BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1051
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1051 (Hancock)
As Amended June 29, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 37-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Transportation |16-0 |Frazier, Linder, | |
| | |Baker, Bloom, Brown, | |
| | |Chu, Daly, Dodd, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Kim, Mathis, | |
| | |Medina, Melendez, | |
| | |Nazarian, O'Donnell | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Privacy |10-0 |Chau, Baker, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Cooper, Dababneh, | |
| | |Gatto, Gordon, Low, | |
| | |Olsen | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 1051
Page 2
SUMMARY: Authorizes the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
(AC Transit), until January 1, 2022, to enforce parking
violations in transit-only traffic lanes. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Authorizes the AC Transit, until January 1, 2022, to enforce
parking violations in transit-only traffic lanes using
bus-mounted video cameras and in accordance with specified
requirements.
2)Requires AC Transit, if it implements an automated enforcement
system in transit-only lanes, to provide the transportation,
privacy, and judiciary committees of the Legislature an
evaluation of the enforcement system's effectiveness, impact
on privacy, cost to implement, and generation of revenue no
later than January 1, 2021.
3)Makes findings and declarations regarding video enforcement of
parking violations.
4)Defines a variety of terms.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: AC Transit is in the process of building a Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) corridor that will employ dedicated, bus-only
lanes. The BRT is expected to increase transit reliability and
reduce travel times along an arterial corridor through the
cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and San Leandro. The BRT is
expected to turn what was once a 45-minute trip though the
SB 1051
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corridor into a 30-minute trip using state-of-the art buses,
rail-like stations, and dedicated bus-only lanes. The BRT
service is expected to begin in late 2017.
AC Transit is concerned that their efforts to improve trip times
along the corridor could be hampered by the growing problem of
vehicles stopping or illegally parking in BRT lanes thereby
impeding throughput. If this occurs, as it did in the City and
County of San Francisco, AC Transit will have difficulties
maintaining reliable transit schedules that could, ultimately,
impact transit ridership. In San Francisco, this problem was
successfully addressed with the passage of AB 101 (Ma), Chapter
377, Statutes of 2007, that provided the San Francisco Municipal
Transportation Agency (SFMTA) the ability to operate a pilot
program whereby transit buses were equipped with forward-facing
cameras to record images of vehicles that are stopped or parked
in transit-only lanes and issue parking citations based on that
video evidence. The program improved the safety, reliability,
and performance of SFMTA transit vehicles using San Francisco's
transit-only lanes as shown in studies required in AB 101 and
subsequent legislation including AB 1041 (Ma), Chapter 325,
Statutes of 2011, and AB 1287 (Chiu), Chapter 485, Statutes of
2015.
To address concerns that AC Transit's BRT service could be
hampered by parking and standing of vehicles, the author has
introduced this bill which would authorize AC Transit, until
January 1, 2022, to equip transit buses with forward-facing
parking control devices to record images of vehicles parked in
transit-only lanes and to issue parking citations based on that
video evidence. This bill contains the same privacy and
procedural requirements as SFMTA's program. The author points
out that SFMTA's program has proven to be an effective tool in
reducing the problem of parking and standing of vehicles in
transit-only lanes and, therefore, it stands to reason that AC
Transit should be afforded with similar authority to ensure its
BRT corridor operates as planned.
SB 1051
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Based on the results of SFMTA's initial pilot and the subsequent
report to the Legislature pursuant to AB 101 and AB 1041, it
appears that SFMTA's transit only lane program has been a
success. In their March 2015 report entitled "Transit-Only Lane
Enforcement (TOLE) Pilot Program Evaluation," SFMTA notes that
the program improved safety and reliability of their transit
programs, acted as a deterrent to motorists obstructing San
Francisco's transit-only lanes, provided privacy protections,
enhanced transit safety and accessibility, and did not act as a
revenue generator for the local jurisdiction. The report's
recommendations included making the pilot program permanent and
expanding the program to allow ticketing of illegally parked
cars in non-dedicated lanes, as well as blocking intersections.
AB 1287 was introduced to include these recommendations but,
ultimately, only addressed the removal of the sunset on SFMTA's
existing pilot program.
Given the substantial investment that AC Transit is making to
create its BRT program, it would be unfortunate for if it were
unable to function at optimum levels because of unenforced
vehicle parking and standing violations in the BRT lane. Given
that SFMTA's program has shown a 47% decrease in bus zone
violations and a 44% decrease in double parking violations in
transit-only lanes, it stands to reason that AC Transit should
be afforded similar authority to ensure the success of their BRT
program. If successfully implemented, AC Transit's BRT program
will not only reduce travel times along the corridor, but it
will also have the residual benefits of reducing harmful vehicle
emissions and reducing roadway congestion by making transit a
more attractive option.
Please see the policy committee analyses for full discussion of
this bill.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0003602