14030. The powers and duties of the department shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following activities:
(a) Supporting the commission in coordinating and developing, in
cooperation with local and regional entities, comprehensive balanced
transportation planning and policy for the movement of people and
goods within the state.
(b) Coordinating and assisting, upon request of, the various
public and private transportation entities in strengthening their
development and operation of balanced integrated mass transportation,
highway, aviation, maritime, railroad, and other transportation
facilities and services in support of statewide and regional goals.
(c) Developing, in cooperation with local and regional
transportation entities, the full potential of all resources and
opportunities which are now, and may become, available to the state
and to regional and local agencies for meeting California's
transportation needs, as provided by statutes and, in particular,
maximizing the amount of federal funds which may be available to the
state and increasing the efficiency by which such funds are utilized.
(d) Planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining
those transportation systems which the Legislature has made, or may
make, the responsibility of the department; provided that the
department is not authorized to assume the functions of project
planning, designing, constructing, operating, or maintaining maritime
or aviation facilities without express prior approval of the
Legislature with the exception of those aviation functions which have
been designated for the department in the Public Utilities Code.
(e) Coordinating and developing transportation research projects
of statewide interest.
(f) Exercising such other functions, powers, and duties as are or
may be provided for by law.
(g) With the Department of Housing and Community Development,
investigating and reporting to the Secretary of the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency upon the consistency between state,
local, and federal housing plans and programs and state, local, and
federal transportation plans and programs.
14031. The Governor, the secretary, and the department may enter
into such agreements, execute such documents, establish and manage
such accounts and deposits, and take any other action that may be
appropriate, in accordance with federal law and rules and
regulations, to receive and expend funds from the federal government
in connection with mass transportation programs and projects for
which federal funds are available.
The department may undertake mass transportation research,
development, and demonstration projects and perform technical studies
related thereto, in accordance with applicable state or federal
laws.
14031.5. (a) The Mass Transit Revolving Account is hereby created
in the State Transportation Fund. The sum of one million dollars
($1,000,000) is hereby transferred from the Transportation Planning
and Development Account to the Mass Transit Revolving Account and
appropriated to the department for expenditure for effectuating the
purposes of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, as amended.
(b) Allocations may be made by the department from the Mass
Transit Revolving Account to an applicant for the advance purchase of
vehicles for programs reimbursable from the funds available from the
Urban Mass Transportation Act, as amended, when such advance
purchase will eliminate unnecessary delays in the procurement,
purchase, and delivery of the vehicles.
(c) The department shall keep a record of all allocations pursuant
to subdivision (b) and the account shall be reimbursed in full from
the federal funds and local funds.
(d) The provisions of this section shall only be utilized during
those fiscal years in which federal funds are available under the
Urban Mass Transportation Act, as amended.
14031.6. (a) The Governor shall include in the Budget Bill an
appropriation from the Transportation Planning and Development
Account in the State Transportation Fund or from other appropriate
sources to subsidize the operating costs of commuter and intercity
passenger services pursuant to Section 14035 and an appropriation for
capital outlay improvements to, and rolling stock for, intercity
routes pursuant to Section 14038.
(b) The department shall request funding for capital improvements
to commuter routes to which it provides subsidies through the transit
capital improvement process established by Section 99317 of the
Public Utilities Code.
(c) The department shall request funding for capital improvements
and rolling stock for intercity rail passenger routes pursuant to
Sections 14035 and 14038 through the transit capital improvement
process established by the Public Utilities Code.
(d) This section does not apply to funds made available from
general obligation bonds issued for purposes of Section 164.55 of the
Streets and Highways Code.
14031.7. Prior to any allocation pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 14031. 6, for any recommended new service, the department
shall submit a report to the commission consisting of the following:
(a) The speeds and other service attributes needed.
(b) Needed facilities and manpower specifications.
(c) The avoidable costs of direct services joint-use arrangements,
capital facilities, and other necessary arrangements.
(d) An estimate of total costs for proposed services.
(e) An inventory and evaluation of other existing transportation
services in the corridor.
(f) The market potential encompassing modal diversion and
operating revenues.
(g) For any commuter service, the compatibility of the service
with the affected regional transportation plan.
During the preparation of this report, the department shall draw
upon the resources of the Public Utilities Commission and any other
available resource. This report shall become a part of the department'
s proposed state transportation improvement program.
14031.8. (a) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing
shall establish, through an annual budget process, the level of state
funding available for the operation of intercity passenger rail
service in each corridor.
(b) Where applicable, operating funds shall be allocated by the
secretary to the joint powers board in accordance with an interagency
agreement which includes mutually agreed-upon rail services. Funds
for the administration and marketing of services, as appropriate,
shall also be transferred by the secretary to the joint powers board,
subject to the terms of the interagency agreement.
(c) The joint powers board or local or regional entities may
augment state-provided resources to expand intercity passenger rail
services, or to address funding shortfalls in achieving agreed-upon
performance standards.
(d) The department may provide any support services as may be
mutually agreed upon by the board and the department.
(e) Operating costs shall be controlled by dealing with, at a
minimum, the current Amtrak cost allocation formula and the ability
to contract out to Amtrak or other rail operators as a part of
federal legislation dealing with Amtrak reauthorization.
(f) Not later than December 31, 1997, the secretary shall
establish a set of uniform performance standards for all corridors
and operators to control cost and improve efficiency.
14032. The department shall provide reports and analyses for the
commission on all of the following:
(a) The review and evaluation of regional transportation plans and
improvement programs for the identification of conflicts between
such plans and programs.
(b) The identification and analysis of current and potential
future issues of importance to transportation within the state.
(c) The preparation of an annual and of a five-year estimate of
all federal and state funds available to each region for
transportation improvements.
(d) The preparation of special studies as requested by the
commission.
(e) Other matters as requested by the commission.
14032.5. The department may assist regional transportation planning
agencies with the preparation of regional transportation plans and
improvement programs by providing technical services and other
assistance as determined by the director and the transportation
planning agency as necessary for the timely and comprehensive
discharge of the responsibilities of the transportation planning
agency.
14032.6. The department shall, within existing resources, collect,
analyze, and summarize highway congestion data and make it available
upon request to California regional transportation planning agencies,
congestion management agencies, and transit agencies.
14032.7. The department shall publish annually a list of major new
facility projects, exclusive public mass transit guideway projects,
and operational improvement projects that are beyond the five-year
program for the expenditure of state transportation funds, as set
forth in the state transportation improvement program.
The list shall be made available to the commission, each
transportation planning agency, and each county transportation
commission not later than January 10th of each year. Not later than
April 1st of each year, every transportation planning agency may
comment on the projects contained in the list and submit such
comments to the commission.
After taking into consideration the department's list and the
comments submitted by the transportation planning agencies, the
commission shall review the list and may make any changes, including
additions or deletions, to the list. The commission shall adopt the
list on or before July 1st of each year.
On January 1, 1981, and quarterly thereafter, the department shall
provide the report concerning the project development schedule and
the advertising schedule as required pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter
1060 of the Statutes of 1979 to each transportation planning agency
and each county transportation commission.
14034. (a) During the planning and development of any proposed
commuter rail service, the department shall consult with the county
transportation commission and the transportation planning agency
affected by any such proposal.
(b) County transportation commissions and transportation planning
agencies may review and comment during a public hearing on the
priority list specified in Section 14538.
(c) Prior to any allocation pursuant to Section 14031.6, county
transportation commissions and transportation planning agencies shall
be notified at least 20 days before any such allocation is
considered by the commission at a public hearing.
14035. (a) The department may enter into contracts with the
National Railroad Passenger Corporation under Section 403(b) of the
Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 to provide commuter and intercity
passenger rail services. The contracts may include, but are not
limited to, the extension of intercity passenger rail services or the
upgrading of commuter rail services.
(b) The department may contract with railroad corporations for the
use of tracks and other facilities and the provision of passenger
services on terms and conditions as the parties may agree.
(c) The department may construct, acquire, or lease, and improve
and operate, rail passenger terminals and related facilities that
provide intermodal passenger services along the following corridors:
the San Diego-Los Angeles-Santa Barbara corridor, the San
Francisco-San Jose-Monterey corridor, the Los Angeles-Riverside-San
Bernardino-Calexico corridor, the San Jose-Oakland-Sacramento-Reno
corridor, the Los
Angeles-Bakersfield-Fresno-Stockton-Sacramento-Oakland corridor, and
the Los Angeles-Santa Barbara-Oakland-Sacramento-Redding corridor.
(d) The department may enter into a contract with the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation to provide additional trains over the
San Joaquin route running between Bakersfield and Oakland and to
extend the existing route to Sacramento.
(e) The Transportation Agency of Monterey County may be a party to
any contract entered into under this section between the department
and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for passenger rail
service along the San Francisco-San Jose-Monterey corridor.
14035.1. Commuter rail service shall be provided to the communities
between San Jose and Gilroy if the conditions specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 14035.4 are completed. Upon the completion
of those conditions, the powers and duties of the Department of
Transportation with respect to the San Francisco Peninsula commuter
rail service shall apply to the San Jose-Gilroy segment.
14035.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
department adopt and implement the following policies applicable to
the operation of feeder bus service provided by the department to and
from rail terminals :
(1) Comprehensive marketing strategies to promote, in a
cost-effective manner, ridership on intercity rail and feeder bus
routes, including notification to the public of new routes and
services and modifications to schedules affecting existing routes and
services.
(2) Marketing new routes and services prior to the first day of
service to avoid low ridership, similar to the marketing approach
taken by major airlines with respect to new services.
(3) Implementation of feeder bus services based on evaluations of
ridership needs and estimated break-even points. For this purpose,
break-even points would be determined by conceptually assigning to a
bus service all estimated revenue generated by a feeder bus passenger
on the bus and train portions of a trip, and routes that fail to
reach break-even points within a reasonable time period would be
restructured or discontinued.
(4) Monitoring of feeder bus services to ensure that routes are
operated, generally and individually, in a cost-effective manner,
that they continue to respond to ridership needs, that bus stops are
adequately signed and are located near public telephones, and that
they promote and enhance a growing interest in the state's intercity
rail program.
(b) If federal rural transit funds are available to the department
for intercity services, the department shall use those funds in
support of appropriate intercity feeder bus services that are
coordinated to meet intercity rail services at train stations and
associated capital facilities.
14035.3. The department may request a railroad corporation under
contractual obligation to the department for services to institute
operating efficiencies, other than with respect to the size of
operating crews, in connection with the service under contract. The
railroad corporation shall respond to the department's request within
30 days after the initial request. In the event of a failure to
respond, or refusal by the railroad corporation to effect those
operating efficiencies, the Public Utilities Commission, within 60
days after application by the department, shall order the institution
of operating efficiencies, if it finds, after a public hearing, that
the efficiencies are necessary for the preservation of safety, for
the continuation of the service, or for the expansion of service.
14035.4. The department shall request the involvement and
cooperation of affected local agencies and public and private
passenger carriers in decisions relative to the acquisition,
development, and operation of intermodal passenger facilities.
14035.5. The department may enter into contracts with common
carriers, as defined by Section 211 of the Public Utilities Code, or
with any corporation, partnership, or person to provide feeder
services to and from rail passenger terminals or intercity bus
transportation.
In contracting for intercity bus transportation, the department
may fund fixed route, scheduled services which primarily provide
service between nonurbanized communities and passenger air terminals
with 1980 volumes of 1,000,000 passengers or less. "Nonurbanized
community" means any city or territory which does not meet the
criteria for an "urbanized area," as defined by the Bureau of Census
of the United States Department of Commerce on page 66185 in Number
195 of Volume 45 of the Federal Register for October 6, 1980.
The department may construct, acquire or lease, improve, and
operate bus passenger terminals and related facilities which provide
intermodal passenger services.
14035.55. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Intercity passenger bus service provided by intercity bus
companies on a regular-route basis is the only public mass
transportation service in the state to provide surface transportation
without public subsidy.
(2) The long-term maintenance of private sector intercity
passenger service is of vital importance to the state.
(3) Intercity bus companies serve many communities throughout
California, providing a network of connection points without equal by
any other mode of public or private transportation.
(b) To the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall
encourage Amtrak and motor carriers of passengers to do both of the
following:
(1) Combine or package their respective services and facilities to
the public as a means of improving services to the public.
(2) Coordinate schedules, routes, rates, reservations, and
ticketing to provide for enhanced intermodal surface transportation.
(c) Except as authorized under subdivisions (e) and (f), the
department may provide funding to Amtrak for the purpose of entering
into a contract with a motor carrier of passengers for the intercity
transportation of passengers by motor carrier over regular routes
only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The motor carrier is not a public recipient of governmental
assistance, as defined in Section 13902(b)(8)(A) of Title 49 of the
United States Code, other than a recipient of funds under Section
5311(f) of that title and code. This paragraph does not apply if a
local public motor carrier proposes to serve passengers only within
its service area.
(2) Service is provided only for passengers on trips where the
passengers have had prior movement by rail or will have subsequent
movement by rail, evidenced by a combination rail and bus one-way or
roundtrip ticket, or service is also provided on State Highway Route
50 between the City of Sacramento and the City of South Lake Tahoe
and intermediate points or on State Highway Route 5 between the
community of Lebec in Kern County and the City of Santa Clarita for
passengers solely by bus if no other bus service is provided by a
private intercity bus company.
