. The cross slope on the existing
shoulder is normally different from the adjacent lane.
Clear and unambiguous signing will need to be established."
The Committee may wish to consider that given the number of
policy considerations raised in 2008 by Caltrans whether it is
advisable to allow the transit districts to conduct the
program without more direction on what guidelines will be
established first.
6)The Committee may wish to consider the following:
a) This bill allows the bus on shoulder program to commence
as soon as practicable after January 1, 2014. However,
there is no requirement that the guidelines be developed
prior to that date.
b) This bill requires the transit districts to work with
AB 946
Page 5
Caltrans and CHP, but does not require the guidelines to be
agreed upon by all parties. Without this assurance, if
Caltrans or CHP express any concerns, there is no guarantee
under the provisions of this bill that those concerns will
be included in the final guidelines.
c) There are no provisions in the bill that require public
input for the transit districts to implement the bus on
shoulder program. Requiring the transit districts to adopt
the guidelines at a public meeting before the program
begins would lend both accountability and transparency to
the establishment of the guidelines.
d) This bill expands the powers of two transit districts
without much guidance as to the guidelines that will govern
the program. Supporters argue that this bill will allow
the development of a partnership that will objectively test
the benefits of the bus on shoulder program in a contained,
monitored, and safe setting. The Committee may wish to
consider whether a sunset date should be added to provide
the Legislature an opportunity to examine the benefits and
consequences of the bus on shoulder program.
e) This bill requires the transit districts and Caltrans to
jointly determine which segments of the highway should be
used for the bus on shoulder program. While this bill does
require the transit districts to work with CHP on
developing guidelines, one may argue that if CHP has safety
concerns regarding the physical attributes of the segments
chosen by Caltrans and the transit districts, this bill
does not ensure those will be taken into consideration.
7)Support arguments : Supporters argue that bus use of shoulders
is a low-cost strategy to improve bus running times and
reliability which improves the services of public transit and
benefits the state economically and environmentally.
Opposition arguments : Opponents may argue that this bill
should include greater specification over the guidelines that
will govern the transit bus on shoulder program.
8)This bill is double-referred to the Transportation Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 946
Page 6
Support
Monterey-Salinas Transit District [SPONSOR]
California Transit Association
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958