BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 61
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 61
(Travis Allen) - As Amended April 20, 2015
SUBJECT: Shuttle services: loading and unloading of passengers
SUMMARY: Allows local authorities to permit private shuttle
service vehicles to use public bus stops. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Allows local authorities, upon agreement between a transit
system and a private shuttle service provider, to permit
shuttle service vehicles to stop alongside any or all curb
spaces designated for the loading or unloading of passengers
of the transit system's buses.
2)Defines "shuttle service" as transportation by private
vehicles offered for the exclusive or primary use of a
discrete group, including, but not limited to, clients,
patients, students, paid or unpaid staff, visitors, or
residents, between an organization or entity's facilities or
between the organization or entity's facilities and other
locations, on a regularly scheduled basis, and defines other,
related terms.
3)States the Legislature's intent not to replace public transit
AB 61
Page 2
services and states that this applies only to shuttle services
that do not offer services to the general public as common
carriers.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Prohibits local governments from regulating the movement or
parking of vehicles unless specifically authorized by state
law.
2)Prohibits parking in a variety of places, including alongside
curb space authorized for the loading and unloading of public
transit buses when indicated by a sign or red paint on the
curb erected or painted by local authorities pursuant to an
ordinance.
3)Authorizes local authorities, upon agreement between a transit
bus operator and a public school district or private school,
to permit school buses owned by, or operated under contract
for, that public school district or private school to stop for
the loading or unloading of passengers alongside any or all
curb spaces designated for the loading or unloading of
passengers of the transit system buses.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: In 2014, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation
Agency (SFMTA) began an 18-month pilot program to allow private
shuttles - often referred to as "tech buses" because of the
number of them that transport tech workers from San Francisco to
jobs in the Silicon Valley - to share SFMTA bus stops with
public, common carrier buses. Under the pilot program, which is
set to expire at the end of January 2016, SFMTA designated 124
AB 61
Page 3
zones in which private shuttles are allowed to stop, including a
mix of red zones shared between SFMTA buses and private shuttles
and shuttle-only white zones. Shuttle operators must obtain a
permit from SFMTA to participate in the program and must pay
$3.67 each time they stop in one of the designated zones.
Operators must abide by the rules of the pilot program,
including providing data to SFMTA on a daily basis on stops and
operations within San Francisco. An October 2015 analysis of
the pilot program found 479 vehicles registered by16 permitted
shuttle service providers making nearly 3,000 stops per workday,
with about 8,500 people riding a permitted shuttle round-trip
each day.
Based on the findings of the pilot program, the SFMTA board
approved the extension of the pilot program into an ongoing
program in November 2015. Pending an appeal on California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance to the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors, the ongoing program takes effect February
1, 2016, with several additional requirements on shuttle
operators dealing with vehicle size, emissions, labor, and data
sharing standards.
Shortly after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-1
to authorize SFMTA to embark on the pilot program, the Coalition
for Fair, Legal and Environmental Transit and the Service
Employees International Union Local 1021, among other
petitioners, filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court against
the City and County of San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee, the Board of
Supervisors, SFMTA, Google, Genentech, Apple, and several
private transportation providers. The suit alleges that the
pilot project is not authorized by state law because the Vehicle
Code prohibits vehicles other than public buses from stopping at
red zones designated as public, common carrier bus stops. The
suit additionally alleges that the city violated CEQA by
exempting the pilot project from environmental review. That
litigation has yet to be resolved, with proposed rulings from
both parties due January 22, 2016, and a ruling from the court
AB 61
Page 4
due
90 days thereafter.
This bill would authorize local governments, upon agreement
between a transit system and a shuttle service provider, to
allow private shuttles to stop at red zones used as public bus
stops. This authorization mirrors the existing authorization to
permit a school district to use public bus stops for school
buses, upon agreement between the transit system and the school
district. According to the author, the bill seeks to address a
discrepancy in the law and "confirm local jurisdictions' ability
to enable employer shuttles to utilize municipal curb spaces
upon local agreement."
Committee concerns: Whether or not existing law authorizes
private shuttles to use public bus stops and under what
parameters is the subject of ongoing litigation. Until the
court opines on what the law currently allows, this bill may be
premature.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
1 private citizen
Opposition
AB 61
Page 5
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
AFSCME Council 57
Amalgamated Transit Union
Bernal Heights Democratic Club
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Council of the Blind
D5 Action
FDR Democratic Club of San Francisco
Gray Panthers of San Francisco
Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club
Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council
Pacific Felt Factory
AB 61
Page 6
Potrero Hill Democratic Club
San Francisco Green Party
San Francisco Latino Democratic Club
San Francisco Senior and Disability Action
San Francisco Tomorrow
SaveMuni
California State Council of the Services
Employees International Union
Transport Workers Union Local 250-A
UNITE HERE Local 2
Upper Noe Neighbors
18 private citizens
Analysis Prepared by:Justin Behrens / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
AB 61
Page 7