(3) Vehicles of the motor carrier, when used to transport
passengers pursuant to paragraph (2), are used exclusively for that
purpose.
(4) The motor carrier is registered with the United States
Department of Transportation (DOT) and operates in compliance with
the federal motor carrier safety regulations, and provides service
that is accessible to persons with disabilities in compliance with
applicable DOT regulations pertaining to Amtrak services, in
accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-336).
(d) The department shall incorporate the conditions specified in
subdivision (c) into state-supported passenger rail feeder bus
service agreements between Amtrak and motor carriers of passengers.
The bus service agreements shall also provide that a breach of those
conditions shall be grounds for termination of the agreements.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) and (d), the department may
provide funding to Amtrak for the purpose of entering into a contract
with a motor carrier of passengers to transport Amtrak passengers on
buses operated on a route, if the buses are operated by the motor
carrier as part of a regularly scheduled, daily bus service that has
been operating consecutively without an Amtrak contract for 12 months
immediately prior to contracting with Amtrak.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) and (d), or any other
provision of law, the department may enter into a contract, either
directly with a public motor carrier in the County of Monterey, or
indirectly with that carrier through a contract with Amtrak, to
provide mixed-mode feeder bus service on the San Jose-Gilroy-Monterey
route. The contract with a public motor carrier may only be entered
into if the department determines that there is no private motor
carrier providing scheduled bus service on the San
Jose-Gilroy-Monterey route. However, the contract shall be
terminated, within 120 days' notice to the public motor carrier, if a
private motor carrier again operates a scheduled service on the San
Jose-Gilroy-Monterey route.
(g) Pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the department
may amend its contract with Amtrak to add a term to provide bus
service to passengers traveling solely by bus on the Sacramento-South
Lake Tahoe route and between Lebec and Santa Clarita on the
Bakersfield-Santa Clarita route. A contract amendment with Amtrak may
only be entered into if the department determines that there is no
private motor carrier providing scheduled bus service on the route
that is the subject of the contract amendment. However, the
applicable contract amendment shall be terminated, within 120 days'
notice to Amtrak, if a private carrier again operates a scheduled bus
service on the Sacramento-South Lake Tahoe route, or within 60 days'
notice to Amtrak, if a private carrier again operates a scheduled
bus service between Lebec and Santa Clarita on the Bakersfield-Santa
Clarita route.
(h) The department shall undertake a two-year study of patronage
on the bus service operated between the City of Sacramento and the
City of South Lake Tahoe and intermediate points pursuant to
subdivision (g), identifying the number of passengers who are
transferring to an Amtrak rail service and those who are traveling
solely on the bus service. The study shall identify the revenue from
each category of passengers and include other pertinent ridership
information. The report shall be submitted to the transportation
policy committees of the Legislature no later than March 1, 2010.
(i) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Amtrak" means the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Transportation or the
department's successor with respect to providing funds to subsidize
Amtrak service.
(3) "Motor carrier of passengers" means a person or entity
providing motor vehicle transportation of passengers for
compensation.
(4) "Mixed-mode feeder bus service" means bus service carrying
both passengers connecting to or from a rail service and passengers
only using the bus service.
14035.57. The department shall encourage the Santa Cruz
Metropolitan Transit District, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority, Amtrak, and any private motor carrier of passengers that
operates regular service on the route described in subdivision (a) of
Section 14035.56 to develop and execute a memorandum of
understanding that addresses the long-term solutions to the
transportation needs of passengers traveling by bus between the City
of Santa Cruz and the City of San Jose on service operated
substantially on State Highway Route 17. The memorandum shall address
the necessary funding and capital needs to provide this public
transit service, and other operational requirements for additional
public transit service on this route. The memorandum shall also
address ways that Amtrak, local public transit operators, and local
private sector motor carriers of passengers may combine or package
their respective services and facilities to the public as a means of
improving services to the public.
14035.65. In developing or funding intermodal passenger service
facilities, the department shall give full consideration to existing
and projected operational requirements of all participating passenger
carriers.
In setting fees for facility use assessed on passenger carriers,
the department shall give fair and equitable treatment to all
transportation carriers regardless of mode.
14035.7. Funds allocated for commuter rail purposes shall be
consistent with the regional transportation plan and the regional
transportation improvement program for the region in which they will
be expended, unless a finding specified in Section 14530 is made by
the commission.
14035.9. The department shall in conjunction with the Department of
Corrections evaluate the addition of stations or stops on existing
bus or rail routes, or the addition of new services, which improve
transportation access for visitors to prisons. The department shall
give reasonable priority to stations, stops, and routes which serve
visitors to prisons, particularly when alternative public
transportation is minimal or nonexistent.
Whenever possible, the department and the Department of
Corrections shall seek to implement these services in conjunction
with the opening of new prison facilities.
The Department of Corrections shall publicize the availability of
services provided by the department under this section.
14036. (a) The department shall prepare a 10-year State Rail Plan
biennially for submission to the Legislature, the Governor, the
Public Utilities Commission, and the California Transportation
Commission. The plan shall be submitted to the California
Transportation Commission on or before October 1, 1995, and on or
before October 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, for its advice
and consent, and to the Legislature, the Governor, and the Public
Utilities Commission by the following March 1. The plan shall consist
of a passenger rail element and a freight rail element.
(b) The passenger rail element shall contain all of the following:
(1) For capital and operating subsidies and costs, all actual
encumbrances for the prior two fiscal years; and for state
operations, all actual expenditures for the prior two fiscal years.
All revenues shall be identified by source.
(2) For capital and operating subsidies, estimated encumbrances
and revenues for the current year; and for state operations,
estimated expenditures for the current year. The department shall use
the same format as is required for prior year expenditures pursuant
to paragraph (1).
(3) For the budget year and the nine following fiscal years,
proposed encumbrances for capital and operating subsidies and costs
shall be reported in the same format as is required for the prior
year's expenditures. For state operations, proposed expenditures for
the budget year shall be reported.
(4) The identification and cost of capital facilities necessary to
enhance competitiveness of rail passenger services, including, for
each intercity route, a list of at least the three highest priority
capital improvement projects, with cost estimates and a funding plan.
(5) A performance evaluation of all services in operation for the
two prior years, including performance trends, potential for
efficiency and effectiveness, possible improvements, and strategies
to achieve that potential. This shall include an evaluation of all
feeder bus services, using, among other things, criteria based on
ridership levels, break-even points, and levels of growth in service
utilization. The number of daily feeder bus runs, if any, that failed
to carry even one passenger shall be identified.
(6) A recommendation of a level of and program for services over a
10-year period, including a list of service enhancements on existing
and additional routes, with funding and priority recommendations.
This shall include identification of feeder bus service improvements
and a management and operating plan for achieving these improvements.
(7) An evaluation of reports by regional planning agencies and
county transportation commissions on commuter service alternatives in
their regions, including presentation of their recommendations.
(8) A map showing all existing intercity and commuter passenger
rail routes and services, all proposed intercity and commuter
passenger rail routes and services, and all intercity and commuter
passenger rail routes and services that are the subject of
feasibility studies.
(9) A report on the expenditure of marketing activities funds for
purchases of media advertising of rail passenger services.
This report shall be prepared in consultation with the Public
Utilities Commission and the National Rail Passenger Corporation. The
department may consult with other agencies, organizations, and
persons with expertise. The department shall employ realistic
assumptions, using Public Utilities Commission cost data whenever
possible, with respect to the level of services it can provide and
the cost of these services when developing the program.
(10) A discussion of the department's overall marketing strategy
as it relates to the intercity rail passenger service, including
feeder bus service, and a report on the expenditure of marketing
activities funds for purchases of media advertising of rail passenger
services.
(11) A discussion of fare policies and practices, including all of
the following:
(A) The relationship of fare policies to ridership and yield,
including the impact of (A) a variety of regular fares, including
fares such as midweek and other off-peak discounts, (B) discount fare
blackouts during certain holiday travel periods on yield and
ridership, and (C) discount fares for small groups traveling
together.
(B) Lightly traveled route segments where current fares are too
high for the demand, and where ridership or yield, or both, would
increase with lower fares.
(C) A potential fare policy that would maximize both ridership and
yield.
(D) A summary of discussions with Amtrak on the subject of fares.
(c) The freight rail element shall contain all of the following:
(1) Environmental aspects, which shall include air quality, land
use, and community impacts.
(2) Financing issues, which shall include a means to obtain
federal and state funding.
(3) Rail issues, which shall include regional, intrastate, and
interstate issues.
(4) Intermodal connections, which shall include seaports and
intermodal terminals.
(5) Current system deficiencies.
(6) Service objectives, such as improving efficiency,
accessibility, and safety.
(7) New technology, which shall include logistics and process
improvement.
(8) Light density rail line analyses, which shall include traffic
density, track characteristics, project selection criteria, and
benefit-cost criteria.
14036.1. As part of its ongoing marketing activities to increase
the utilization and performance of rail and bus services operated
pursuant to this article, the department may seek to increase
awareness of these services on the part of students attending public
and private colleges and universities located in cities served by
these trains and feeder buses. The department, in cooperation with
public college and university systems, may develop suitable materials
for regular distribution to students at the beginning of academic
terms. The department may also work with the National Railroad
Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to implement student multiride
discount ticketing programs designed for home to college trips,
similar to programs already implemented in other states by Amtrak and
the state agency responsible for intercity rail passenger service.
The Legislature finds that college students, while potentially a
natural market for these public transportation services, are
frequently unaware of these services. Marketing activities should
recognize the highly transient nature of college students and the
need to continuously publicize available services using inexpensive
media where appropriate.
The department shall report on its marketing activities, including
activities conducted pursuant to this section, in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036.
14036.2. The department shall identify in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036, the three most
decrepit intercity rail passenger stations in the state used by
trains operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation
(Amtrak). The department shall also identify those rail passenger
stations which require upgraded parking facilities to encourage
automobile drivers to utilize available rail passenger service.
14036.3. The department shall consider and estimate the cost of
each of the following types of service improvements to the San
Joaquin Amtrak route, and report its findings in the rail passenger
development plan submitted in 1991 pursuant to Section 14036:
(a) Checked baggage service:
In order to better serve the elderly, disabled, and passengers
traveling with small children, the department shall investigate the
possibility of Amtrak offering this type of passenger convenience on
at least one of the three daily roundtrips, including the least
patronized roundtrip where enroute delays due to baggage handling
would be most absorbable. Particular consideration should be given to
offering baggage service to major stations, including off-line
staffed Amtrak stations served by feeder buses, if service to all
staffed stations cannot be implemented immediately. The department
shall also consider funding capital needs at stations necessary to
offer baggage service from funds available pursuant to Section 14037.
(b) Custom class service:
In order to provide a higher level of service to passengers
desiring a guaranteed, reserved seat, the department shall
investigate implementation of custom class service on the San Joaquin
route, similar to the enhanced service offered as an option on the
Amtrak San Diegan route. If custom class service is offered, due
consideration should be given to similar higher levels of service on
major feeder bus routes, as warranted. The department shall also
investigate the potential availability of cellular telephone service
on this route.
(c) Dining service:
The department shall investigate steps that may need to be taken
to restore quality dining car service, offering full, hot meals,
substantially similar to the service offered on this route prior to
the removal of high-level cars in December of 1989.
14036.4. The department shall report in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036 on the amount of
funds available to the state under the federal rail-highway crossings
program (23 U.S.C. Sec. 130), including the cash balance, funds
encumbered during the last year, and amounts anticipated to be
received during the subsequent year. The plan shall also discuss any
issues relating to the department's ability to spend these federal
funds on a timely basis.
14036.5. (a) As part of its marketing activities in support of
intercity rail services and associated feeder bus services, the
department shall provide for complete train and bus schedule
information, for services funded or otherwise coordinated by the
department, to be published in existing, comprehensive nationwide
transportation schedule publications for bus and rail services. The
department is not required to provide for publication of the schedule
information specified in subdivision (a) if complete bus and train
schedules are published by the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) in its nationwide timetable (Form A) in addition
to the department's own California timetable.
14036.6. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Rail passes offering unlimited travel on certain passenger
rail and associated transit services for a specified period of time
and a fixed price have been a success in Europe, Canada, and Alaska.
(2) A "California Pass," valid on state-funded intercity and
commuter rail lines, state-funded feeder buses, and major local
transit systems would be a major benefit to tourism, while at the
same time providing a package of transportation options which do not
worsen highway congestion.
(3) Use of a single payment mechanism makes existing mass
transportation services easier to use, by eliminating the need for
familiarity with multiple complex tariffs and the need for correct
change.
(b) The department shall investigate, and if feasible implement, a
"California Pass" which would be valid, to the extent possible, for
all of the following transportation services:
(1) State-funded intercity rail services in the San Diego-Los
Angeles, Los Angeles-Santa Barbara, Los Angeles-Fresno-bay
area/Sacramento, and Sacramento-bay area rail corridors.
(2) State-funded feeder buses operated in conjunction with the
intercity rail services, including, but not limited to, the service
operated between Merced and Yosemite National Park for the San
Joaquin trains.
(3) Commuter rail services.
(4) Public transit services.
(5) Other transportation services.
(c) The department shall consider offering passes valid for travel
over a specified consecutive number of days, as well as so-called
"flexi-passes" valid for a specified number of days within a longer
period of time. In addition, the department shall develop a procedure
for distributing pass revenues to each participating operating
entity, and for marketing the pass to prospective users.
