BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 2375
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: knight
VERSION:
2/24/2012
Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 12, 2012
SUBJECT:
Illuminated signs on public transit buses
DESCRIPTION:
This bill authorizes the Antelope Valley Transit Authority
(AVTA) to equip the sides of its buses with illuminated signs to
display advertising until January 1, 2018.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law authorizes buses, operated by a publicly-owned
transit system on regularly scheduled service, to be equipped
with illuminated signs to inform the public concerning the
buses' operations. These signs may emit any light color, except
that forward-facing signs cannot emit the color red, consistent
with the following conditions:
Signs must emit diffused non-glaring light;
The area of the signs may be no greater than 720 square
inches, for example 1 foot high and 5 feet long;
Signs must be installed in a position that does not
interfere with the visibility or effectiveness of a
required lamp, reflector, or other device on the bus; and
Signs must display information directly related to
public transit service, such as route number, destination
description, and run number.
Further, existing law authorizes dynamic messaging on
illuminated signs equipped to public transit buses if the
practice adheres to the following requirements:
"Paging," meaning information presented for a period of
time and then disappearing all at once before new
information is presented, is permitted if the display time
of each message is between 2.7 and 10 seconds. Blanking
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time between each message must be between 0.5 and 25
seconds.
"Streaming," meaning information moving continuously and
smoothly across the display, is permitted if the character
movement time, from one end of the display to the other, is
at least 2.7 seconds, and the movement time of the entire
message is not more than 10 seconds.
In 2011, the Legislature passed AB 607 (Brownley), Chapter 529,
allowing the City of Santa Monica's bus transit system to
establish a pilot program, until January 1, 2017, equipping the
sides of its buses with illuminated signs to display
advertising. The following conditions govern Santa Monica's use
of these signs on its buses:
Signs must emit diffused non-glaring light;
Signs must not be greater than 4,464 square inches in
area, which could be roughly 3 feet high and 10 feet long;
Signs must not be installed in a position that
interferes with the visibility of required lamps,
reflectors, or other devices;
Signs must not be forward or backward facing (i.e., not
on the front or rear of the bus);
Light emitting diodes for illumination may include red,
provided the color formed by the mixing of light from the
diodes in the advertising is not red;
Signs must be static when the buses are operating on
state freeways; and
Existing standards for paging and streaming (described
above) shall apply to the display of advertising signs.
AB 607 requires the City of Santa Monica transit staff and
police department to develop collaboratively a report examining
the incidence of adverse impacts on roadway and pedestrian
safety due to the illuminated signs pilot program and submit the
report to the Legislature and the California Highway Patrol
(CHP) by July 1, 2016.
This bill allows AVTA to institute a pilot program which allows
buses to be equipped with illuminated signs to display
advertising identical to the one authorized for the City of
Santa Monica. This pilot program would sunset by January 1,
2018. Further, this bill requires AVTA staff and various law
enforcement officials to submit collaboratively a report to the
Legislature and to the CHP by July 1, 2017, examining the
incidence of adverse impacts on roadway and pedestrian safety
AB 2375 (KNIGHT) Page 3
due to the illuminated signs.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . Currently, public transit agencies employ standard
paper advertising on the sides of transit vehicles. In order
to update these ads, agencies incur the expense of wasteful
paper replacement as well as labor costs. According to the
author, with emerging technologies available to the public, it
stands to reason that advertisers would look to technological
advancements as advantageous marketing tolls. Through the
installation of digital illuminated signs on buses, AVTA would
be capable of transmitting new advertising wirelessly,
eliminating wasteful paper and labor costs. Further, the
author notes, the adoption of this technology would allow AVTA
to have an innovative way to generate revenue beyond the fare
box and tax subsidies.
2.Background . Public transit agencies have long used static
signs placed on the sides of buses to display advertising,
using the revenue from the advertisements to subsidize transit
operations. A federal research project identified the
emerging media of digital bus advertising as a potential
revenue stream for transit agencies. The digital signs are
ultra-thin, lightweight, light emitting diode (LED) screens
that can easily be mounted on the sides of buses. According
to City of Santa Monica staff, if purchased these signs cost
about $50,000 each, though they may also be leased. Digital
advertising allows for customized advertising, including a
rate structure that varies by the time of day, because the
advertising being displayed can be managed remotely. It is,
therefore, possible to render the advertising static when the
buses are operating on freeways.
