Bill Text: NJ S2150 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers and bill of rights for customers of privately operated motorbus regular route services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-06-28 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S2150 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S2150-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JENNIFER BECK
District 12 (Mercer and Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers and bill of rights for customers of privately operated motorbus regular route services.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing an Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers and a bill of rights for customers of privately operated motorbus regular route services, and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The provision of safe, adequate, and reliable public and private transportation services is vital to the economy of this State and to the health and financial welfare of its citizens.
b. The New Jersey Transit Corporation, its contract carriers, and various private carriers are responsible for providing motorbus regular route service to the people of New Jersey and serve a critical role by providing for the efficient movement of people within the State and to and from destinations outside of New Jersey.
c. The private companies that provide motorbus regular route service are providing a service that many New Jersey residents depend on in their everyday lives, and since there are few, if any, alternatives to the services provided by such companies, commuters are forced to continue using the services provided by private companies regardless of their adequacy and reliability.
d. The motorbus regular route service currently provided by certain private companies is inadequate and unreliable, causing commuters distress and loss of income for those who rely on such service to get them to work every day.
e. In protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the thousands of New Jersey residents who use commuter bus services provided by private companies, it is necessary and proper to ensure that such companies uphold their obligation to provide safe, adequate, and reliable services to their customers.
f. In order to ensure that private carriers operating motorbus regular route service provide safe, adequate, and reliable service to the people of this State, it is appropriate for this Legislature to enact a bill of rights for customers of privately operated motorbus regular route services which establishes basic rights and guarantees that protect the health, safety, and welfare of such consumers.
2. As used in this act:
"Division" means the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Motorbus regular route service" means and includes the operation of any motorbus or motorbuses on streets, public highways, or other facilities, over a fixed route and between fixed termini on a regular schedule for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire or otherwise, in this State or between points in this State and points in other states.
"Office" means the Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers.
"Operator" means the person responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and operation of motorbuses.
"Private carrier" means any private entity which offers motorbus regular route service.
3. There is hereby established an Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
4. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs shall designate one or more employees of the division to serve in the office. The director shall designate an "Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers" and shall provide for the organization of the office.
5. The office shall, in addition to other powers and duties vested in it by this act or any other law:
a. Assist consumers in resolving problems with private carriers who offer motorbus regular route service;
b. Identify recurrent problems that consumers have with private carriers and propose solutions to such problems;
c. Preserve and protect the rights of the consumer;
d. Promote open and direct communications between consumers and the private carriers; and
e. Investigate, attempt to resolve, and if necessary refer to the division or the Attorney General any matters or complaints received pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
6. The following consumer protections, obligations of private carriers, and basic expectations and guarantees of health, safety, and welfare are established as a consumer bill of rights for customers of privately operated motorbus regular route service:
a. For all routes upon which it operates regularly scheduled service, a private carrier shall adhere to a published schedule by making all stops on-time, except in cases where delay is caused by an emergency, flood, storm event, natural cause, or other act of God. Operators for private carriers shall make each and every stop on the published routes they serve;
b. Private carriers shall operate a sufficient number of buses on all routes where they operate regularly scheduled service in order to accommodate every customer who purchases a ticket for use of the service;
c. Private carriers shall provide adequate notice and sufficient opportunity for feedback from their customers regarding any increase in fares or any discontinuation or diminishment of services;
d. Operators of buses shall not allow a bus to become overcrowded with more passengers than the bus can safely accommodate;
e. At all times, a bus being used for motorbus regular route service shall be clean, well-maintained, and in good working condition;
f. A private carrier shall make every effort to compensate or reimburse, through such means as a refund or voucher, customers who purchase tickets to use that carrier's services, but are forced to use other means of travel as a result of their inability to board a bus because it was already operating at capacity or due to an insufficient number of buses on the route;
g. Private carriers shall implement a toll-free telephone hotline which allows consumers to submit complaints regarding service provided by such carriers. The carrier shall respond to all complaints in a timely fashion and work to resolve any problems consumers encounter regarding poor or inadequate service;
h. Operators of buses shall be well-trained and familiar with the routes they serve; and
i. Operators shall refrain from engaging in behaviors, including, but not limited to, operating a bus while smoking or using a cellular telephone, that could endanger the health or safety of passengers.