(d) Prior to implementing a "California Pass" program, the
department shall consult with each participating operating entity.
The department shall not adopt procedures for the distribution of
pass revenues without first submitting the proposed procedures to
each affected operating entity.
(e) Nothing in this section precludes the department from
implementing, as an interim measure, any marketing device to increase
ridership on state-funded rail and bus services.
14036.7. The department shall give high priority to the development
of direct linkages between intercity rail passenger services and
airports served by commercial airlines and to developing feeder bus
linkages connecting intercity rail services and airports. The
department shall coordinate its provision of feeder bus service with
local and regional bus and rail services to avoid duplication of
service. The department shall include in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036, a report on the
status of all existing intercity rail station facilities that serve
airports directly and indirectly and on the department's activities
in improving other linkages between rail service and airports. The
department shall, to the extent feasible, utilize alternative-fuel
buses for its feeder bus service.
14036.8. (a) The department, using existing rail marketing funds,
shall fully participate in the railroad public safety awareness
program known as "Operation Lifesaver." The department shall work
with school officials to develop a school assembly program designed
to enhance student awareness of the dangers of trespassing on
railroad property, and the operating characteristics of trains.
Initially, the school assembly program shall be implemented on the
route of the department-sponsored Capitol Corridor. School officials
shall cooperate with the department to identify the schools most
affected by the operation of higher speed passenger trains.
(b) The department shall provide appropriate signs to be posted on
or adjacent to railroad property within 1,000 feet of schools where
upgrading of railroad lines has resulted in an increase of operating
speeds of passenger trains on those lines by 20 mph or more on or
after December 1, 1991. The signs shall be designed to communicate
both in words and in pictures, using internationally recognized
symbols, to warn of train-related hazards. The signs shall be posted
on the school side of the railroad property at a site to be
determined by school officials and railroad representatives. At the
request of the department, a railroad that owns the property
specified in this subdivision shall install and maintain the signs.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a "school" is any public
school that maintains classes in kindergarten or of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
(d) The installation or maintenance of signs pursuant to this
section shall not in any way affect the liability of the state or any
of its agencies, officers, or employees, or of the owner of the
railroad right-of-way, on account of personal injury or property
damage alleged to have been caused, in whole or in part, by a sign,
or the installation or maintenance of a sign, installed and
maintained pursuant to this section.
14036.9. The California Coast Passenger Rail Corridor consists of
the Counties of Los Angeles, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San
Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and
Ventura.
14037. Funds which are available to the department for rail and bus
operations may be used by the department for maintenance of capital
facilities related to rail or bus services provided, or for minor
capital improvement projects related to rail and bus services
provided, if the department determines that this use of funds would
improve the operation of a service. For the purposes of this section,
a project shall be determined to be a "minor capital improvement
project" on the same basis that a project is determined to be a
"minor highway project" by the commission.
14038. (a) The department may purchase, sell, and lease rail
passenger cars and locomotives and other self-propelled rail
vehicles.
(b) The department may acquire, lease, design, construct, and
improve track lines and related facilities, and the department may
contract with the private sector for the design, improvement, or
construction of track lines and related facilities. If a railroad
corporation refuses to allow improvements to tracks and related
facilities, the Public Utilities Commission shall, within 60 days
after application by the department, order the institution of those
improvements, if it finds that the improvements are necessary to the
safety of the railroad corporation's employees, passengers,
customers, and the public, and the operating efficiency of the
service for which they are requested.
(c) Any facility or equipment acquired or improved by any entity
with funds made available to it pursuant to this section shall become
the property of that entity at the time and under the conditions as
are agreed upon by the department in the agreement that makes the
funds available to the entity. Section 10295 of the Public Contract
Code does not apply to any agreement entered into pursuant to this
section.
(d) The department shall deposit in the Passenger Equipment
Acquisition Fund, for expenditure pursuant to Section 14066, the net
proceeds from the sale of rail passenger cars and locomotives and
other self-propelled rail vehicles.
14038.1. Rail passenger equipment owned by the department and
operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) in a
state-supported rail service shall prominently display the
department's logo and the words "California Department of
Transportation," or other appropriate identification, as determined
by the department.
14038.2. (a) The department may acquire by purchase, lease, or
eminent domain, any property necessary for the development and
implementation of the state's rail passenger program. The power of
eminent domain shall be exercised in accordance with Title 7
(commencing with Section 1230.010) of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
to give significance and importance to the state rail passenger
program equal to that of the state highway program, and to that end,
to provide the department with the appropriate powers.
(c) To the extent that the activities authorized by subdivision
(a) exceed the capacity of the department's existing work force, the
department may contract with qualified individuals or firms for
engineering, surveying, and related technical services in exercising
its authority pursuant to subdivision (a).
14038.3. The department may, if requested by the Alameda Corridor
Transportation Authority, exercise the power of eminent domain to
acquire, in the name and for the use of, the authority, real property
in Los Angeles County that is owned by a railroad corporation and
that is necessary, incidental, or convenient for the construction of
the Alameda Corridor project.
14038.5. (a) The department may, at the request of a transportation
planning agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan
transit development board, and subject to approval of the commission,
acquire abandoned or proposed to be abandoned rail freight lines
which have the potential of being rebuilt into joint freight and
passenger rail transit lines.
(b) The department may, if requested by a transportation planning
agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan transit
development board, develop plans and specifications for the
conversion of abandoned or proposed to be abandoned rail lines into
freight and passenger rail transit routes. The department may
contract with the private sector to develop these plans and
specifications.
(c) The department may, if requested by a regional planning
agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan transit
development board, investigate and prepare procedures, subject to
Public Utilities Commission approval, to reinstate rail passenger
services in the requesting entity's jurisdiction.
14039. The department shall have no authority to operate railroads.
14040. The department may provide by contract with a railroad
corporation that any tracks or signaling devices constructed,
improved, repaired, or acquired with funds made available by the
state on property owned or leased by the railroad corporation shall
become the property of the railroad corporation.
14041. The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority is encouraged
to coordinate with local private industry councils in service
delivery areas to develop training programs and employment
opportunities under the federal Job Training Partnership Act (29
U.S.C. Sec. 1501 et seq.) directly related to the Alameda Corridor
project and to pursue other appropriate employment and training
funding sources.
14050. State highway projects to be included in the program of
proposed projects report submitted to the United States Secretary of
Transportation pursuant to Section 105 of Title 23 of the United
States Code shall be those included in the five-year program for the
expenditure of state transportation funds as set forth in the state
transportation improvement program after July 1, 1979.
14051. (a) At the commencement of each regular session of the
Legislature, the department shall submit to the Legislature a report
summarizing information required under, and programs authorized by,
Sections 118.6, 216, and 820 of, and Article 3.5 (commencing with
Section 156) of Chapter 1 of Division 1 of, the Streets and Highways
Code.
(b) Information on other program activities may be included in the
biennial report at the discretion of the department.
(c) The report required by this section shall also include all of
the following:
(1) An evaluation of significant air transportation issues
anticipated to be of public concern during the five-year period
commencing January 1 of the year preceding the date for submission of
the report and beyond.
(2) Recommended modifications to state and federal law, where
appropriate.
(3) An overview of necessary future investments in the development
and maintenance of the state's air transportation system.
(4) An analysis of the department's organizational and staff needs
relative to its air transportation responsibilities.
(5) A review of state aeronautics policy.
In preparing the portion of the report required by this
subdivision, the department shall fully consider and incorporate air
transportation needs as identified by local government and the
private sector, as well as the need to fully integrate air
transportation issues and concerns into the mission of the
department.
(d) The report required by this section shall also include all of
the following:
(1) The status of alternative technologies in transportation,
including, but not limited to, the efforts made in research
development. The alternative technologies reported on shall seek to
improve public safety, energy efficiency, and air quality.
(2) Alternatives to fossil fuels to power transportation devices,
including alternative methods of propulsion of motor vehicles.
14052. (a) The department shall prepare an inventory of all
state-owned bridges that are required to be strengthened or replaced
in order to meet seismic safety standards which are in effect on
January 1, 1991. For each bridge listed in the inventory, the
department shall determine each of the following:
(1) The earliest date when all necessary engineering work can be
completed and construction can be started.
(2) An estimate of the cost of retrofitting or replacing the
bridge to conform to the applicable seismic safety standards.
(b) (1) The department shall prepare a multiyear plan and schedule
for completing the retrofitting or replacement of all of the bridges
identified pursuant to subdivision (a). The schedule shall be based
upon the department's estimates of the shortest possible time to
perform the work.
(2) The plan shall include the department's estimate of the annual
cost and the total cost of carrying out the plan.
(3) The department shall submit the plan and schedule, together
with the cost estimates, to the Governor and the Legislature not
later than January 1, 1991.
(c) The Legislature intends to appropriate to the department the
funds necessary to carry out subdivisions (a) and (b).
14030. The powers and duties of the department shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following activities:
(a) Supporting the commission in coordinating and developing, in
cooperation with local and regional entities, comprehensive balanced
transportation planning and policy for the movement of people and
goods within the state.
(b) Coordinating and assisting, upon request of, the various
public and private transportation entities in strengthening their
development and operation of balanced integrated mass transportation,
highway, aviation, maritime, railroad, and other transportation
facilities and services in support of statewide and regional goals.
(c) Developing, in cooperation with local and regional
transportation entities, the full potential of all resources and
opportunities which are now, and may become, available to the state
and to regional and local agencies for meeting California's
transportation needs, as provided by statutes and, in particular,
maximizing the amount of federal funds which may be available to the
state and increasing the efficiency by which such funds are utilized.
(d) Planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining
those transportation systems which the Legislature has made, or may
make, the responsibility of the department; provided that the
department is not authorized to assume the functions of project
planning, designing, constructing, operating, or maintaining maritime
or aviation facilities without express prior approval of the
Legislature with the exception of those aviation functions which have
been designated for the department in the Public Utilities Code.
(e) Coordinating and developing transportation research projects
of statewide interest.
(f) Exercising such other functions, powers, and duties as are or
may be provided for by law.
(g) With the Department of Housing and Community Development,
investigating and reporting to the Secretary of the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency upon the consistency between state,
local, and federal housing plans and programs and state, local, and
federal transportation plans and programs.
14031. The Governor, the secretary, and the department may enter
into such agreements, execute such documents, establish and manage
such accounts and deposits, and take any other action that may be
appropriate, in accordance with federal law and rules and
regulations, to receive and expend funds from the federal government
in connection with mass transportation programs and projects for
which federal funds are available.
The department may undertake mass transportation research,
development, and demonstration projects and perform technical studies
related thereto, in accordance with applicable state or federal
laws.
14031.5. (a) The Mass Transit Revolving Account is hereby created
in the State Transportation Fund. The sum of one million dollars
($1,000,000) is hereby transferred from the Transportation Planning
and Development Account to the Mass Transit Revolving Account and
appropriated to the department for expenditure for effectuating the
purposes of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, as amended.
(b) Allocations may be made by the department from the Mass
Transit Revolving Account to an applicant for the advance purchase of
vehicles for programs reimbursable from the funds available from the
Urban Mass Transportation Act, as amended, when such advance
purchase will eliminate unnecessary delays in the procurement,
purchase, and delivery of the vehicles.
(c) The department shall keep a record of all allocations pursuant
to subdivision (b) and the account shall be reimbursed in full from
the federal funds and local funds.
(d) The provisions of this section shall only be utilized during
those fiscal years in which federal funds are available under the
Urban Mass Transportation Act, as amended.
14031.6. (a) The Governor shall include in the Budget Bill an
appropriation from the Transportation Planning and Development
Account in the State Transportation Fund or from other appropriate
sources to subsidize the operating costs of commuter and intercity
passenger services pursuant to Section 14035 and an appropriation for
capital outlay improvements to, and rolling stock for, intercity
routes pursuant to Section 14038.
(b) The department shall request funding for capital improvements
to commuter routes to which it provides subsidies through the transit
capital improvement process established by Section 99317 of the
Public Utilities Code.
(c) The department shall request funding for capital improvements
and rolling stock for intercity rail passenger routes pursuant to
Sections 14035 and 14038 through the transit capital improvement
process established by the Public Utilities Code.
(d) This section does not apply to funds made available from
general obligation bonds issued for purposes of Section 164.55 of the
Streets and Highways Code.
14031.7. Prior to any allocation pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 14031. 6, for any recommended new service, the department
shall submit a report to the commission consisting of the following:
(a) The speeds and other service attributes needed.
(b) Needed facilities and manpower specifications.
(c) The avoidable costs of direct services joint-use arrangements,
capital facilities, and other necessary arrangements.
(d) An estimate of total costs for proposed services.
(e) An inventory and evaluation of other existing transportation
services in the corridor.
(f) The market potential encompassing modal diversion and
operating revenues.
(g) For any commuter service, the compatibility of the service
with the affected regional transportation plan.
During the preparation of this report, the department shall draw
upon the resources of the Public Utilities Commission and any other
available resource. This report shall become a part of the department'
s proposed state transportation improvement program.
14031.8. (a) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing
shall establish, through an annual budget process, the level of state
funding available for the operation of intercity passenger rail
service in each corridor.