3.Santa Monica's pilot program . As noted earlier, the
Legislature recently enacted AB 607 authorizing Santa Monica
to conduct a pilot project in order to study the effects of
illuminated signs on buses. Existing law requires Santa
Monica staff to report the results of the project to the
Legislature; specifically, the city is required to examine the
incidence of adverse impacts on roadway and pedestrian safety
due to the use of these illuminated signs. Given the fact
that this report is not due to the Legislature until 2016, it
may be premature to grant additional operators the authority
to place illuminated signs on buses because possible problems
have yet to be identified. Notwithstanding AVTA's budget
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challenges, approving this bill will set a precedent which may
lead to many bus operators in the state requesting
authorization to use illuminated signs on buses.
4.Funding potential . The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) began
digital advertising on buses in 2008 and it expected a 400
percent increase in revenues compared to its static poster
display advertising. For the entire Chicago bus system, CTA
equipped roughly 40 buses with these digital billboards. CTA
has since discontinued the program, however, because it could
not sell enough advertising to pay for the program. According
to CTA staff, the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York
City has also discontinued their program offering illuminated
advertising on buses. The biggest problem was that, because
its buses run through a variety of neighborhoods, it was
difficult to sell targeted advertising. Advertisers did not
want to pay the increased costs associated with the
illuminated ads if the buses spent much of their time in areas
where viewers may be uninterested in what was being
advertised.
City of Santa Monica transit staff also expected the
illuminated billboards to raise additional revenue for
operating its transit system. Last year, Santa Monica staff
reported that its static advertising generates about $4.1
million annually, but expect the digital signs to increase its
advertising revenue to about $8 million. In light of
Chicago's and New York's challenges with selling digital
advertising, however, Santa Monica is readjusting expectations
and moving slowly into this new business venture. Staff there
report intent to hire a consultant to help them determine how
many signs to begin with and what they might charge to
optimize revenues. Although existing law enables them to
equip up to 25 buses with illuminated signs, because of the
high capital start-up cost, Santa Monica may begin the program
with only five signs to test its viability. They hope to
start the program by the end of 2012.
5.Distracted driving . There have been many distracted driving
studies conducted by a variety of constituencies and focused
on a number of potential distractions. There are studies that
use data to prove illuminated billboards do not lead to
negative outcomes, and other studies that refute these
conclusions. Nearly all studies admit that, in most
instances, it is very difficult to identify one single factor
that led to an adverse incident such as an automobile
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accident. Research tends to show that accidents arise from an
accumulation of factors, including distractions in the vehicle
and outside, weather conditions, and even within the driver's
mind.
It is clear, however, that billboards by their very nature
capture a driver's attention. Advertising is intended to
communicate a message to the recipient, which requires some
attention. One recent study of driver behavior conducted by
the Accident Research Center at Monash University concluded
that "the presence of billboards changed drivers' pattern of
visual attention, increased the amount of time needed for
drivers to respond to road signs, and increased the number of
errors in the driving task." Other studies using naturalistic
driving data have found that, of all the various distractions
contributing to poor driving outcomes, "visual distraction is
the primary concern in driver distraction." Illuminated
billboards are particularly effective at drawing one's visual
attention.
As mentioned previously, the Santa Monica pilot program was
authorized in order to study and identify any adverse impacts
on pedestrians and drivers resulting from the use of
illuminated signs on the exterior of moving buses. In 2016,
when the report is due to the Legislature, some data should be
available to inform the decision of whether or not to expand
this authority to other transit operators in the state. While
illuminated billboards, either on the side of the road or
sides of buses, may not by themselves lead to adverse impacts,
it is clear that they contribute to the multiple distractions
drivers and pedestrians navigate each day. Adding
distractions, especially ones that are particularly effective
at drawing one's attention, can only increase the risk of
negative outcomes. The question is not whether these
advertisements cause accidents and other negative
consequences, but how many distractions are enough to create
an environment potentially too risky and dangerous for people
traveling from one place to another.
6.The future of travel ? Technology has increased the safety of
automobile travel. Further technological advances may
eliminate or significantly reduce the threat of distracted
driving. For example, earlier this year, this committee heard
a bill relating to autonomous vehicles or cars which
essentially drive themselves. If this type of technology were
to become ubiquitous, distractions would become less important
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because passengers of the vehicles would not be required to
pay attention to the operation of the vehicle. At this time,
however, as drivers are bombarded increasingly with potential
distractions, it may not be appropriate to add to those
distractions.
RELATED LEGISLATION:
AB 1984 (Wagner) grants similar authority to use illuminated
signs on buses to the University of California at Irvine shuttle
system. Pending in the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 73 - 0
Trans: 13 - 0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 6, 2012)
SUPPORT: Antelope Valley Transit Authority (sponsor)
Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance
City of Palmdale
City of Lancaster
Victor Valley Transit Authority
OPPOSED: None received