BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 652
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Skinner
VERSION: 5/27/09
Analysis by: Art Bauer FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 9, 2009
SUBJECT:
Vehicle length limitations: Alameda-Contra Costa Transit
District (AC Transit)
DESCRIPTION:
This bill authorizes AC Transit to extend the length of its
buses by four inches in order for a bike rack capable of
carrying three bicycles to be mounted on the front of its
busses.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1. Imposes a 40-foot limitation on the length of vehicles
that may be operated on highways, including local streets,
with specified exemptions.
2. Exempts from this limitation a transit bus if it is
equipped with a folding device attached to the front of the
vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles. A bicycle rack of this type cannot
extend more than 36 inches from the front of the body of
the bus and the bicycle handlebars extend no more than an
additional 6 inches.
This bill :
1. Authorizes AC Transit to operate buses on highways and
local streets with a folding device attached to the front
of the vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles, provided it does not extend more
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than 40 inches in of the front of the body of the bus and
the bicycle handlebars extend no more than an additional 6
inches
2. Establishes a three-member route review committee
comprised of a member appointed by AC Transit's general
manager, a traffic engineer employed by the AC Transit
district, and a member of a labor union representing the AC
Transit bus operators to review the routes on which buses
equipped with the bicycle racks will operate to ensure that
the buses can be safely operated on the proposed routes.
3. Requires unanimous approval of the route review
committee before buses can be operated on the proposed
route.
4. Requires AC Transit to submit a report to the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee and the Assembly
Transportation Committee regarding safety issues and
mobility improvements resulting from the bicycle racks
allowed under this bill by December 31, 2014.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose . The purpose of this bill is to increase the
number of bicycles from two to three that a rack on an AC
Transit bus can carry. AC Transit's service area covers
western Alameda and Contra Costa counties. According to the
author, AC Transit riders are increasingly using bicycles
so AC Transit's buses need to accommodate more bicycles.
This bill will allow a larger number of people to use
public transit in conjunction with a bicycle to complete a
trip.
2. Need for route review committee . The purpose of the
route review committee is to ensure that there is agreement
between management and the bus drivers that turning
radiuses on the routes proposed for buses with bike racks
attached can be safely negotiated by buses.
3. Suggested amendment . There is considerable interest in
the bicycling community regarding the deployment of bicycle
racks on buses. As noted above, there are important
operational issues that essentially relate to safety that
must be considered when making a decision to deploy of the
bicycle racks. In light of the community interest and the
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technical concerns, the committee may wish to consider an
amendment to include on the route review committee a
nonvoting representative of the bicycle community appointed
by the AC Transit board.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 78-1
Trans: 14-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 3, 2009)
SUPPORT: American Lung Association of California
California Transit Association
East Bay Bicycle Coalition
Environmental Defense Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
Planning and Conservation League
OPPOSED: None received.