(b) Where applicable, operating funds shall be allocated by the
secretary to the joint powers board in accordance with an interagency
agreement which includes mutually agreed-upon rail services. Funds
for the administration and marketing of services, as appropriate,
shall also be transferred by the secretary to the joint powers board,
subject to the terms of the interagency agreement.
(c) The joint powers board or local or regional entities may
augment state-provided resources to expand intercity passenger rail
services, or to address funding shortfalls in achieving agreed-upon
performance standards.
(d) The department may provide any support services as may be
mutually agreed upon by the board and the department.
(e) Operating costs shall be controlled by dealing with, at a
minimum, the current Amtrak cost allocation formula and the ability
to contract out to Amtrak or other rail operators as a part of
federal legislation dealing with Amtrak reauthorization.
(f) Not later than December 31, 1997, the secretary shall
establish a set of uniform performance standards for all corridors
and operators to control cost and improve efficiency.
14032. The department shall provide reports and analyses for the
commission on all of the following:
(a) The review and evaluation of regional transportation plans and
improvement programs for the identification of conflicts between
such plans and programs.
(b) The identification and analysis of current and potential
future issues of importance to transportation within the state.
(c) The preparation of an annual and of a five-year estimate of
all federal and state funds available to each region for
transportation improvements.
(d) The preparation of special studies as requested by the
commission.
(e) Other matters as requested by the commission.
14032.5. The department may assist regional transportation planning
agencies with the preparation of regional transportation plans and
improvement programs by providing technical services and other
assistance as determined by the director and the transportation
planning agency as necessary for the timely and comprehensive
discharge of the responsibilities of the transportation planning
agency.
14032.6. The department shall, within existing resources, collect,
analyze, and summarize highway congestion data and make it available
upon request to California regional transportation planning agencies,
congestion management agencies, and transit agencies.
14032.7. The department shall publish annually a list of major new
facility projects, exclusive public mass transit guideway projects,
and operational improvement projects that are beyond the five-year
program for the expenditure of state transportation funds, as set
forth in the state transportation improvement program.
The list shall be made available to the commission, each
transportation planning agency, and each county transportation
commission not later than January 10th of each year. Not later than
April 1st of each year, every transportation planning agency may
comment on the projects contained in the list and submit such
comments to the commission.
After taking into consideration the department's list and the
comments submitted by the transportation planning agencies, the
commission shall review the list and may make any changes, including
additions or deletions, to the list. The commission shall adopt the
list on or before July 1st of each year.
On January 1, 1981, and quarterly thereafter, the department shall
provide the report concerning the project development schedule and
the advertising schedule as required pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter
1060 of the Statutes of 1979 to each transportation planning agency
and each county transportation commission.
14034. (a) During the planning and development of any proposed
commuter rail service, the department shall consult with the county
transportation commission and the transportation planning agency
affected by any such proposal.
(b) County transportation commissions and transportation planning
agencies may review and comment during a public hearing on the
priority list specified in Section 14538.
(c) Prior to any allocation pursuant to Section 14031.6, county
transportation commissions and transportation planning agencies shall
be notified at least 20 days before any such allocation is
considered by the commission at a public hearing.
14035. (a) The department may enter into contracts with the
National Railroad Passenger Corporation under Section 403(b) of the
Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 to provide commuter and intercity
passenger rail services. The contracts may include, but are not
limited to, the extension of intercity passenger rail services or the
upgrading of commuter rail services.
(b) The department may contract with railroad corporations for the
use of tracks and other facilities and the provision of passenger
services on terms and conditions as the parties may agree.
(c) The department may construct, acquire, or lease, and improve
and operate, rail passenger terminals and related facilities that
provide intermodal passenger services along the following corridors:
the San Diego-Los Angeles-Santa Barbara corridor, the San
Francisco-San Jose-Monterey corridor, the Los Angeles-Riverside-San
Bernardino-Calexico corridor, the San Jose-Oakland-Sacramento-Reno
corridor, the Los
Angeles-Bakersfield-Fresno-Stockton-Sacramento-Oakland corridor, and
the Los Angeles-Santa Barbara-Oakland-Sacramento-Redding corridor.
(d) The department may enter into a contract with the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation to provide additional trains over the
San Joaquin route running between Bakersfield and Oakland and to
extend the existing route to Sacramento.
(e) The Transportation Agency of Monterey County may be a party to
any contract entered into under this section between the department
and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for passenger rail
service along the San Francisco-San Jose-Monterey corridor.
14035.1. Commuter rail service shall be provided to the communities
between San Jose and Gilroy if the conditions specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 14035.4 are completed. Upon the completion
of those conditions, the powers and duties of the Department of
Transportation with respect to the San Francisco Peninsula commuter
rail service shall apply to the San Jose-Gilroy segment.
14035.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
department adopt and implement the following policies applicable to
the operation of feeder bus service provided by the department to and
from rail terminals :
(1) Comprehensive marketing strategies to promote, in a
cost-effective manner, ridership on intercity rail and feeder bus
routes, including notification to the public of new routes and
services and modifications to schedules affecting existing routes and
services.
(2) Marketing new routes and services prior to the first day of
service to avoid low ridership, similar to the marketing approach
taken by major airlines with respect to new services.
(3) Implementation of feeder bus services based on evaluations of
ridership needs and estimated break-even points. For this purpose,
break-even points would be determined by conceptually assigning to a
bus service all estimated revenue generated by a feeder bus passenger
on the bus and train portions of a trip, and routes that fail to
reach break-even points within a reasonable time period would be
restructured or discontinued.
(4) Monitoring of feeder bus services to ensure that routes are
operated, generally and individually, in a cost-effective manner,
that they continue to respond to ridership needs, that bus stops are
adequately signed and are located near public telephones, and that
they promote and enhance a growing interest in the state's intercity
rail program.
(b) If federal rural transit funds are available to the department
for intercity services, the department shall use those funds in
support of appropriate intercity feeder bus services that are
coordinated to meet intercity rail services at train stations and
associated capital facilities.
14035.3. The department may request a railroad corporation under
contractual obligation to the department for services to institute
operating efficiencies, other than with respect to the size of
operating crews, in connection with the service under contract. The
railroad corporation shall respond to the department's request within
30 days after the initial request. In the event of a failure to
respond, or refusal by the railroad corporation to effect those
operating efficiencies, the Public Utilities Commission, within 60
days after application by the department, shall order the institution
of operating efficiencies, if it finds, after a public hearing, that
the efficiencies are necessary for the preservation of safety, for
the continuation of the service, or for the expansion of service.
14035.4. The department shall request the involvement and
cooperation of affected local agencies and public and private
passenger carriers in decisions relative to the acquisition,
development, and operation of intermodal passenger facilities.
14035.5. The department may enter into contracts with common
carriers, as defined by Section 211 of the Public Utilities Code, or
with any corporation, partnership, or person to provide feeder
services to and from rail passenger terminals or intercity bus
transportation.
In contracting for intercity bus transportation, the department
may fund fixed route, scheduled services which primarily provide
service between nonurbanized communities and passenger air terminals
with 1980 volumes of 1,000,000 passengers or less. "Nonurbanized
community" means any city or territory which does not meet the
criteria for an "urbanized area," as defined by the Bureau of Census
of the United States Department of Commerce on page 66185 in Number
195 of Volume 45 of the Federal Register for October 6, 1980.
The department may construct, acquire or lease, improve, and
operate bus passenger terminals and related facilities which provide
intermodal passenger services.
14035.55. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Intercity passenger bus service provided by intercity bus
companies on a regular-route basis is the only public mass
transportation service in the state to provide surface transportation
without public subsidy.
(2) The long-term maintenance of private sector intercity
passenger service is of vital importance to the state.
(3) Intercity bus companies serve many communities throughout
California, providing a network of connection points without equal by
any other mode of public or private transportation.
(b) To the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall
encourage Amtrak and motor carriers of passengers to do both of the
following:
(1) Combine or package their respective services and facilities to
the public as a means of improving services to the public.
(2) Coordinate schedules, routes, rates, reservations, and
ticketing to provide for enhanced intermodal surface transportation.
(c) Except as authorized under subdivisions (e) and (f), the
department may provide funding to Amtrak for the purpose of entering
into a contract with a motor carrier of passengers for the intercity
transportation of passengers by motor carrier over regular routes
only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The motor carrier is not a public recipient of governmental
assistance, as defined in Section 13902(b)(8)(A) of Title 49 of the
United States Code, other than a recipient of funds under Section
5311(f) of that title and code. This paragraph does not apply if a
local public motor carrier proposes to serve passengers only within
its service area.
(2) Service is provided only for passengers on trips where the
passengers have had prior movement by rail or will have subsequent
movement by rail, evidenced by a combination rail and bus one-way or
roundtrip ticket, or service is also provided on State Highway Route
50 between the City of Sacramento and the City of South Lake Tahoe
and intermediate points or on State Highway Route 5 between the
community of Lebec in Kern County and the City of Santa Clarita for
passengers solely by bus if no other bus service is provided by a
private intercity bus company.
(3) Vehicles of the motor carrier, when used to transport
passengers pursuant to paragraph (2), are used exclusively for that
purpose.
(4) The motor carrier is registered with the United States
Department of Transportation (DOT) and operates in compliance with
the federal motor carrier safety regulations, and provides service
that is accessible to persons with disabilities in compliance with
applicable DOT regulations pertaining to Amtrak services, in
accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-336).
(d) The department shall incorporate the conditions specified in
subdivision (c) into state-supported passenger rail feeder bus
service agreements between Amtrak and motor carriers of passengers.
The bus service agreements shall also provide that a breach of those
conditions shall be grounds for termination of the agreements.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) and (d), the department may
provide funding to Amtrak for the purpose of entering into a contract
with a motor carrier of passengers to transport Amtrak passengers on
buses operated on a route, if the buses are operated by the motor
carrier as part of a regularly scheduled, daily bus service that has
been operating consecutively without an Amtrak contract for 12 months
immediately prior to contracting with Amtrak.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) and (d), or any other
provision of law, the department may enter into a contract, either
directly with a public motor carrier in the County of Monterey, or
indirectly with that carrier through a contract with Amtrak, to
provide mixed-mode feeder bus service on the San Jose-Gilroy-Monterey
route. The contract with a public motor carrier may only be entered
into if the department determines that there is no private motor
carrier providing scheduled bus service on the San
Jose-Gilroy-Monterey route. However, the contract shall be
terminated, within 120 days' notice to the public motor carrier, if a
private motor carrier again operates a scheduled service on the San
Jose-Gilroy-Monterey route.
(g) Pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the department
may amend its contract with Amtrak to add a term to provide bus
service to passengers traveling solely by bus on the Sacramento-South
Lake Tahoe route and between Lebec and Santa Clarita on the
Bakersfield-Santa Clarita route. A contract amendment with Amtrak may
only be entered into if the department determines that there is no
private motor carrier providing scheduled bus service on the route
that is the subject of the contract amendment. However, the
applicable contract amendment shall be terminated, within 120 days'
notice to Amtrak, if a private carrier again operates a scheduled bus
service on the Sacramento-South Lake Tahoe route, or within 60 days'
notice to Amtrak, if a private carrier again operates a scheduled
bus service between Lebec and Santa Clarita on the Bakersfield-Santa
Clarita route.
(h) The department shall undertake a two-year study of patronage
on the bus service operated between the City of Sacramento and the
City of South Lake Tahoe and intermediate points pursuant to
subdivision (g), identifying the number of passengers who are
transferring to an Amtrak rail service and those who are traveling
solely on the bus service. The study shall identify the revenue from
each category of passengers and include other pertinent ridership
information. The report shall be submitted to the transportation
policy committees of the Legislature no later than March 1, 2010.
(i) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Amtrak" means the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Transportation or the
department's successor with respect to providing funds to subsidize
Amtrak service.
(3) "Motor carrier of passengers" means a person or entity
providing motor vehicle transportation of passengers for
compensation.
(4) "Mixed-mode feeder bus service" means bus service carrying
both passengers connecting to or from a rail service and passengers
only using the bus service.
14035.57. The department shall encourage the Santa Cruz
Metropolitan Transit District, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority, Amtrak, and any private motor carrier of passengers that
operates regular service on the route described in subdivision (a) of
Section 14035.56 to develop and execute a memorandum of
understanding that addresses the long-term solutions to the
transportation needs of passengers traveling by bus between the City
of Santa Cruz and the City of San Jose on service operated
substantially on State Highway Route 17. The memorandum shall address
the necessary funding and capital needs to provide this public
transit service, and other operational requirements for additional
public transit service on this route. The memorandum shall also
address ways that Amtrak, local public transit operators, and local
private sector motor carriers of passengers may combine or package
their respective services and facilities to the public as a means of
improving services to the public.
14035.65. In developing or funding intermodal passenger service
facilities, the department shall give full consideration to existing
and projected operational requirements of all participating passenger
carriers.
In setting fees for facility use assessed on passenger carriers,
the department shall give fair and equitable treatment to all
transportation carriers regardless of mode.
14035.7. Funds allocated for commuter rail purposes shall be
consistent with the regional transportation plan and the regional
transportation improvement program for the region in which they will
be expended, unless a finding specified in Section 14530 is made by
the commission.
14035.9. The department shall in conjunction with the Department of
Corrections evaluate the addition of stations or stops on existing
bus or rail routes, or the addition of new services, which improve
transportation access for visitors to prisons. The department shall
give reasonable priority to stations, stops, and routes which serve
visitors to prisons, particularly when alternative public
transportation is minimal or nonexistent.