7. All private carriers shall provide clear and conspicuous notice of consumer complaint contact information by providing forms or causing signs to be posted, or both. The signs shall be posted on all buses which are used by the private carrier in the provision of motorbus regular route service. The forms or signs, as the case may be, shall be of such form and provide such information as the advocate for private commuter bus services consumers shall prescribe, including, but not limited to, the following:
a. a telephone number and mailing address of the Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers;
b. explanations of the rights of passengers of privately operated motorbus regular route services; and
c. basic information on the Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers.
8. The division, in conjunction with the Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers, is authorized to initiate, investigate, attempt to resolve, and, if necessary, refer to the Attorney General any matter or complaint received pursuant to section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
9. Any complaints regarding violations of section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall first be filed with the Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers established by section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The advocate may, on behalf of the division, and in conjunction with other staff of the division, conduct an investigation and may request in writing the production of documents and records as part of its investigation. Trade secrets and proprietary business information contained in the documents or records received by the division pursuant to a written request or a subpoena shall be confidential and shall not be deemed a "record" under section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1 et seq.).
If the person of whom such request was made fails to produce the documents or records within 30 days after the date of the request, the division may issue and serve subpoenas to compel the production of those documents and records. If any person refuses to comply with a subpoena issued under this section, the division may petition the Superior Court to enforce the subpoena by means of such sanctions as the court may direct. After completion of the investigation, the division shall either:
(1) dismiss the complaint following a determination that no violation occurred; or
(2) determine that a violation has likely occurred and, if so, shall attempt to resolve the matter by settlement, which may include a monetary settlement to cover the costs incurred by the division. If no settlement is achieved, then the division may take further action, including, if necessary, referring the matter to the Attorney General for further proceedings.
Any records, documents, papers, maps, books, tapes, photographs, files, sound recordings or other business material, regardless of form or characteristics, obtained by the division pursuant to subpoena shall be confidential. At the conclusion of an investigation, any matter determined by the division, or by a federal or State judicial or administrative body, to be a trade secret or proprietary confidential business information held by the division pursuant to such investigation shall be considered confidential. The materials may be used in any administrative or judicial proceeding as long as the confidential or proprietary nature of the material is maintained.
10. Any person who violates any of the provisions of section 6 or section 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $1,000 for each violation. Any such penalty shall take into consideration any compensation paid or offered by the private carrier to its customers. The penalty prescribed in this section shall be collected and enforced by summary proceedings pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this section. Process shall be in the nature of a summons or warrant which shall issue upon the complaint of the Attorney General or any other person.
11. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
12. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month after enactment, but the division may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes an Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety. The bill also establishes a bill of rights for customers of privately operated motorbus regular route service which contains consumer protections, private carrier obligations, and basic expectations and guarantees of health, safety, and welfare.
The Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services Consumers is vested with the following powers and duties: assist consumers in resolving problems with private carriers of motorbus regular route service; identify recurrent problems and propose solutions to problems consumers have with private carriers; preserve and protect the rights of consumers; promote open and direct communications between consumers and carriers; and investigate and attempt to resolve matters and complaints, and, if necessary, refer them to the Attorney General.
The consumer bill of rights provides that private carriers are obligated to adhere to a published schedule, to operate a sufficient number of buses to accommodate all customers, and to provide adequate notice regarding any changes in fares or service. The bill of rights prohibits operators from allowing buses to become overcrowded and requires that buses be clean, well-maintained, and in good working condition. Private carriers shall make every effort to compensate customers who purchase tickets but do not use the carrier's service because a bus was already operating at capacity or because of an insufficient number of buses on the route. Private carriers shall implement a toll-free telephone hotline by which consumers may submit complaints. Finally, the bill of rights provides that all operators shall be well-trained and familiar with the routes they serve and shall refrain from engaging in unsafe behaviors while operating a bus.
This bill requires private carriers to provide consumer complaint contact information so that consumers may contact the Office of the Advocate for Private Commuter Bus Services.
The Attorney General or any other person may bring an action before the Superior Court to impose a civil penalty not exceeding $1,000 per violation for violation of the provisions set forth in this bill. Such penalty shall take into consideration any compensation paid or offered by the private carrier to its customers.
