BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 652|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 652
Author: Skinner (D)
Amended: 8/24/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SEN. TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/9/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE FLOOR : 40-0, 6/22/09 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley,
Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Walters, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-1, 5/11/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vehicle length limitation: Alameda-Contra
Costa Transit
District
SOURCE : Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Alameda-Contra Costa
Transit District 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.
CONTINUED
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Senate Floor Amendments of 8/24/09 clarify that the traffic
engineers representing the cities through which 45-foot
buses with front mounted bicycle racks will operate shall
participate in the safety review of routes.
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 six inches.
This bill:
1.Authorizes the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (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
than 40 inches in the front of the body of the bus and
the bicycle handlebars extend no more than an additional
six inches.
2.Establishes a four-member route review committee to
review the routes, including a field review, on which
buses equipped with the bicycle racks will operate to
ensure that the buses can be safely operated on the
proposed routes. The committee shall be comprised of
three voting members and one non-voting member appointed
as follows:
A. One voting member appointed by AC Transit's
general manager.
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B. One voting member who is a traffic engineer and
appointed by AC Transit.
C. One voting member appointed by the labor union
representing AC Transit's bus operators.
D. One non-voting member representing the bicycling
community appointed by AC Transit's governing board.
3.States legislative intent that the field review include
consultation with traffic engineers from affected public
agencies that have jurisdiction over segments of the
route or routes under review, to ensure coordination with
all affected state and local public road agencies that
may potentially be impacted due to the operation of a
45-foot bus with a front-mounted bicycle rack.
4.Requires unanimous approval of the route review committee
before buses can be operated on the proposed route.
5.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
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's office, 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/09)
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (source)
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Alameda County Congestion Management Agency
Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority
American Lung Association of California
California Bicycle Coalition
California Transit Association
East Bay Bicycle Advocates
Planning and Conservation League
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocate
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NOES: DeVore
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nielsen
JJA:cm 8/26/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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