BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 726
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Brian Maienschein, Chair
AB 726
(Nazarian) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Vehicles: Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) to operate articulated buses that
do not exceed 82 feet on the Orange Line in Los Angeles County.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides an exemption to the vehicle length limit in existing
law to allow MTA to operate articulated buses that do not
exceed 82 feet on the route designated as the Orange Line in
Los Angeles County.
2)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary because of
the unique circumstances of a large number of riders using
buses operated by MTA on the Orange Line and the need to
reduce overcrowding on those buses.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes MTA as the successor agency to the Southern
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California Rapid Transit District and the Los Angeles County
Transportation Commission and prescribes its membership and
duties.
2)Prohibits a vehicle from exceeding a length of 40 feet and
creates a number of exemptions to that limit.
3)Prohibits an articulated bus from exceeding a length of 60
feet.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill provides an exemption to the maximum
articulated bus length limit in current law and authorizes MTA
to use articulated buses up to 82 feet on the Orange Line
route in Los Angeles County. This bill is sponsored by MTA.
2)MTA and the Orange Line. MTA was created pursuant to AB 152
(Katz), Chapter 60, Statutes of 1992, through the
consolidation of the Los Angeles County Transportation
Commission and the Southern California Rapid Transit District.
MTA is now the third-largest public transportation system in
the United States by ridership, serving a 1,433 square mile
area. After purchasing and converting an abandoned railroad
line parallel to the Ventura Freeway (U.S. 101), MTA opened
the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley in October of 2005.
The Orange Line opened as a 14-mile route consisting of
two-lane dedicated busways for 60 foot articulated buses. The
Orange Line crosses 34 streets and
five midblock pedestrian crosswalks, and at signalized
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intersections, loop detectors give
Orange Line buses traffic signal priority. Adjacent to the
dedicated busways there are eight miles of bicycle and
pedestrian paths, with designated on-street bike lanes for the
remaining six miles. In 2012 MTA did a four-mile northern
extension of the Orange Line, connecting four new stations.
The use of longer articulated buses on the Orange Line was
identified as one of the suggestions to expand Orange Line
capacity and improve travel time in the Orange Line bus Rapid
Transit Sustainable Corridor Implementation Plan (Orange Line
CRT Sustainable CIP), developed by MTA in partnership with the
City of Los Angeles in 2011. In addition to examining
improvements to the existing bus rapid transit system, MTA
also analyzed the possible conversion of the Orange Line to a
rail service.
As of November 1, 2009, MTA had 391 articulated buses in its
fleet, and contains a plan to assume 500 articulated buses in
the near term and another 100 beyond fiscal year 2020.
3)Author's Statement. According to the author, "This is a
district bill that will give MTA the flexibility needed to
address the growing demands of public transportation in the
Greater San Fernando Valley.
"In 1991, MTA purchased the Southern Pacific Burbank Branch.
After 15 years of examining potential transportation
alternatives, MTA constructed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along
the entire Southern Pacific Burbank Branch route, which is
currently known as the LA Metro Orange Line. Today, much like
light rail, the 18 mile Orange Line runs on dedicated bus
lanes and uses a dedicated right-of-way with stations
approximately at one mile intervals.
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"The San Fernando Valley has since outgrown the BRT system.
When BRT was determined to be the preferred alternative, MTA
estimated that Orange Line ridership would average 16,000
riders on weekdays. However as of September 2012, average
ridership was 31,787 -almost double the initial estimate.
Ridership on the Orange Line continues to grow rapidly each
year. To add, current Metro Orange Line operation has headway
restrictions that limit how many standard articulated buses
can operate there.
"Consequently, bi-articulated buses would allow for expansion
of capacity on this line. Bi-articulated buses can have up to
80 passenger seats, which would translate into an operating
capacity of 112 passengers. Bi-articulated buses currently
operate in South America (primarily Brazil) and in Europe
(Germany, Holland, Switzerland). The most common
bi-articulated bus designs are about 82 feet in length.
"In order to effectively address the growing public
transportation needs of the San Fernando Valley, alleviate
congestion and take advantage of available transportation
resources, this bill will offer MTA the flexibility they need
to operate buses up to 82 feet in length along the Orange
Line. This bill does not impose a mandate, but rather unties
the hands of MTA to build appropriate alternative means of
transportation to properly serve its customers."
4)Prior Legislation. There is extensive legislative history
surrounding the discussion of bus length limits. This bill is
not MTA's first attempt to gain the authority to use larger
articulated buses on the Orange Line. SB 650 (Padilla) of
2007 would have authorized transit agencies to operate
articulated buses up to 65 feet subject to a number of
restrictions, including limiting the buses to operating on a
dedicated right-of-way, and the establishment of a route
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review committee. The provisions relating to bus length were
eventually amended out of SB 650.
5)Policy Considerations. The Committee may wish to consider the
following:
a) Potential Changes to the Orange Line. This bill
authorizes MTA to use articulated buses up to 82 feet on
the route designated as the Orange Line in Los Angeles
County. MTA has the authority to change and expand any of
their routes, and although the Orange Line currently has
bus designated lanes, the authority granted by this bill
may have very different safety implications depending on
how the Orange Line is expanded or changed in the future.
The Committee may wish to ask the author to consider
limiting the authority granted to MTA to operate
articulated buses up to 82 feet only on currently
designated busways on the Orange Line to address safety
concerns about the compatibility of these larger buses with
other vehicles on regular city streets.
b) Safety. According to the United Transportation Union,
"The unsafe conditions created by this size of a bus being
allowed to be operated, especially in the greater Los
Angeles area, far outweighs any benefit for using busses of
this size and length."
6)Arguments in Support. Supporters argue that this bill will
give the necessary local flexibility to address the growing
demands of public transportation in the greater San Fernando
Valley.
7)Arguments in Opposition. Opposition argues that this bill
will allow for an increase of over 20% in the current legal
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length of articulated buses in California and that this
creates an unsafe and dangerous driving condition placing both
bus passengers and the general driving public in danger.
8)Double-Referral. This bill is double-referred to the
Transportation Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
[SPONSOR]
Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles
Opposition
United Transportation Union
Analysis Prepared by:Misa Lennox / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
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