Whenever possible, the department and the Department of
Corrections shall seek to implement these services in conjunction
with the opening of new prison facilities.
The Department of Corrections shall publicize the availability of
services provided by the department under this section.
14036. (a) The department shall prepare a 10-year State Rail Plan
biennially for submission to the Legislature, the Governor, the
Public Utilities Commission, and the California Transportation
Commission. The plan shall be submitted to the California
Transportation Commission on or before October 1, 1995, and on or
before October 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, for its advice
and consent, and to the Legislature, the Governor, and the Public
Utilities Commission by the following March 1. The plan shall consist
of a passenger rail element and a freight rail element.
(b) The passenger rail element shall contain all of the following:
(1) For capital and operating subsidies and costs, all actual
encumbrances for the prior two fiscal years; and for state
operations, all actual expenditures for the prior two fiscal years.
All revenues shall be identified by source.
(2) For capital and operating subsidies, estimated encumbrances
and revenues for the current year; and for state operations,
estimated expenditures for the current year. The department shall use
the same format as is required for prior year expenditures pursuant
to paragraph (1).
(3) For the budget year and the nine following fiscal years,
proposed encumbrances for capital and operating subsidies and costs
shall be reported in the same format as is required for the prior
year's expenditures. For state operations, proposed expenditures for
the budget year shall be reported.
(4) The identification and cost of capital facilities necessary to
enhance competitiveness of rail passenger services, including, for
each intercity route, a list of at least the three highest priority
capital improvement projects, with cost estimates and a funding plan.
(5) A performance evaluation of all services in operation for the
two prior years, including performance trends, potential for
efficiency and effectiveness, possible improvements, and strategies
to achieve that potential. This shall include an evaluation of all
feeder bus services, using, among other things, criteria based on
ridership levels, break-even points, and levels of growth in service
utilization. The number of daily feeder bus runs, if any, that failed
to carry even one passenger shall be identified.
(6) A recommendation of a level of and program for services over a
10-year period, including a list of service enhancements on existing
and additional routes, with funding and priority recommendations.
This shall include identification of feeder bus service improvements
and a management and operating plan for achieving these improvements.
(7) An evaluation of reports by regional planning agencies and
county transportation commissions on commuter service alternatives in
their regions, including presentation of their recommendations.
(8) A map showing all existing intercity and commuter passenger
rail routes and services, all proposed intercity and commuter
passenger rail routes and services, and all intercity and commuter
passenger rail routes and services that are the subject of
feasibility studies.
(9) A report on the expenditure of marketing activities funds for
purchases of media advertising of rail passenger services.
This report shall be prepared in consultation with the Public
Utilities Commission and the National Rail Passenger Corporation. The
department may consult with other agencies, organizations, and
persons with expertise. The department shall employ realistic
assumptions, using Public Utilities Commission cost data whenever
possible, with respect to the level of services it can provide and
the cost of these services when developing the program.
(10) A discussion of the department's overall marketing strategy
as it relates to the intercity rail passenger service, including
feeder bus service, and a report on the expenditure of marketing
activities funds for purchases of media advertising of rail passenger
services.
(11) A discussion of fare policies and practices, including all of
the following:
(A) The relationship of fare policies to ridership and yield,
including the impact of (A) a variety of regular fares, including
fares such as midweek and other off-peak discounts, (B) discount fare
blackouts during certain holiday travel periods on yield and
ridership, and (C) discount fares for small groups traveling
together.
(B) Lightly traveled route segments where current fares are too
high for the demand, and where ridership or yield, or both, would
increase with lower fares.
(C) A potential fare policy that would maximize both ridership and
yield.
(D) A summary of discussions with Amtrak on the subject of fares.
(c) The freight rail element shall contain all of the following:
(1) Environmental aspects, which shall include air quality, land
use, and community impacts.
(2) Financing issues, which shall include a means to obtain
federal and state funding.
(3) Rail issues, which shall include regional, intrastate, and
interstate issues.
(4) Intermodal connections, which shall include seaports and
intermodal terminals.
(5) Current system deficiencies.
(6) Service objectives, such as improving efficiency,
accessibility, and safety.
(7) New technology, which shall include logistics and process
improvement.
(8) Light density rail line analyses, which shall include traffic
density, track characteristics, project selection criteria, and
benefit-cost criteria.
14036.1. As part of its ongoing marketing activities to increase
the utilization and performance of rail and bus services operated
pursuant to this article, the department may seek to increase
awareness of these services on the part of students attending public
and private colleges and universities located in cities served by
these trains and feeder buses. The department, in cooperation with
public college and university systems, may develop suitable materials
for regular distribution to students at the beginning of academic
terms. The department may also work with the National Railroad
Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to implement student multiride
discount ticketing programs designed for home to college trips,
similar to programs already implemented in other states by Amtrak and
the state agency responsible for intercity rail passenger service.
The Legislature finds that college students, while potentially a
natural market for these public transportation services, are
frequently unaware of these services. Marketing activities should
recognize the highly transient nature of college students and the
need to continuously publicize available services using inexpensive
media where appropriate.
The department shall report on its marketing activities, including
activities conducted pursuant to this section, in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036.
14036.2. The department shall identify in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036, the three most
decrepit intercity rail passenger stations in the state used by
trains operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation
(Amtrak). The department shall also identify those rail passenger
stations which require upgraded parking facilities to encourage
automobile drivers to utilize available rail passenger service.
14036.3. The department shall consider and estimate the cost of
each of the following types of service improvements to the San
Joaquin Amtrak route, and report its findings in the rail passenger
development plan submitted in 1991 pursuant to Section 14036:
(a) Checked baggage service:
In order to better serve the elderly, disabled, and passengers
traveling with small children, the department shall investigate the
possibility of Amtrak offering this type of passenger convenience on
at least one of the three daily roundtrips, including the least
patronized roundtrip where enroute delays due to baggage handling
would be most absorbable. Particular consideration should be given to
offering baggage service to major stations, including off-line
staffed Amtrak stations served by feeder buses, if service to all
staffed stations cannot be implemented immediately. The department
shall also consider funding capital needs at stations necessary to
offer baggage service from funds available pursuant to Section 14037.
(b) Custom class service:
In order to provide a higher level of service to passengers
desiring a guaranteed, reserved seat, the department shall
investigate implementation of custom class service on the San Joaquin
route, similar to the enhanced service offered as an option on the
Amtrak San Diegan route. If custom class service is offered, due
consideration should be given to similar higher levels of service on
major feeder bus routes, as warranted. The department shall also
investigate the potential availability of cellular telephone service
on this route.
(c) Dining service:
The department shall investigate steps that may need to be taken
to restore quality dining car service, offering full, hot meals,
substantially similar to the service offered on this route prior to
the removal of high-level cars in December of 1989.
14036.4. The department shall report in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036 on the amount of
funds available to the state under the federal rail-highway crossings
program (23 U.S.C. Sec. 130), including the cash balance, funds
encumbered during the last year, and amounts anticipated to be
received during the subsequent year. The plan shall also discuss any
issues relating to the department's ability to spend these federal
funds on a timely basis.
14036.5. (a) As part of its marketing activities in support of
intercity rail services and associated feeder bus services, the
department shall provide for complete train and bus schedule
information, for services funded or otherwise coordinated by the
department, to be published in existing, comprehensive nationwide
transportation schedule publications for bus and rail services. The
department is not required to provide for publication of the schedule
information specified in subdivision (a) if complete bus and train
schedules are published by the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) in its nationwide timetable (Form A) in addition
to the department's own California timetable.
14036.6. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Rail passes offering unlimited travel on certain passenger
rail and associated transit services for a specified period of time
and a fixed price have been a success in Europe, Canada, and Alaska.
(2) A "California Pass," valid on state-funded intercity and
commuter rail lines, state-funded feeder buses, and major local
transit systems would be a major benefit to tourism, while at the
same time providing a package of transportation options which do not
worsen highway congestion.
(3) Use of a single payment mechanism makes existing mass
transportation services easier to use, by eliminating the need for
familiarity with multiple complex tariffs and the need for correct
change.
(b) The department shall investigate, and if feasible implement, a
"California Pass" which would be valid, to the extent possible, for
all of the following transportation services:
(1) State-funded intercity rail services in the San Diego-Los
Angeles, Los Angeles-Santa Barbara, Los Angeles-Fresno-bay
area/Sacramento, and Sacramento-bay area rail corridors.
(2) State-funded feeder buses operated in conjunction with the
intercity rail services, including, but not limited to, the service
operated between Merced and Yosemite National Park for the San
Joaquin trains.
(3) Commuter rail services.
(4) Public transit services.
(5) Other transportation services.
(c) The department shall consider offering passes valid for travel
over a specified consecutive number of days, as well as so-called
"flexi-passes" valid for a specified number of days within a longer
period of time. In addition, the department shall develop a procedure
for distributing pass revenues to each participating operating
entity, and for marketing the pass to prospective users.
(d) Prior to implementing a "California Pass" program, the
department shall consult with each participating operating entity.
The department shall not adopt procedures for the distribution of
pass revenues without first submitting the proposed procedures to
each affected operating entity.
(e) Nothing in this section precludes the department from
implementing, as an interim measure, any marketing device to increase
ridership on state-funded rail and bus services.
14036.7. The department shall give high priority to the development
of direct linkages between intercity rail passenger services and
airports served by commercial airlines and to developing feeder bus
linkages connecting intercity rail services and airports. The
department shall coordinate its provision of feeder bus service with
local and regional bus and rail services to avoid duplication of
service. The department shall include in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036, a report on the
status of all existing intercity rail station facilities that serve
airports directly and indirectly and on the department's activities
in improving other linkages between rail service and airports. The
department shall, to the extent feasible, utilize alternative-fuel
buses for its feeder bus service.
14036.8. (a) The department, using existing rail marketing funds,
shall fully participate in the railroad public safety awareness
program known as "Operation Lifesaver." The department shall work
with school officials to develop a school assembly program designed
to enhance student awareness of the dangers of trespassing on
railroad property, and the operating characteristics of trains.
Initially, the school assembly program shall be implemented on the
route of the department-sponsored Capitol Corridor. School officials
shall cooperate with the department to identify the schools most
affected by the operation of higher speed passenger trains.
(b) The department shall provide appropriate signs to be posted on
or adjacent to railroad property within 1,000 feet of schools where
upgrading of railroad lines has resulted in an increase of operating
speeds of passenger trains on those lines by 20 mph or more on or
after December 1, 1991. The signs shall be designed to communicate
both in words and in pictures, using internationally recognized
symbols, to warn of train-related hazards. The signs shall be posted
on the school side of the railroad property at a site to be
determined by school officials and railroad representatives. At the
request of the department, a railroad that owns the property
specified in this subdivision shall install and maintain the signs.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a "school" is any public
school that maintains classes in kindergarten or of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
(d) The installation or maintenance of signs pursuant to this
section shall not in any way affect the liability of the state or any
of its agencies, officers, or employees, or of the owner of the
railroad right-of-way, on account of personal injury or property
damage alleged to have been caused, in whole or in part, by a sign,
or the installation or maintenance of a sign, installed and
maintained pursuant to this section.
14036.9. The California Coast Passenger Rail Corridor consists of
the Counties of Los Angeles, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San
Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and
Ventura.
14037. Funds which are available to the department for rail and bus
operations may be used by the department for maintenance of capital
facilities related to rail or bus services provided, or for minor
capital improvement projects related to rail and bus services
provided, if the department determines that this use of funds would
improve the operation of a service. For the purposes of this section,
a project shall be determined to be a "minor capital improvement
project" on the same basis that a project is determined to be a
"minor highway project" by the commission.
14038. (a) The department may purchase, sell, and lease rail
passenger cars and locomotives and other self-propelled rail
vehicles.
(b) The department may acquire, lease, design, construct, and
improve track lines and related facilities, and the department may
contract with the private sector for the design, improvement, or
construction of track lines and related facilities. If a railroad
corporation refuses to allow improvements to tracks and related
facilities, the Public Utilities Commission shall, within 60 days
after application by the department, order the institution of those
improvements, if it finds that the improvements are necessary to the
safety of the railroad corporation's employees, passengers,
customers, and the public, and the operating efficiency of the
service for which they are requested.
(c) Any facility or equipment acquired or improved by any entity
with funds made available to it pursuant to this section shall become
the property of that entity at the time and under the conditions as
are agreed upon by the department in the agreement that makes the
funds available to the entity. Section 10295 of the Public Contract
Code does not apply to any agreement entered into pursuant to this
section.
(d) The department shall deposit in the Passenger Equipment
Acquisition Fund, for expenditure pursuant to Section 14066, the net
proceeds from the sale of rail passenger cars and locomotives and
other self-propelled rail vehicles.
14038.1. Rail passenger equipment owned by the department and
operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) in a
state-supported rail service shall prominently display the
department's logo and the words "California Department of
Transportation," or other appropriate identification, as determined
by the department.
14038.2. (a) The department may acquire by purchase, lease, or
eminent domain, any property necessary for the development and
implementation of the state's rail passenger program. The power of
eminent domain shall be exercised in accordance with Title 7
(commencing with Section 1230.010) of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
to give significance and importance to the state rail passenger
program equal to that of the state highway program, and to that end,
to provide the department with the appropriate powers.
