BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 998


                                                                    Page  1





          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          998 (Wieckowski)


          As Amended  May 3, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  35-0


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Transportation  |15-0 |Frazier, Linder,      |                    |
          |                |     |Baker, Bloom, Brown,  |                    |
          |                |     |Chu, Daly, Dodd,      |                    |
          |                |     |Eduardo Garcia,       |                    |
          |                |     |Gomez, Kim, Mathis,   |                    |
          |                |     |Melendez, Nazarian,   |                    |
          |                |     |O'Donnell             |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow,    |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonilla,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,      |                    |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden,       |                    |
          |                |     |Jones, Obernolte,     |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |








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          |                |     |Wagner, Weber, Wood,  |                    |
          |                |     |Chau                  |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Prohibits an individual from operating, stopping,  
          parking or leaving a motor vehicle in a portion of the highway  
          designated exclusively for public transit buses.  Specifically,  
          this bill:  


          1)Prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle on a portion  
            of the highway designated for the exclusive use of public  
            transit buses, except in compliance with the directions of a  
            peace officer or official traffic control device.  


          2)Prohibits a person from stopping, parking, or leaving a  
            vehicle standing in a portion of the highway designated for  
            the exclusive use of public transit buses, except when  
            necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in  
            compliance with directions of a peace officer or official  
            traffic control device.


          EXISTING LAW:  Prohibits a person from stopping, parking, or  
          leaving a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with  
          other traffic or in compliance with directions of a peace  
          officer or official traffic control device, in any of the  
          following places:  an intersection, on a crosswalk, between a  
          safety zone and the adjacent right-hand curb, within 15 feet of  
          the driveway entrance to a fire station, in front of a driveway,  
          a portion of a sidewalk, on the roadway side of a parked  
          vehicle, in a tunnel, on a bridge, and in passenger loading  
          zones, including bus stops.










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          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, minor non-reimbursable costs for enforcement, offset  
          to some extent by fine revenues.


          COMMENTS:  Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a high-capacity,  
          lower-cost public transit service intended to effectively  
          accommodate longer-distance passenger trips in transit-intensive  
          corridors in urbanized areas.  By operating in bus-only lanes in  
          these corridors, public transit agencies are able to decrease  
          travel times, increase reliability, and make their bus service a  
          more attractive transportation alternative to driving.  BRT is  
          gaining popularity as a solution to buses stuck in regular  
          traffic congestion.  Additionally, BRT is less expensive than  
          constructing a fixed guideway rail line and is flexible to meet  
          community needs.  


          Several public transit agencies in California are currently  
          operating or constructing BRT projects utilizing exclusive  
          bus-only lanes, including the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit  
          District (AC Transit), the Los Angeles County Metropolitan  
          Transportation Authority, Omnitrans in San Bernardino County,  
          the Sacramento Regional Transit District, the San Diego  
          Metropolitan Transit System, and the Santa Clara Valley  
          Transportation Authority (VTA).  


          For example, in 2014 the San Bernardino Associated Governments  
          (SANBAG) opened the sbX Green line, the county's first-ever  
          express passenger service, offering alternative transportation  
          to major destinations in the cities of San Bernardino and Loma  
          Linda.  The 16-mile corridor provides service every 10 minutes  
          during peak hours.  In writing in support of this bill, SANBAG  
          noted that they have included more express bus routes in their  
          2016 regional transportation plan and that in addition to  
          providing new transit options, the future corridors will reduce  
          congestion and improve air quality in the valley.  SANBAG goes  
          on to state that enforcement of current and future dedicated  








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          transit lanes is critical to the safety and efficiency of BRT  
          operations in San Bernardino County.  As to new systems, the  
          co-sponsors of the bill, AC Transit, will launch service on a  
          BRT corridor from downtown Oakland to the San Leandro Bay Area  
          Rapid Transit (BART) station in late 2017.  


          Current law prohibits motorists from stopping, parking or  
          leaving a vehicle in a bus stop area; however there is no  
          comparable state law relating to bus-only lanes.  As noted by  
          VTA, the co-sponsor of this bill, because there is no state  
          prohibition of this activity, public transit agencies cannot  
          ticket motorists who are inappropriately using bus-only lanes  
          and obstructing the operation of BRT service.  


          California continues to encourage and support the expansion of  
          public transportation options and operations to meet the needs  
          of the traveling public and the state's air quality goals.   
          Updating the state's traffic laws to match these innovations is  
          important for their success. 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
          Melissa White / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093  FN: 0003898