BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 1720
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: bloom
VERSION: 6/10/14
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 10, 2014
SUBJECT:
Transit bus weights
DESCRIPTION:
This bill extends the time during which transit districts may
procure heavier transit buses and these buses may travel on
California's streets and highways from January 1, 2015 to
January 1, 2016.
ANALYSIS:
For vehicles that travel on public streets, roads, and highways
(highways), existing law generally limits the gross weight that
wheels on any one axle of any vehicle can impose on the highway
to 20,000 pounds. Buses, however, may impose a gross vehicle
weight on any one axle of up to 20,500 pounds.
AB 1706 (Eng), Chapter 771, Statutes of 2012, exempts from the
20,500 pound per axle weight limit:
Buses for which a transit provider had initiated procurement
by January 1, 2013
Until January 1, 2015, any bus of lesser or equal weight that
a transit provider procures to replace another bus
Until January 1, 2015, transit buses that a transit provider
procures in order to incorporate a new fleet class into its
inventory if its governing board adopts a finding that the
fleet class expansion or change is needed to serve a new or
existing market pursuant to its most recently adopted
short-range plan
AB 1706 defined "fleet class" as a group of transit buses that
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have a combination of two or more of the following similar
defining characteristics: length, seating capacity, number of
axles, fuel or powers system, width, structure, and equipment
package.
This bill extends the weight exemptions for newly purchased
transit buses for another year until January 1, 2016, and makes
other minor clarifying changes.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . State law since 1975 has mandated that the weight on
any single axle of a transit bus may not exceed 20,500 pounds.
Due to numerous state and federal mandates, including
Americans with Disability Act requirements and mandated
emissions reduction equipment, transit buses today may often
exceed that weight, especially when carrying a large number of
passengers.
As a result, a few years ago some local police departments
began citing transit buses for violation of state weight
limits. Transit agencies addressed these overweight vehicles
by paying fines resulting from citations or paying fees and
administering thousands of annual overweight vehicle permits
on a city-by-city basis, but found these resolutions costly
and time consuming. In response, transit agencies sponsored
AB 1706 (Eng) of 2012, and argued the state created the bus
weight limit more than 35 years ago and that limit simply does
not contemplate today's operating environments or legal and
regulatory requirements. Cities and counties countered that
they constructed local streets and roads based on the vehicle
weight limits in state law and so simply changing state weight
limits to allow overweight buses would lead to additional
pavement degradation, increasing costs to repair and
reconstruct roads.
Despite the efforts of many parties, including transit
agencies, local governments, bus manufacturers, and state
officials, the author of AB 1706 found no long-term resolution
to the bus weight-limit dilemma. Ultimately, his bill simply
provided a period during which the parties could further
pursue a permanent resolution. That resolution has yet to
arise, so this bill extends those temporary exemptions to
transit bus weight limits for another year.
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2.Will something happen in one more year ? While AB 1706 was
moving through the Legislature, the parties involved in that
bill thought that an ultimate resolution to the bus weight
problem could come at the national level. This is because,
while allowed weights vary across states, buses across the
country are at times violating those weight standards due to
changes in legal mandates on transit providers.
The Federal Transit Administration is currently sponsoring,
through its Transit Cooperative Research Program, a detailed
national study on the bus axle weight issue. It appears that
the Federal Transit Administration will issue the final report
later this year. The panel overseeing the work of the
contractor selected to do the study includes representatives
from national associations of cities, counties, public transit
agencies, bus suppliers, public works engineers, and state
transportation officials. Many expect the report to be the
most comprehensive look at the issue to date and it is
expected to provide a wealth of data and information that will
be helpful in crafting a long-term solution for California.
Once this study is released, the California stakeholders
report that they will reconvene with the goal of crafting a
long-term solution to the issue that works for all parties.
3.Overweight buses and the cost of pavement degradation .
Allowing the operation of overweight vehicles on the state's
highways and local streets and roads contributes to the
problem of pavement degradation at a time when the roadways
are in an increasing state of disrepair. A current needs
assessment indicates that in order to fully fund necessary
maintenance and preservation of local streets and roads, an
additional $80 billion in funding is needed over the next 10
years. In addition, the Department of Transportation
estimates an annual need of $7.4 billion for the State Highway
Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), which funds a large
portion of pavement maintenance and replacement work on the
state highway system. There is currently an annual shortfall
of $5.4 million because the SHOPP only receives approximately
$2 billion annually for maintenance work. Because many
factors contribute to pavement degradation, it is impossible
to quantify the isolated impacts that overweight transit buses
may have on pavement lifespan and the costs associated with
those impacts, although it is undeniable that they are a
contributing factor.
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Assembly Votes:
Floor: 71-0
Trans: 15-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 11,
2014.)
SUPPORT: California Transit Association (sponsor)
California Association for Coordinated
Transportation
California State Association of Counties
City of Culver City
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority
Orange County Transportation Authority
San Bernardino Associated Governments
San Mateo County Transit District
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
City of Santa Monica
Transportation Authority of Marin
City of Thousand Oaks
Ventura County Transportation Commission
OPPOSED: None received.
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