(c) To the extent that the activities authorized by subdivision
(a) exceed the capacity of the department's existing work force, the
department may contract with qualified individuals or firms for
engineering, surveying, and related technical services in exercising
its authority pursuant to subdivision (a).
14038.3. The department may, if requested by the Alameda Corridor
Transportation Authority, exercise the power of eminent domain to
acquire, in the name and for the use of, the authority, real property
in Los Angeles County that is owned by a railroad corporation and
that is necessary, incidental, or convenient for the construction of
the Alameda Corridor project.
14038.5. (a) The department may, at the request of a transportation
planning agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan
transit development board, and subject to approval of the commission,
acquire abandoned or proposed to be abandoned rail freight lines
which have the potential of being rebuilt into joint freight and
passenger rail transit lines.
(b) The department may, if requested by a transportation planning
agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan transit
development board, develop plans and specifications for the
conversion of abandoned or proposed to be abandoned rail lines into
freight and passenger rail transit routes. The department may
contract with the private sector to develop these plans and
specifications.
(c) The department may, if requested by a regional planning
agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan transit
development board, investigate and prepare procedures, subject to
Public Utilities Commission approval, to reinstate rail passenger
services in the requesting entity's jurisdiction.
14039. The department shall have no authority to operate railroads.
14040. The department may provide by contract with a railroad
corporation that any tracks or signaling devices constructed,
improved, repaired, or acquired with funds made available by the
state on property owned or leased by the railroad corporation shall
become the property of the railroad corporation.
14041. The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority is encouraged
to coordinate with local private industry councils in service
delivery areas to develop training programs and employment
opportunities under the federal Job Training Partnership Act (29
U.S.C. Sec. 1501 et seq.) directly related to the Alameda Corridor
project and to pursue other appropriate employment and training
funding sources.
14050. State highway projects to be included in the program of
proposed projects report submitted to the United States Secretary of
Transportation pursuant to Section 105 of Title 23 of the United
States Code shall be those included in the five-year program for the
expenditure of state transportation funds as set forth in the state
transportation improvement program after July 1, 1979.
14051. (a) At the commencement of each regular session of the
Legislature, the department shall submit to the Legislature a report
summarizing information required under, and programs authorized by,
Sections 118.6, 216, and 820 of, and Article 3.5 (commencing with
Section 156) of Chapter 1 of Division 1 of, the Streets and Highways
Code.
(b) Information on other program activities may be included in the
biennial report at the discretion of the department.
(c) The report required by this section shall also include all of
the following:
(1) An evaluation of significant air transportation issues
anticipated to be of public concern during the five-year period
commencing January 1 of the year preceding the date for submission of
the report and beyond.
(2) Recommended modifications to state and federal law, where
appropriate.
(3) An overview of necessary future investments in the development
and maintenance of the state's air transportation system.
(4) An analysis of the department's organizational and staff needs
relative to its air transportation responsibilities.
(5) A review of state aeronautics policy.
In preparing the portion of the report required by this
subdivision, the department shall fully consider and incorporate air
transportation needs as identified by local government and the
private sector, as well as the need to fully integrate air
transportation issues and concerns into the mission of the
department.
(d) The report required by this section shall also include all of
the following:
(1) The status of alternative technologies in transportation,
including, but not limited to, the efforts made in research
development. The alternative technologies reported on shall seek to
improve public safety, energy efficiency, and air quality.
(2) Alternatives to fossil fuels to power transportation devices,
including alternative methods of propulsion of motor vehicles.
14052. (a) The department shall prepare an inventory of all
state-owned bridges that are required to be strengthened or replaced
in order to meet seismic safety standards which are in effect on
January 1, 1991. For each bridge listed in the inventory, the
department shall determine each of the following:
(1) The earliest date when all necessary engineering work can be
completed and construction can be started.
(2) An estimate of the cost of retrofitting or replacing the
bridge to conform to the applicable seismic safety standards.
(b) (1) The department shall prepare a multiyear plan and schedule
for completing the retrofitting or replacement of all of the bridges
identified pursuant to subdivision (a). The schedule shall be based
upon the department's estimates of the shortest possible time to
perform the work.
(2) The plan shall include the department's estimate of the annual
cost and the total cost of carrying out the plan.
(3) The department shall submit the plan and schedule, together
with the cost estimates, to the Governor and the Legislature not
later than January 1, 1991.
(c) The Legislature intends to appropriate to the department the
funds necessary to carry out subdivisions (a) and (b).
14030. The powers and duties of the department shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following activities:
(a) Supporting the commission in coordinating and developing, in
cooperation with local and regional entities, comprehensive balanced
transportation planning and policy for the movement of people and
goods within the state.
(b) Coordinating and assisting, upon request of, the various
public and private transportation entities in strengthening their
development and operation of balanced integrated mass transportation,
highway, aviation, maritime, railroad, and other transportation
facilities and services in support of statewide and regional goals.
(c) Developing, in cooperation with local and regional
transportation entities, the full potential of all resources and
opportunities which are now, and may become, available to the state
and to regional and local agencies for meeting California's
transportation needs, as provided by statutes and, in particular,
maximizing the amount of federal funds which may be available to the
state and increasing the efficiency by which such funds are utilized.
(d) Planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining
those transportation systems which the Legislature has made, or may
make, the responsibility of the department; provided that the
department is not authorized to assume the functions of project
planning, designing, constructing, operating, or maintaining maritime
or aviation facilities without express prior approval of the
Legislature with the exception of those aviation functions which have
been designated for the department in the Public Utilities Code.
(e) Coordinating and developing transportation research projects
of statewide interest.
(f) Exercising such other functions, powers, and duties as are or
may be provided for by law.
(g) With the Department of Housing and Community Development,
investigating and reporting to the Secretary of the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency upon the consistency between state,
local, and federal housing plans and programs and state, local, and
federal transportation plans and programs.
14031. The Governor, the secretary, and the department may enter
into such agreements, execute such documents, establish and manage
such accounts and deposits, and take any other action that may be
appropriate, in accordance with federal law and rules and
regulations, to receive and expend funds from the federal government
in connection with mass transportation programs and projects for
which federal funds are available.
The department may undertake mass transportation research,
development, and demonstration projects and perform technical studies
related thereto, in accordance with applicable state or federal
laws.
14031.5. (a) The Mass Transit Revolving Account is hereby created
in the State Transportation Fund. The sum of one million dollars
($1,000,000) is hereby transferred from the Transportation Planning
and Development Account to the Mass Transit Revolving Account and
appropriated to the department for expenditure for effectuating the
purposes of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, as amended.
(b) Allocations may be made by the department from the Mass
Transit Revolving Account to an applicant for the advance purchase of
vehicles for programs reimbursable from the funds available from the
Urban Mass Transportation Act, as amended, when such advance
purchase will eliminate unnecessary delays in the procurement,
purchase, and delivery of the vehicles.
(c) The department shall keep a record of all allocations pursuant
to subdivision (b) and the account shall be reimbursed in full from
the federal funds and local funds.
(d) The provisions of this section shall only be utilized during
those fiscal years in which federal funds are available under the
Urban Mass Transportation Act, as amended.
14031.6. (a) The Governor shall include in the Budget Bill an
appropriation from the Transportation Planning and Development
Account in the State Transportation Fund or from other appropriate
sources to subsidize the operating costs of commuter and intercity
passenger services pursuant to Section 14035 and an appropriation for
capital outlay improvements to, and rolling stock for, intercity
routes pursuant to Section 14038.
(b) The department shall request funding for capital improvements
to commuter routes to which it provides subsidies through the transit
capital improvement process established by Section 99317 of the
Public Utilities Code.
(c) The department shall request funding for capital improvements
and rolling stock for intercity rail passenger routes pursuant to
Sections 14035 and 14038 through the transit capital improvement
process established by the Public Utilities Code.
(d) This section does not apply to funds made available from
general obligation bonds issued for purposes of Section 164.55 of the
Streets and Highways Code.
14031.7. Prior to any allocation pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 14031. 6, for any recommended new service, the department
shall submit a report to the commission consisting of the following:
(a) The speeds and other service attributes needed.
(b) Needed facilities and manpower specifications.
(c) The avoidable costs of direct services joint-use arrangements,
capital facilities, and other necessary arrangements.
(d) An estimate of total costs for proposed services.
(e) An inventory and evaluation of other existing transportation
services in the corridor.
(f) The market potential encompassing modal diversion and
operating revenues.
(g) For any commuter service, the compatibility of the service
with the affected regional transportation plan.
During the preparation of this report, the department shall draw
upon the resources of the Public Utilities Commission and any other
available resource. This report shall become a part of the department'
s proposed state transportation improvement program.
14031.8. (a) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing
shall establish, through an annual budget process, the level of state
funding available for the operation of intercity passenger rail
service in each corridor.
(b) Where applicable, operating funds shall be allocated by the
secretary to the joint powers board in accordance with an interagency
agreement which includes mutually agreed-upon rail services. Funds
for the administration and marketing of services, as appropriate,
shall also be transferred by the secretary to the joint powers board,
subject to the terms of the interagency agreement.
(c) The joint powers board or local or regional entities may
augment state-provided resources to expand intercity passenger rail
services, or to address funding shortfalls in achieving agreed-upon
performance standards.
(d) The department may provide any support services as may be
mutually agreed upon by the board and the department.
(e) Operating costs shall be controlled by dealing with, at a
minimum, the current Amtrak cost allocation formula and the ability
to contract out to Amtrak or other rail operators as a part of
federal legislation dealing with Amtrak reauthorization.
(f) Not later than December 31, 1997, the secretary shall
establish a set of uniform performance standards for all corridors
and operators to control cost and improve efficiency.
14032. The department shall provide reports and analyses for the
commission on all of the following:
(a) The review and evaluation of regional transportation plans and
improvement programs for the identification of conflicts between
such plans and programs.
(b) The identification and analysis of current and potential
future issues of importance to transportation within the state.
(c) The preparation of an annual and of a five-year estimate of
all federal and state funds available to each region for
transportation improvements.
(d) The preparation of special studies as requested by the
commission.
(e) Other matters as requested by the commission.
14032.5. The department may assist regional transportation planning
agencies with the preparation of regional transportation plans and
improvement programs by providing technical services and other
assistance as determined by the director and the transportation
planning agency as necessary for the timely and comprehensive
discharge of the responsibilities of the transportation planning
agency.
14032.6. The department shall, within existing resources, collect,
analyze, and summarize highway congestion data and make it available
upon request to California regional transportation planning agencies,
congestion management agencies, and transit agencies.
14032.7. The department shall publish annually a list of major new
facility projects, exclusive public mass transit guideway projects,
and operational improvement projects that are beyond the five-year
program for the expenditure of state transportation funds, as set
forth in the state transportation improvement program.
The list shall be made available to the commission, each
transportation planning agency, and each county transportation
commission not later than January 10th of each year. Not later than
April 1st of each year, every transportation planning agency may
comment on the projects contained in the list and submit such
comments to the commission.
After taking into consideration the department's list and the
comments submitted by the transportation planning agencies, the
commission shall review the list and may make any changes, including
additions or deletions, to the list. The commission shall adopt the
list on or before July 1st of each year.
On January 1, 1981, and quarterly thereafter, the department shall
provide the report concerning the project development schedule and
the advertising schedule as required pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter
1060 of the Statutes of 1979 to each transportation planning agency
and each county transportation commission.
14034. (a) During the planning and development of any proposed
commuter rail service, the department shall consult with the county
transportation commission and the transportation planning agency
affected by any such proposal.
(b) County transportation commissions and transportation planning
agencies may review and comment during a public hearing on the
priority list specified in Section 14538.
(c) Prior to any allocation pursuant to Section 14031.6, county
transportation commissions and transportation planning agencies shall
be notified at least 20 days before any such allocation is
considered by the commission at a public hearing.
14035. (a) The department may enter into contracts with the
National Railroad Passenger Corporation under Section 403(b) of the
Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 to provide commuter and intercity
passenger rail services. The contracts may include, but are not
limited to, the extension of intercity passenger rail services or the
upgrading of commuter rail services.
(b) The department may contract with railroad corporations for the
use of tracks and other facilities and the provision of passenger
services on terms and conditions as the parties may agree.
(c) The department may construct, acquire, or lease, and improve
and operate, rail passenger terminals and related facilities that
provide intermodal passenger services along the following corridors:
the San Diego-Los Angeles-Santa Barbara corridor, the San
Francisco-San Jose-Monterey corridor, the Los Angeles-Riverside-San
Bernardino-Calexico corridor, the San Jose-Oakland-Sacramento-Reno
corridor, the Los
Angeles-Bakersfield-Fresno-Stockton-Sacramento-Oakland corridor, and
the Los Angeles-Santa Barbara-Oakland-Sacramento-Redding corridor.
(d) The department may enter into a contract with the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation to provide additional trains over the
San Joaquin route running between Bakersfield and Oakland and to
extend the existing route to Sacramento.
(e) The Transportation Agency of Monterey County may be a party to
any contract entered into under this section between the department
and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for passenger rail
service along the San Francisco-San Jose-Monterey corridor.
14035.1. Commuter rail service shall be provided to the communities
between San Jose and Gilroy if the conditions specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 14035.4 are completed. Upon the completion
of those conditions, the powers and duties of the Department of
Transportation with respect to the San Francisco Peninsula commuter
rail service shall apply to the San Jose-Gilroy segment.
