BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 998 Hearing Date: 4/19/2016
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|Author: |Wieckowski |
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|Version: |4/6/2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Erin Riches |
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SUBJECT: Vehicles: mass transit guideways
DIGEST: This bill prohibits an individual from operating,
stopping, parking, or leaving a motor vehicle in a transit-only
lane of a highway.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits an individual from stopping, parking, or leaving a
vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other
traffic or in compliance with directions from a peace officer
or official traffic control device, in specified situations.
These situations include, but are not limited to, within an
intersection, on a crosswalk, in front of a driveway, in a
tunnel, on a bridge, and in passenger loading zones, including
bus stops.
2)Provides that these offenses are infractions, subject to a
fine of $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second
offense occurring within one year of a prior offense, and $250
for a third or subsequent offense occurring within one year of
two or more prior offenses.
This bill prohibits an individual from:
1)Operating a motor vehicle on a portion of highway that has
been designated for the exclusive use of public transit buses,
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except in compliance with directions from a peace officer or
official traffic control device.
2)Stopping, parking, or leaving a vehicle, except when necessary
to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with
directions from a peace officer or official traffic control
device, on a portion of highway that has been designated for
the exclusive use of public transit buses.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author states that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a
high-capacity, lower cost public transit service intended to
effectively accommodate longer distance passenger trips in
transit corridors in urban areas. By operating in dedicated
bus-only lanes, public transit agencies are able to decrease
travel times and make bus service more reliable and
competitive with automobiles. BRT is gaining popularity as a
solution to buses stuck in traffic; several public transit
agencies in California are currently operating or constructing
BRT projects with exclusive bus-only lanes. These agencies
include the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Authority, Omnitrans in San Bernardino
County, Sacramento Regional Transit District, San Diego
Metropolitan Transit System, and the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority. This bill will help ensure the
success and efficiency of existing BRT lanes and encourage
more public transit agencies to plan for BRT lanes in the
future.
2)Bus stops v. bus lanes. Existing law prohibits a motorist
from stopping, parking, or leaving a vehicle in a bus stop,
punishable as an infraction and subject to a $100 fine (or
higher for subsequent offenses). This bill expands those
prohibitions to BRT lanes, as well as prohibiting driving in a
BRT lane. These new offenses would also be infractions,
subject to the same fines.
3)Fines. Due to additional surcharges, penalties, and
assessments, a $100 base fine for an infraction - such as the
offenses created by this bill - results in a total of $541. A
similar bill, SB 1051 (Hancock) authorizes the Alameda-Contra
Costa Transit District, in addition to the City and County of
San Francisco, to enforce parking violations in transit-only
traffic lanes and bus stops using video cameras. Current law
SB 998 (Wieckowski) Page 3 of ?
specifies that these violations are civil penalties, not
infractions, subject to a fine of not less than $250 nor more
than $1,000. Civil penalties differ from infractions in that
civil penalties are not subject to the add-on fees.
4)Can't these motorists be cited now? Santa Clara Valley
Transportation authority, co-sponsor of this bill, states that
because transit agencies are not statutorily created special
districts, they do not have the authority under state law to
cite vehicles that are parked, stopped, left standing, or
driven in a designated bus-only lane. In addition, while
existing law prohibits parking, stopping, or leaving a vehicle
in a bus stop, it does not address BRT lanes. By specifically
designating prohibitions in BRT lanes, this bill would
authorize transit agencies to issue citations for impeding BRT
service operations.
Related Legislation:
SB 1051 (Hancock) - allows the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit
District to enforce parking violations in transit-only traffic
lanes and bus stops using video cameras. SB 1051 is also being
heard by this committee today.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 13, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
OPPOSITION:
None received
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