BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1720
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1720 (Bloom) - As Introduced: February 13, 2014
SUBJECT : Vehicles: bus gross weight
SUMMARY : Extends for one year, until January 1, 2016, an
existing statutory exemption to the 20,500-pound-per-axle weight
limit for transit buses for a transit system that is procuring a
new bus that is of the same or lesser weight than the bus it is
replacing, or for a transit system that is incorporating a new
fleet class into its inventory, if the governing board makes
certain findings. The bill additionally clarifies that the
interim procurement procedures apply to buses of a gross weight
of 20,500 pounds over any single axle, not a total bus weight of
20,500 pounds.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Generally limits the gross weight on any one axle for vehicles
that travel on public streets, roads, and highways (highways)
to 20,000 pounds, but provides that buses of any type may
impose a gross axle weight of up to 20,500 pounds.
2)Under federal law, prohibits California from enforcing a
weight limit of under 24,000 pounds per axle for buses
travelling on the federal Interstate highway system.
3)Exempts transit buses procured through a solicitation process
that was issued before January 1, 2013, from existing
statutory limits on bus weights.
4)Allows, until January 1, 2015, a publicly owned and operated
transit system or an operator of a transit system under
contract with a publicly owned and operated transit system to
do the following:
a) Replace existing buses that exceed the current weight
limits with a new model of the same or lower weight.
b) Procure and operate a new bus in excess of the current
weight limits in order to incorporate a new fleet class
into its inventory, if the governing board adopts a finding
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at a public hearing that the change is necessary to address
a need to serve a new or existing market pursuant to its
most recently adopted short-range transit plan, or to meet
federal, state, or regional statutory or regulatory
requirements.
5)Requires the governing board of a transit system, if it holds
a public hearing to consider procurement of buses in excess of
existing weight limits pursuant to the above provisions, to
provide written notice of the public hearing to those cities
and counties on whose roads the busses would travel, and place
in the public record any comment or concerns it receives
regarding the procurement.
6)Defines "fleet class" to mean a group of transit buses that
have a combination of two or more of the following similar
defining characteristics:
a) Length;
b) Seating capacity;
c) Number of axles;
d) Fuel or power system;
e) Width;
f) Structure; and,
g) Equipment package.
7)Prohibits transit busses from operating on the Interstate
highway system in excess of federal weight limitations.
8)Requires state agencies to take into account vehicle weight
impacts and the ability of vehicle manufacturers and operators
to comply with laws limiting the weight of vehicles when
promulgating regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : Since 1975, state law has prohibited the gross weight
on any single axle of a transit bus from exceeding 20,500
pounds. Due to numerous state and federal mandates, including
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Americans with Disability Act requirements and mandated
emissions reduction equipment, transit buses today often exceed
that weight, especially when carrying a large number of
passengers. According to the sponsor, the California Transit
Association (CTA), as many as half of the transit buses in
California operating at peak commute times may exceed the state
weight limit of 20,500 pounds per axle. However, during non-peak
times, this percentage drops significantly due to lower
ridership loads.
Several years ago, some local police departments began citing
transit buses for violating the weight limit. Merely relying on
the current procedures in state law for overweight
vehicles-paying fines resulting from citations or paying fees
and administering thousands of annual overweight vehicle permits
on a city-by-city basis-would be costly and time consuming for
transit agencies and other local governments statewide.
Moreover, such an approach would continue to ignore the
underlying problem: the Vehicle Code limit was created more than
35 years ago and simply did not contemplate today's operating
environments or legal and regulatory requirements. However,
simply increasing the weight limit for transit buses is not as
easy as it might sound because for cities and counties, more
weight equals greater wear and tear on local streets and roads.
AB 1706 (Eng), Chapter 771, Statutes of 2012, offered a
short-term solution to the bus axle weight issue by exempting
all existing transit buses from the state weight limit. The bill
additionally allowed for procurement of new buses exceeded the
weight limit if they were replacing existing overweight buses or
if the transit operator was introducing a new fleet class. The
procurement provisions are scheduled to sunset at the end of the
year. AB 1760's temporary fix to the bus axle weight issue came
about after stakeholders-including cities, counties, transit
agencies, and representatives from various state departments and
agencies-put considerable effort into finding a permanent
solution to the issue without coming to agreement.
The federal Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), an arm
of the Transportation Research Board backed by the National
Academy of Sciences, is currently overseeing a detailed national
study on the bus axle weight issue, which has been a subject of
concern not just in California but nationwide. The final report
is due in May. The panel overseeing the work of the contractor
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selected to do the study includes representatives from national
association of cities, counties, public transit agencies, bus
suppliers, public works engineers, and state transportation
officials. The report is expected to be the most comprehensive
look at the issue to date and is expected to provide a wealth of
data and information that will be helpful in crafting a
long-term solution for California.
Once the TCRP study is released, California stakeholders will
reconvene with the goal of crafting a long-term solution to the
issue that works for all parties. In the meantime, this bill
extends the procurement provisions of AB 1706 for an additional
year in order to provide adequate time for stakeholders to work
out a permanent solution while ensuring that transit operators
can continue to procure buses should it take beyond this year
for an agreement to be reached.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Transit Association (sponsor)
California Association for Coordinated Transportation
California State Association of Counties
City of Santa Monica
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Orange County Transportation Authority
San Mateo County Transit District
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Transportation Authority of Marin
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093