14035.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
department adopt and implement the following policies applicable to
the operation of feeder bus service provided by the department to and
from rail terminals :
(1) Comprehensive marketing strategies to promote, in a
cost-effective manner, ridership on intercity rail and feeder bus
routes, including notification to the public of new routes and
services and modifications to schedules affecting existing routes and
services.
(2) Marketing new routes and services prior to the first day of
service to avoid low ridership, similar to the marketing approach
taken by major airlines with respect to new services.
(3) Implementation of feeder bus services based on evaluations of
ridership needs and estimated break-even points. For this purpose,
break-even points would be determined by conceptually assigning to a
bus service all estimated revenue generated by a feeder bus passenger
on the bus and train portions of a trip, and routes that fail to
reach break-even points within a reasonable time period would be
restructured or discontinued.
(4) Monitoring of feeder bus services to ensure that routes are
operated, generally and individually, in a cost-effective manner,
that they continue to respond to ridership needs, that bus stops are
adequately signed and are located near public telephones, and that
they promote and enhance a growing interest in the state's intercity
rail program.
(b) If federal rural transit funds are available to the department
for intercity services, the department shall use those funds in
support of appropriate intercity feeder bus services that are
coordinated to meet intercity rail services at train stations and
associated capital facilities.
14035.3. The department may request a railroad corporation under
contractual obligation to the department for services to institute
operating efficiencies, other than with respect to the size of
operating crews, in connection with the service under contract. The
railroad corporation shall respond to the department's request within
30 days after the initial request. In the event of a failure to
respond, or refusal by the railroad corporation to effect those
operating efficiencies, the Public Utilities Commission, within 60
days after application by the department, shall order the institution
of operating efficiencies, if it finds, after a public hearing, that
the efficiencies are necessary for the preservation of safety, for
the continuation of the service, or for the expansion of service.
14035.4. The department shall request the involvement and
cooperation of affected local agencies and public and private
passenger carriers in decisions relative to the acquisition,
development, and operation of intermodal passenger facilities.
14035.5. The department may enter into contracts with common
carriers, as defined by Section 211 of the Public Utilities Code, or
with any corporation, partnership, or person to provide feeder
services to and from rail passenger terminals or intercity bus
transportation.
In contracting for intercity bus transportation, the department
may fund fixed route, scheduled services which primarily provide
service between nonurbanized communities and passenger air terminals
with 1980 volumes of 1,000,000 passengers or less. "Nonurbanized
community" means any city or territory which does not meet the
criteria for an "urbanized area," as defined by the Bureau of Census
of the United States Department of Commerce on page 66185 in Number
195 of Volume 45 of the Federal Register for October 6, 1980.
The department may construct, acquire or lease, improve, and
operate bus passenger terminals and related facilities which provide
intermodal passenger services.
14035.55. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Intercity passenger bus service provided by intercity bus
companies on a regular-route basis is the only public mass
transportation service in the state to provide surface transportation
without public subsidy.
(2) The long-term maintenance of private sector intercity
passenger service is of vital importance to the state.
(3) Intercity bus companies serve many communities throughout
California, providing a network of connection points without equal by
any other mode of public or private transportation.
(b) To the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall
encourage Amtrak and motor carriers of passengers to do both of the
following:
(1) Combine or package their respective services and facilities to
the public as a means of improving services to the public.
(2) Coordinate schedules, routes, rates, reservations, and
ticketing to provide for enhanced intermodal surface transportation.
(c) Except as authorized under subdivisions (e) and (f), the
department may provide funding to Amtrak for the purpose of entering
into a contract with a motor carrier of passengers for the intercity
transportation of passengers by motor carrier over regular routes
only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The motor carrier is not a public recipient of governmental
assistance, as defined in Section 13902(b)(8)(A) of Title 49 of the
United States Code, other than a recipient of funds under Section
5311(f) of that title and code. This paragraph does not apply if a
local public motor carrier proposes to serve passengers only within
its service area.
(2) Service is provided only for passengers on trips where the
passengers have had prior movement by rail or will have subsequent
movement by rail, evidenced by a combination rail and bus one-way or
roundtrip ticket, or service is also provided on State Highway Route
50 between the City of Sacramento and the City of South Lake Tahoe
and intermediate points or on State Highway Route 5 between the
community of Lebec in Kern County and the City of Santa Clarita for
passengers solely by bus if no other bus service is provided by a
private intercity bus company.
(3) Vehicles of the motor carrier, when used to transport
passengers pursuant to paragraph (2), are used exclusively for that
purpose.
(4) The motor carrier is registered with the United States
Department of Transportation (DOT) and operates in compliance with
the federal motor carrier safety regulations, and provides service
that is accessible to persons with disabilities in compliance with
applicable DOT regulations pertaining to Amtrak services, in
accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-336).
(d) The department shall incorporate the conditions specified in
subdivision (c) into state-supported passenger rail feeder bus
service agreements between Amtrak and motor carriers of passengers.
The bus service agreements shall also provide that a breach of those
conditions shall be grounds for termination of the agreements.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) and (d), the department may
provide funding to Amtrak for the purpose of entering into a contract
with a motor carrier of passengers to transport Amtrak passengers on
buses operated on a route, if the buses are operated by the motor
carrier as part of a regularly scheduled, daily bus service that has
been operating consecutively without an Amtrak contract for 12 months
immediately prior to contracting with Amtrak.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) and (d), or any other
provision of law, the department may enter into a contract, either
directly with a public motor carrier in the County of Monterey, or
indirectly with that carrier through a contract with Amtrak, to
provide mixed-mode feeder bus service on the San Jose-Gilroy-Monterey
route. The contract with a public motor carrier may only be entered
into if the department determines that there is no private motor
carrier providing scheduled bus service on the San
Jose-Gilroy-Monterey route. However, the contract shall be
terminated, within 120 days' notice to the public motor carrier, if a
private motor carrier again operates a scheduled service on the San
Jose-Gilroy-Monterey route.
(g) Pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the department
may amend its contract with Amtrak to add a term to provide bus
service to passengers traveling solely by bus on the Sacramento-South
Lake Tahoe route and between Lebec and Santa Clarita on the
Bakersfield-Santa Clarita route. A contract amendment with Amtrak may
only be entered into if the department determines that there is no
private motor carrier providing scheduled bus service on the route
that is the subject of the contract amendment. However, the
applicable contract amendment shall be terminated, within 120 days'
notice to Amtrak, if a private carrier again operates a scheduled bus
service on the Sacramento-South Lake Tahoe route, or within 60 days'
notice to Amtrak, if a private carrier again operates a scheduled
bus service between Lebec and Santa Clarita on the Bakersfield-Santa
Clarita route.
(h) The department shall undertake a two-year study of patronage
on the bus service operated between the City of Sacramento and the
City of South Lake Tahoe and intermediate points pursuant to
subdivision (g), identifying the number of passengers who are
transferring to an Amtrak rail service and those who are traveling
solely on the bus service. The study shall identify the revenue from
each category of passengers and include other pertinent ridership
information. The report shall be submitted to the transportation
policy committees of the Legislature no later than March 1, 2010.
(i) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Amtrak" means the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Transportation or the
department's successor with respect to providing funds to subsidize
Amtrak service.
(3) "Motor carrier of passengers" means a person or entity
providing motor vehicle transportation of passengers for
compensation.
(4) "Mixed-mode feeder bus service" means bus service carrying
both passengers connecting to or from a rail service and passengers
only using the bus service.
14035.57. The department shall encourage the Santa Cruz
Metropolitan Transit District, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority, Amtrak, and any private motor carrier of passengers that
operates regular service on the route described in subdivision (a) of
Section 14035.56 to develop and execute a memorandum of
understanding that addresses the long-term solutions to the
transportation needs of passengers traveling by bus between the City
of Santa Cruz and the City of San Jose on service operated
substantially on State Highway Route 17. The memorandum shall address
the necessary funding and capital needs to provide this public
transit service, and other operational requirements for additional
public transit service on this route. The memorandum shall also
address ways that Amtrak, local public transit operators, and local
private sector motor carriers of passengers may combine or package
their respective services and facilities to the public as a means of
improving services to the public.
14035.65. In developing or funding intermodal passenger service
facilities, the department shall give full consideration to existing
and projected operational requirements of all participating passenger
carriers.
In setting fees for facility use assessed on passenger carriers,
the department shall give fair and equitable treatment to all
transportation carriers regardless of mode.
14035.7. Funds allocated for commuter rail purposes shall be
consistent with the regional transportation plan and the regional
transportation improvement program for the region in which they will
be expended, unless a finding specified in Section 14530 is made by
the commission.
14035.9. The department shall in conjunction with the Department of
Corrections evaluate the addition of stations or stops on existing
bus or rail routes, or the addition of new services, which improve
transportation access for visitors to prisons. The department shall
give reasonable priority to stations, stops, and routes which serve
visitors to prisons, particularly when alternative public
transportation is minimal or nonexistent.
Whenever possible, the department and the Department of
Corrections shall seek to implement these services in conjunction
with the opening of new prison facilities.
The Department of Corrections shall publicize the availability of
services provided by the department under this section.
14036. (a) The department shall prepare a 10-year State Rail Plan
biennially for submission to the Legislature, the Governor, the
Public Utilities Commission, and the California Transportation
Commission. The plan shall be submitted to the California
Transportation Commission on or before October 1, 1995, and on or
before October 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, for its advice
and consent, and to the Legislature, the Governor, and the Public
Utilities Commission by the following March 1. The plan shall consist
of a passenger rail element and a freight rail element.
(b) The passenger rail element shall contain all of the following:
(1) For capital and operating subsidies and costs, all actual
encumbrances for the prior two fiscal years; and for state
operations, all actual expenditures for the prior two fiscal years.
All revenues shall be identified by source.
(2) For capital and operating subsidies, estimated encumbrances
and revenues for the current year; and for state operations,
estimated expenditures for the current year. The department shall use
the same format as is required for prior year expenditures pursuant
to paragraph (1).
(3) For the budget year and the nine following fiscal years,
proposed encumbrances for capital and operating subsidies and costs
shall be reported in the same format as is required for the prior
year's expenditures. For state operations, proposed expenditures for
the budget year shall be reported.
(4) The identification and cost of capital facilities necessary to
enhance competitiveness of rail passenger services, including, for
each intercity route, a list of at least the three highest priority
capital improvement projects, with cost estimates and a funding plan.
(5) A performance evaluation of all services in operation for the
two prior years, including performance trends, potential for
efficiency and effectiveness, possible improvements, and strategies
to achieve that potential. This shall include an evaluation of all
feeder bus services, using, among other things, criteria based on
ridership levels, break-even points, and levels of growth in service
utilization. The number of daily feeder bus runs, if any, that failed
to carry even one passenger shall be identified.
(6) A recommendation of a level of and program for services over a
10-year period, including a list of service enhancements on existing
and additional routes, with funding and priority recommendations.
This shall include identification of feeder bus service improvements
and a management and operating plan for achieving these improvements.
(7) An evaluation of reports by regional planning agencies and
county transportation commissions on commuter service alternatives in
their regions, including presentation of their recommendations.
(8) A map showing all existing intercity and commuter passenger
rail routes and services, all proposed intercity and commuter
passenger rail routes and services, and all intercity and commuter
passenger rail routes and services that are the subject of
feasibility studies.
(9) A report on the expenditure of marketing activities funds for
purchases of media advertising of rail passenger services.
This report shall be prepared in consultation with the Public
Utilities Commission and the National Rail Passenger Corporation. The
department may consult with other agencies, organizations, and
persons with expertise. The department shall employ realistic
assumptions, using Public Utilities Commission cost data whenever
possible, with respect to the level of services it can provide and
the cost of these services when developing the program.
(10) A discussion of the department's overall marketing strategy
as it relates to the intercity rail passenger service, including
feeder bus service, and a report on the expenditure of marketing
activities funds for purchases of media advertising of rail passenger
services.
(11) A discussion of fare policies and practices, including all of
the following:
(A) The relationship of fare policies to ridership and yield,
including the impact of (A) a variety of regular fares, including
fares such as midweek and other off-peak discounts, (B) discount fare
blackouts during certain holiday travel periods on yield and
ridership, and (C) discount fares for small groups traveling
together.
(B) Lightly traveled route segments where current fares are too
high for the demand, and where ridership or yield, or both, would
increase with lower fares.
(C) A potential fare policy that would maximize both ridership and
yield.
(D) A summary of discussions with Amtrak on the subject of fares.
(c) The freight rail element shall contain all of the following:
(1) Environmental aspects, which shall include air quality, land
use, and community impacts.
(2) Financing issues, which shall include a means to obtain
federal and state funding.
(3) Rail issues, which shall include regional, intrastate, and
interstate issues.
(4) Intermodal connections, which shall include seaports and
intermodal terminals.
(5) Current system deficiencies.
(6) Service objectives, such as improving efficiency,
accessibility, and safety.
(7) New technology, which shall include logistics and process
improvement.
(8) Light density rail line analyses, which shall include traffic
density, track characteristics, project selection criteria, and
benefit-cost criteria.
