BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1684
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1684 (Chávez) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Vehicles: length limitations: buses: bicycle
transportation devices
SUMMARY : Authorizes the North County Transit District (NCTD) to
install bicycle racks on the front of its buses that are longer
than is currently allowed, subject to certain conditions.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes NCTD to install a folding device attached to the
front of a bus that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles if all of the following conditions are
met:
a) The device does not extend more than 43 inches from the
front body of the bus, or more than 36 inches from the
front bumper, when fully deployed;
b) The device, including all bicycles transported on the
device, is mounted in a manner that does not materially
affect efficiency or visibility of vehicle safety
equipment;
c) The handlebars of a bicycle that is transported on the
device do not extend more than 49 inches from the front of
the bus, or more than 42 inches from the front bumper; and,
d) The total length of the bus, including the folding
device and load, does not exceed 45 feet.
2)Requires NCTD to establish a route review committee prior to
the installation of a folding device as described above on a
bus that is more than 40 feet in length.
3)Requires the route review committee to perform an initial
review of the routes on which NCTD proposes to operate buses
longer than 40 feet that are equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack, to include a field review of the proposed
routes, including consultation with licensed traffic engineers
from affected public agencies that have jurisdiction over
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segments of the route or routes under review in order to
ensure coordination with all affected state and local public
road agencies that may potentially be impacted due to the
operation of a bus that is longer than 40 feet and that is
equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack.
4)Requires the committee to make, by unanimous vote, a
determination of the routes that are suitable for the safe
operation of a bus longer than 40 feet that is equipped with a
front-mounted bicycle rack.
5)Requires the route review committee, prior to voting, to
obtain certification approved by a licensed traffic engineer
that all proposed routes are safe for travel by buses longer
than 40 feet that are equipped with front-mounted bicycle
racks.
6)Requires any substantive changes to approved routes to be
subject to review and certification prior to being approved by
the committee.
7)Requires the members of the route review committee to be
selected not more than 30 days after receipt of NCTD's
proposal to equip a bus longer than 40 feet with a
front-mounted bicycle rack and to include the following
members:
a) One voting member from the NCTD to be appointed by the
general manager;
b) One voting member who is a licensed traffic engineer to
selected by the governing board of the NCTD;
c) One voting member to be appointed by the labor
organization that is the exclusive representative of NCTD's
bus drivers; and,
d) One nonvoting member to be appointed by NCTD's governing
board who shall be a representative of the bicycling
community and who shall reside within the area of NCTD's
jurisdiction.
8)Requires NCTD to submit a report to the Assembly Committee on
Transportation and the Senate Committee on Transportation and
Housing on or before December 31, 2020, if any bike racks are
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installed on its buses and requires the report to include a
summary of any vehicular or traffic incidents where the size
of the folding device was a factor and a summary of the
mobility improvements that the folding devices provide.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Limits the allowable length of a bus to 45 feet. A public
transit operator may equip its buses of any length with bike
racks that extend up to 36 inches out from the front of the
bus and that can be loaded such that the bike handlebars
extend no more than 42 inches from the front of the bus. In
no case can the total length of the bus, the bike rack, and
any bikes be greater than 48.5 feet.
2)Requires a transit agency to establish a route review
committee if it wants to operate 45-foot buses with bike
racks. The route review committee must conduct a field review
of routes where the buses would travel and consult traffic
engineers from the public agencies with jurisdiction over the
roads that the bus routes follow. Only when a route review
committee determines by unanimous vote that 45-foot buses with
front bike racks can operate safely on the selected routes may
the public transit agency then operate such buses on those
routes. The route review committee must include:
a) A representative of the transit agency appointed by the
general manager of that agency;
b) A traffic engineer from the public agency that has
jurisdiction over the largest proportion of the transit
agency's bus routes; and,
c) A representative of the bus drivers chosen by the labor
organization representing the bus drivers.
3)Authorizes the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC
Transit), Gold Coast Transit, and the Sacramento Regional
Transit District (SacRT), to install 40-inch bike racks on the
front of their buses, with approval needed from a route review
committee for installation on 45-foot buses. All three
transit districts must report back to the Legislature about
any incidents related to the larger racks and mobility
improvements related to the racks, AC Transit by the end of
2014, Gold Coast by the end of 2017, and SacRT by the end of
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2018.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : In recent years, transit agencies around the state
have seen increased ridership from bicyclists who wish to use
transit for some portion of their trip. Current law authorizes
transit buses to be equipped with front-mounted bicycle racks,
but limits them to extending 36 inches from the front body of
the bus when fully deployed. Bike racks meeting the 36-inch
limit are typically only large enough to accommodate two bikes.
In 2009, AC Transit sponsored successful legislation to allow
the district to install 40-inch front-mounted bike racks, large
enough to accommodate three bikes, to address growing demand.
The legislation required the district to establish a route
review committee before installing any of the longer racks on
45-foot buses, but required no route review for installation on
shorter buses. The legislation required AC Transit to report
back to the Legislature by the end of this year on any incidents
where the size of the bike racks was a factor and on the
mobility improvements that the racks provide. Since the bill
was enacted, the district has installed 40-inch bike racks on
about 50 of its 40-foot buses. Although it has not yet
submitted its report to the Legislature, the district indicates
that the longer racks have not been a safety issue and have been
helpful in accommodating its growing ridership.
Subsequent to the AC Transit legislation, the Legislature gave
similar authority to install 40-inch bike racks to two
additional transit agencies: Gold Coast Transit in Ventura
County and SacRT. Last spring, Gold Coast installed three
larger bike racks on its buses, all of which are 40 feet long or
less. It is required to report back to the Legislature by the
end of 2017 on any incidents where the size of the bike racks
was a factor and on mobility improvements related to the racks.
SacRT has not yet installed any of the longer bike racks but
will be doing so soon and plans to install them only on 40-foot
buses. SacRT is required to report back to the Legislature
about any incidents and mobility improvements by the end of
2018.
AB 1684 authorizes NCTD to install front-mounted bike racks that
extends up to 43 inches from the front body of the bus, or up to
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36 inches from the front bumper. This would enable the district
to accommodate three bikes per bus to handle increased demand.
The bill requires the district to establish a route review
committee prior to installing the racks on any bus of over 40
feet in length and requires it to report to the Legislature by
the end of 2020 about any incidents in which the size of the
racks was a factor.and the mobility improvements that the racks
provide. The district is pursuing special legislation because
some of its buses are slightly longer than 40 feet in length and
the bike racks that they have procured to accommodate three
bikes extend 43 inches from the front body of their buses.
Related legislation : AB 2707 (Chau) would authorize transit
buses of no more than 40 feet in length to be equipped with a
front-mounted bicycle rack that extends up to 40 inches from the
front body of the bus when fully deployed rather than the 36
inches allowed under current law.
Previous legislation : AB 652 (Skinner), Chapter 369, Statutes
of 2009, gave AC Transit authority to install 40-inch bike racks
on its buses, but only pursuant to a vote of a route review
committee on any 45-foot buses.
AB 2488 (Williams), Chapter 376, Statutes of 2012, gave the same
authority to Gold Coast Transit in Ventura County.
AB 206 (Dickinson), Chapter 95, Statutes of 2013 gave the same
authority to SacRT.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
North County Transit District (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
AB 1684
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