BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1641
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Date of Hearing: March 14, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 1641
(Travis Allen) - As Introduced January 11, 2016
SUBJECT: Shuttle services: loading and unloading of passengers
SUMMARY: Allows local governments to allow private shuttle
buses to use public bus stops. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes local authorities, upon agreement between a transit
system operating buses engaged as common carriers in local
transportation (public transit buses) and a shuttle service
provider, to permit shuttle service vehicles to stop for the
loading or unloading of passengers alongside any or all curb
spaces designated for the loading or unloading of passengers
of transit system buses.
2)Defines "shuttle service vehicle" as a motor vehicle designed,
used, or maintained by or for a charter-party carrier of
passengers, a passenger stage corporation, or any highway
carrier of passengers required to register with the Public
Utilities Commission.
3)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,
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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.
4)Defines "shuttle service provider" as any person using shuttle
service vehicles to provide shuttle service.
5)States the Legislature's intent not to replace public transit
services and states that this applies only to shuttle services
that do not offer services to the general public as common
carriers.
6)Declares the urgency of this measure to take effect
immediately.
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
system operating buses 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
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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, this bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
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, SFMTA designated
124 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
were required to obtain a permit from SFMTA to participate in
the program and pay $3.67 each time they stopped in one of the
designated zones. Operators were required to 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 in November 2015
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
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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 the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by exempting the pilot project
from environmental review. That litigation has yet to be
resolved. The CEQA challenge was dropped by the plaintiffs as
part of the negotiations that led to the program extension, and
the court will hear arguments to dismiss the case on the grounds
that the case is moot on April 28, 2016.
This bill would authorize local governments, upon agreement
between a transit system and a shuttle service provider, to
allow private shuttles to use public bus stops. This
authorization mirrors the existing authorization for a transit
system to allow a school district to use public bus stops for
school buses, upon agreement between the two entities.
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 is
premature.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
AB 1641
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Support
None on file
Opposition
Amalgamated Transit Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Council of the Blind
Cultural Space Coalition
Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council
Potrero Hill Democratic Club
San Francisco Green Party
Services Employees International Union
United Transportation Union
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36 private citizens
Analysis Prepared by:Justin Behrens / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093