BILL NUMBER: AB 652 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to add Section 35400.7 to the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 652, as amended, Skinner. Vehicles: vehicle length limitation.
(1) Existing
Existing law imposes a 40-foot limitation on the length
of vehicles that may be operated on the highways, with specified
exemptions. Existing law exempts from this limitation an articulated
bus or trolley and a bus, except a school bus, that is operated by a
public agency or passenger stage corporation that is used in a
transit system if it is equipped with a folding device attached to
the front of the vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles, does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment, and does not extend more than
36 inches from the front of the body of the bus or trolley when
fully deployed. In addition, existing law prohibits a bicycle that is
transported on the above described
above-described device from having the bicycle handlebars
extend more than 42 inches from the front of the vehicle.
This bill would authorize the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit
District to install folding devices attached to the front of its
buses that are designed and used exclusively for transporting
bicycles as long as those devices meet certain requirements,
including, but not limited to, extending not more than 40 inches from
the front of the bus when fully deployed, and that the handlebars of
the bicycles being transported extend not more than 46 inches from
the front of the bus. The bill would require that if Alameda-Contra
Costa Transit District installs the bicycle racks, it would be
required to report to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and
the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing on or before
December 31, 2014, regarding safety issues and mobility improvements.
This bill would also require the district, prior to installing a
folding device on a bus that is 45 feet in length, to establish a
route review committee, as specified, in order to determine, by
unanimous vote, which routes proposed by the district are suitable
for the safe operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a
front-mounted bicycle rack.
The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 35400.7 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
35400.7. (a) Notwithstanding Section 35400, the Alameda-Contra
Costa Transit District created pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with
Section 24501) of Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code may
install a folding device attached to the front of a bus that is
designed and used exclusively for transporting bicycles if the
following conditions are met:
(1) The device does not extend more than 40 inches from the front
body of the bus when fully deployed.
(2) The device, including all bicycles transported thereon, is
mounted in a manner that does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment.
(3) The handlebars of a bicycle that is transported on a device
described in this subdivision does not extend more than 46 inches
from the front of the bus.
(b) (1) The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District shall establish
a route review committee prior to the installation of the initial
folding device, pursuant to subdivision (a), on a bus that is 45 feet
in length. The purpose of the committee is to ensure the safe
operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
(2) The committee established pursuant to this subdivision shall
perform an initial review of the routes on which the district
proposes to operate a 45-foot bus equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack. The review shall include a field review of the proposed
routes.
(3) By unanimous vote of all the members, the committee shall make
a determination of the routes that are suitable for the safe
operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
(4) The members of the committee shall be selected not more than
30 days after receipt of the district proposal to equip a 45-foot bus
with a front-mounted bicycle rack and shall be comprised of the
following members:
(A) One member from the district who shall be appointed by the
district's general manager.
(B) One member who is a traffic engineer who is employed and
selected by the district.
(C) One member appointed by the labor organization that is the
exclusive representative of the bus drivers of the district. If there
is no exclusive representative of the bus drivers, a bus driver
member shall be chosen by a majority vote of the bus drivers employed
by the district.
(b)
(c) If a folding device is installed pursuant to
subdivision (a), the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District shall
submit a report to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the
Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing on or before December
31, 2014. The report shall include a summary of any incidents where
the size of the folding devices was a factor, and a summary of the
mobility improvements these folding devices provide.
SEC. 2. Due to the unique circumstances of a large number of
bicycle riders using buses operated by the Alameda-Contra Costa
Transit District and the need to determine whether there are safety
considerations in having 40-inch bicycle racks on the front of its
buses, it is necessary that, and the Legislature finds and declares
that, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning
of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.