14036.1. As part of its ongoing marketing activities to increase
the utilization and performance of rail and bus services operated
pursuant to this article, the department may seek to increase
awareness of these services on the part of students attending public
and private colleges and universities located in cities served by
these trains and feeder buses. The department, in cooperation with
public college and university systems, may develop suitable materials
for regular distribution to students at the beginning of academic
terms. The department may also work with the National Railroad
Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to implement student multiride
discount ticketing programs designed for home to college trips,
similar to programs already implemented in other states by Amtrak and
the state agency responsible for intercity rail passenger service.
The Legislature finds that college students, while potentially a
natural market for these public transportation services, are
frequently unaware of these services. Marketing activities should
recognize the highly transient nature of college students and the
need to continuously publicize available services using inexpensive
media where appropriate.
The department shall report on its marketing activities, including
activities conducted pursuant to this section, in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036.
14036.2. The department shall identify in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036, the three most
decrepit intercity rail passenger stations in the state used by
trains operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation
(Amtrak). The department shall also identify those rail passenger
stations which require upgraded parking facilities to encourage
automobile drivers to utilize available rail passenger service.
14036.3. The department shall consider and estimate the cost of
each of the following types of service improvements to the San
Joaquin Amtrak route, and report its findings in the rail passenger
development plan submitted in 1991 pursuant to Section 14036:
(a) Checked baggage service:
In order to better serve the elderly, disabled, and passengers
traveling with small children, the department shall investigate the
possibility of Amtrak offering this type of passenger convenience on
at least one of the three daily roundtrips, including the least
patronized roundtrip where enroute delays due to baggage handling
would be most absorbable. Particular consideration should be given to
offering baggage service to major stations, including off-line
staffed Amtrak stations served by feeder buses, if service to all
staffed stations cannot be implemented immediately. The department
shall also consider funding capital needs at stations necessary to
offer baggage service from funds available pursuant to Section 14037.
(b) Custom class service:
In order to provide a higher level of service to passengers
desiring a guaranteed, reserved seat, the department shall
investigate implementation of custom class service on the San Joaquin
route, similar to the enhanced service offered as an option on the
Amtrak San Diegan route. If custom class service is offered, due
consideration should be given to similar higher levels of service on
major feeder bus routes, as warranted. The department shall also
investigate the potential availability of cellular telephone service
on this route.
(c) Dining service:
The department shall investigate steps that may need to be taken
to restore quality dining car service, offering full, hot meals,
substantially similar to the service offered on this route prior to
the removal of high-level cars in December of 1989.
14036.4. The department shall report in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036 on the amount of
funds available to the state under the federal rail-highway crossings
program (23 U.S.C. Sec. 130), including the cash balance, funds
encumbered during the last year, and amounts anticipated to be
received during the subsequent year. The plan shall also discuss any
issues relating to the department's ability to spend these federal
funds on a timely basis.
14036.5. (a) As part of its marketing activities in support of
intercity rail services and associated feeder bus services, the
department shall provide for complete train and bus schedule
information, for services funded or otherwise coordinated by the
department, to be published in existing, comprehensive nationwide
transportation schedule publications for bus and rail services. The
department is not required to provide for publication of the schedule
information specified in subdivision (a) if complete bus and train
schedules are published by the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) in its nationwide timetable (Form A) in addition
to the department's own California timetable.
14036.6. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Rail passes offering unlimited travel on certain passenger
rail and associated transit services for a specified period of time
and a fixed price have been a success in Europe, Canada, and Alaska.
(2) A "California Pass," valid on state-funded intercity and
commuter rail lines, state-funded feeder buses, and major local
transit systems would be a major benefit to tourism, while at the
same time providing a package of transportation options which do not
worsen highway congestion.
(3) Use of a single payment mechanism makes existing mass
transportation services easier to use, by eliminating the need for
familiarity with multiple complex tariffs and the need for correct
change.
(b) The department shall investigate, and if feasible implement, a
"California Pass" which would be valid, to the extent possible, for
all of the following transportation services:
(1) State-funded intercity rail services in the San Diego-Los
Angeles, Los Angeles-Santa Barbara, Los Angeles-Fresno-bay
area/Sacramento, and Sacramento-bay area rail corridors.
(2) State-funded feeder buses operated in conjunction with the
intercity rail services, including, but not limited to, the service
operated between Merced and Yosemite National Park for the San
Joaquin trains.
(3) Commuter rail services.
(4) Public transit services.
(5) Other transportation services.
(c) The department shall consider offering passes valid for travel
over a specified consecutive number of days, as well as so-called
"flexi-passes" valid for a specified number of days within a longer
period of time. In addition, the department shall develop a procedure
for distributing pass revenues to each participating operating
entity, and for marketing the pass to prospective users.
(d) Prior to implementing a "California Pass" program, the
department shall consult with each participating operating entity.
The department shall not adopt procedures for the distribution of
pass revenues without first submitting the proposed procedures to
each affected operating entity.
(e) Nothing in this section precludes the department from
implementing, as an interim measure, any marketing device to increase
ridership on state-funded rail and bus services.
14036.7. The department shall give high priority to the development
of direct linkages between intercity rail passenger services and
airports served by commercial airlines and to developing feeder bus
linkages connecting intercity rail services and airports. The
department shall coordinate its provision of feeder bus service with
local and regional bus and rail services to avoid duplication of
service. The department shall include in the rail passenger
development plan prepared pursuant to Section 14036, a report on the
status of all existing intercity rail station facilities that serve
airports directly and indirectly and on the department's activities
in improving other linkages between rail service and airports. The
department shall, to the extent feasible, utilize alternative-fuel
buses for its feeder bus service.
14036.8. (a) The department, using existing rail marketing funds,
shall fully participate in the railroad public safety awareness
program known as "Operation Lifesaver." The department shall work
with school officials to develop a school assembly program designed
to enhance student awareness of the dangers of trespassing on
railroad property, and the operating characteristics of trains.
Initially, the school assembly program shall be implemented on the
route of the department-sponsored Capitol Corridor. School officials
shall cooperate with the department to identify the schools most
affected by the operation of higher speed passenger trains.
(b) The department shall provide appropriate signs to be posted on
or adjacent to railroad property within 1,000 feet of schools where
upgrading of railroad lines has resulted in an increase of operating
speeds of passenger trains on those lines by 20 mph or more on or
after December 1, 1991. The signs shall be designed to communicate
both in words and in pictures, using internationally recognized
symbols, to warn of train-related hazards. The signs shall be posted
on the school side of the railroad property at a site to be
determined by school officials and railroad representatives. At the
request of the department, a railroad that owns the property
specified in this subdivision shall install and maintain the signs.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a "school" is any public
school that maintains classes in kindergarten or of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
(d) The installation or maintenance of signs pursuant to this
section shall not in any way affect the liability of the state or any
of its agencies, officers, or employees, or of the owner of the
railroad right-of-way, on account of personal injury or property
damage alleged to have been caused, in whole or in part, by a sign,
or the installation or maintenance of a sign, installed and
maintained pursuant to this section.
14036.9. The California Coast Passenger Rail Corridor consists of
the Counties of Los Angeles, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San
Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and
Ventura.
14037. Funds which are available to the department for rail and bus
operations may be used by the department for maintenance of capital
facilities related to rail or bus services provided, or for minor
capital improvement projects related to rail and bus services
provided, if the department determines that this use of funds would
improve the operation of a service. For the purposes of this section,
a project shall be determined to be a "minor capital improvement
project" on the same basis that a project is determined to be a
"minor highway project" by the commission.
14038. (a) The department may purchase, sell, and lease rail
passenger cars and locomotives and other self-propelled rail
vehicles.
(b) The department may acquire, lease, design, construct, and
improve track lines and related facilities, and the department may
contract with the private sector for the design, improvement, or
construction of track lines and related facilities. If a railroad
corporation refuses to allow improvements to tracks and related
facilities, the Public Utilities Commission shall, within 60 days
after application by the department, order the institution of those
improvements, if it finds that the improvements are necessary to the
safety of the railroad corporation's employees, passengers,
customers, and the public, and the operating efficiency of the
service for which they are requested.
(c) Any facility or equipment acquired or improved by any entity
with funds made available to it pursuant to this section shall become
the property of that entity at the time and under the conditions as
are agreed upon by the department in the agreement that makes the
funds available to the entity. Section 10295 of the Public Contract
Code does not apply to any agreement entered into pursuant to this
section.
(d) The department shall deposit in the Passenger Equipment
Acquisition Fund, for expenditure pursuant to Section 14066, the net
proceeds from the sale of rail passenger cars and locomotives and
other self-propelled rail vehicles.
14038.1. Rail passenger equipment owned by the department and
operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) in a
state-supported rail service shall prominently display the
department's logo and the words "California Department of
Transportation," or other appropriate identification, as determined
by the department.
14038.2. (a) The department may acquire by purchase, lease, or
eminent domain, any property necessary for the development and
implementation of the state's rail passenger program. The power of
eminent domain shall be exercised in accordance with Title 7
(commencing with Section 1230.010) of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
to give significance and importance to the state rail passenger
program equal to that of the state highway program, and to that end,
to provide the department with the appropriate powers.
(c) To the extent that the activities authorized by subdivision
(a) exceed the capacity of the department's existing work force, the
department may contract with qualified individuals or firms for
engineering, surveying, and related technical services in exercising
its authority pursuant to subdivision (a).
14038.3. The department may, if requested by the Alameda Corridor
Transportation Authority, exercise the power of eminent domain to
acquire, in the name and for the use of, the authority, real property
in Los Angeles County that is owned by a railroad corporation and
that is necessary, incidental, or convenient for the construction of
the Alameda Corridor project.
14038.5. (a) The department may, at the request of a transportation
planning agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan
transit development board, and subject to approval of the commission,
acquire abandoned or proposed to be abandoned rail freight lines
which have the potential of being rebuilt into joint freight and
passenger rail transit lines.
(b) The department may, if requested by a transportation planning
agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan transit
development board, develop plans and specifications for the
conversion of abandoned or proposed to be abandoned rail lines into
freight and passenger rail transit routes. The department may
contract with the private sector to develop these plans and
specifications.
(c) The department may, if requested by a regional planning
agency, county transportation commission, or metropolitan transit
development board, investigate and prepare procedures, subject to
Public Utilities Commission approval, to reinstate rail passenger
services in the requesting entity's jurisdiction.
14039. The department shall have no authority to operate railroads.
14040. The department may provide by contract with a railroad
corporation that any tracks or signaling devices constructed,
improved, repaired, or acquired with funds made available by the
state on property owned or leased by the railroad corporation shall
become the property of the railroad corporation.
14041. The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority is encouraged
to coordinate with local private industry councils in service
delivery areas to develop training programs and employment
opportunities under the federal Job Training Partnership Act (29
U.S.C. Sec. 1501 et seq.) directly related to the Alameda Corridor
project and to pursue other appropriate employment and training
funding sources.
14050. State highway projects to be included in the program of
proposed projects report submitted to the United States Secretary of
Transportation pursuant to Section 105 of Title 23 of the United
States Code shall be those included in the five-year program for the
expenditure of state transportation funds as set forth in the state
transportation improvement program after July 1, 1979.
14051. (a) At the commencement of each regular session of the
Legislature, the department shall submit to the Legislature a report
summarizing information required under, and programs authorized by,
Sections 118.6, 216, and 820 of, and Article 3.5 (commencing with
Section 156) of Chapter 1 of Division 1 of, the Streets and Highways
Code.
(b) Information on other program activities may be included in the
biennial report at the discretion of the department.
(c) The report required by this section shall also include all of
the following:
(1) An evaluation of significant air transportation issues
anticipated to be of public concern during the five-year period
commencing January 1 of the year preceding the date for submission of
the report and beyond.
(2) Recommended modifications to state and federal law, where
appropriate.
(3) An overview of necessary future investments in the development
and maintenance of the state's air transportation system.
(4) An analysis of the department's organizational and staff needs
relative to its air transportation responsibilities.
(5) A review of state aeronautics policy.
In preparing the portion of the report required by this
subdivision, the department shall fully consider and incorporate air
transportation needs as identified by local government and the
private sector, as well as the need to fully integrate air
transportation issues and concerns into the mission of the
department.
(d) The report required by this section shall also include all of
the following:
(1) The status of alternative technologies in transportation,
including, but not limited to, the efforts made in research
development. The alternative technologies reported on shall seek to
improve public safety, energy efficiency, and air quality.
(2) Alternatives to fossil fuels to power transportation devices,
including alternative methods of propulsion of motor vehicles.
14052. (a) The department shall prepare an inventory of all
state-owned bridges that are required to be strengthened or replaced
in order to meet seismic safety standards which are in effect on
January 1, 1991. For each bridge listed in the inventory, the
department shall determine each of the following:
(1) The earliest date when all necessary engineering work can be
completed and construction can be started.
(2) An estimate of the cost of retrofitting or replacing the
bridge to conform to the applicable seismic safety standards.
(b) (1) The department shall prepare a multiyear plan and schedule
for completing the retrofitting or replacement of all of the bridges
identified pursuant to subdivision (a). The schedule shall be based
upon the department's estimates of the shortest possible time to
perform the work.
(2) The plan shall include the department's estimate of the annual
cost and the total cost of carrying out the plan.
(3) The department shall submit the plan and schedule, together
with the cost estimates, to the Governor and the Legislature not
later than January 1, 1991.
(c) The Legislature intends to appropriate to the department the
funds necessary to carry out subdivisions (a) and (b).
