BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 946
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: stone
VERSION: 4/22/13
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 25, 2013
SUBJECT:
Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz: transit bus-only corridors
DESCRIPTION:
This bill authorizes the Monterey-Salinas Transit District and
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, in consultation with
the state Department of Transportation and the California
Highway Patrol, to designate certain highway shoulders as
transit bus-only corridors.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
Authorizes the state Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
to construct exclusive or preferential lanes for buses only,
or for buses and other high-occupancy vehicles, or to permit
exclusive or preferential use of designated lanes on existing
highways that are part of the state highway system.
Creates the Monterey-Salinas Transit District (MSTD) and the
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD) and
prescribes the duties and responsibilities of each.
Requires motorists to drive on the right side of the roadway,
with specified exceptions such as when the motorist is legally
passing another vehicle.
Prohibits motorists from passing on the right, except in
specified circumstances if conditions enable the motorist to
pass safely, such as when the vehicle overtaken is about to
make a left turn.
Prohibits a motorist from passing on the right if it requires
driving off the paved or main-traveled portion of the roadway.
AB 946 (STONE) Page 2
Allows a bicycle to travel on a shoulder of a roadway.
This bill :
Authorizes MSTD and SCMTD, subject to approval by Caltrans and
the California Highway Patrol (CHP), to designate shoulders of
certain highways and freeways within those transit districts
as transit bus-only corridors (commonly referred to as
bus-on-shoulder programs).
Requires MSTD and SCMTD to each determine jointly with
Caltrans appropriate segments for bus-on-shoulder programs
based on peak congestion hours and the most heavily congested
areas.
Requires MSTD and SCMTD to each work with Caltrans and CHP, in
a transparent manner that includes opportunity for public
comment, to develop guidelines to ensure driver and vehicle
safety, as well as integrity of the infrastructure.
Requires Caltrans, MSTD, and SCMTD 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.
Provides that MSTD and SCMTD shall be responsible for all
costs attributable to this program.
Authorizes the program to commence operation as soon as MSTD,
SCMTD, Caltrans, and CHP have agreed upon guidelines.
Authorizes operation of a transit bus on the shoulder of a
state highway in conjunction with a bus-on-shoulder program
within the areas served by MSTD and SCMTD.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author states that Highway 1, the primary
traffic corridor through Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties,
suffers significant congestion during daily work commute
times. By enabling transit buses to utilize highway
shoulders, this bill will help ease that congestion. The
sponsors of this bill note that bus-on-shoulder programs are a
low-cost strategy to improve transit system reliability and
service, as well as an effective method to help relieve
traffic congestion and thus improve air quality.
AB 946 (STONE) Page 3
2.Bus-on-shoulder programs . A comprehensive 2006 study by the
Transit Cooperative Research Program, sponsored by the Federal
Transit Administration, found that bus-on-shoulder programs
had been working successfully for more than a decade in
various parts of the US. The study noted that these programs
work because they minimize congestion-related interruptions of
bus schedules, improve travel times for buses versus cars, are
low cost and easy to implement, do not require new
rights-of-way, and are not visually obtrusive. The study also
found that these programs are popular with bus passengers and
have not drawn significant complaints from motorists.
In 2005, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)
received a Caltrans grant to evaluate the feasibility of
converting freeway shoulder lanes to transit-only lanes.
SANDAG implemented a pilot project, in partnership with the
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), Caltrans, and
CHP, beginning in December 2005. The project, which is still
in effect, utilizes the freeway shoulder on MTS Express Route
960 on portions of State Route 52 and Interstate 805 as a
transit-only lane during morning and evening rush hours when
freeway speeds drop below 35 miles per hour. SANDAG considers
the program so successful that it is identifying additional
routes for bus-on-shoulder programs.
3.Is this an appropriate use of shoulder lanes ? Current law
generally designates highway shoulder lanes for emergency use
only. Emergency vehicles commonly use shoulders to bypass
traffic congestion when responding to emergencies. In
addition, when a motorist's car breaks down, he or she may
move the car to the shoulder to avoid blocking traffic in the
main highway lanes. Converting shoulder lanes to bus-only
poses the risk of blocking emergency vehicles and creating a
safety hazard when a disabled car pulls off to the shoulder.
To help address such concerns, this bill requires MSTD and
SCMTD to obtain Caltrans and CHP approval before implementing
a bus-on-shoulder program, and to work with CHP and Caltrans
to develop safety guidelines for such programs.
4.Undue wear and tear ? Because shoulder lanes are intended for
emergency use only, they are not built to withstand large
amounts of traffic. Running buses on shoulders on a daily
basis could cause a great deal of wear and tear, which will
likely result in significant maintenance and rehabilitation
costs. This bill provides that MSTD and SCMTD shall be
AB 946 (STONE) Page 4
responsible for all costs attributable to the bus-on-shoulder
program. The committee may wish to consider amending the bill
to clarify that these costs include costs related to repairs
attributable to the operation of transit buses on shoulders.
5.Technical amendments :
On page 2, delete line 9 after "Patrol."
On page 2, delete lines 10 through 12.
On page 2, line 13, before "participating," insert "The
departments and".
On page 2, line 13, after "districts," insert, "shall
determine jointly the segments of each highway where it is
appropriate to designate shoulders as transit bus-only
traffic corridors, based upon, but not limited to, factors
including right-of-way availability and capacity,".
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 74-0
Appr: 17-0
Trans: 15-0
L. Gov.: 9-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 19,
2013.)
SUPPORT: Monterey-Salinas Transit District (co-sponsor)
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District
(co-sponsor)
California Transit Association
OPPOSED: None received.