Bill Text: NY A06887 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs the commissioner of transportation to undertake a bus rapid transit demonstration project, in consultation with the New York city transit authority and the New York city department of transportation, along bus routes on first and second avenues in New York county; requires a report be submitted detailing such project each year; makes an appropriation for phase I and II of such project; and provides for the repeal of such project on March 31, 2020.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to transportation [A06887 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A06887-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6887
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 13, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the transportation law, in relation to establishing a
bus rapid transit demonstration project; making an appropriation
therefor and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expira-
tion thereof
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature recognizes that trans-
2 portation and community-planning officials all over the world are exam-
3 ining improved public transportation solutions to mobility issues. Such
4 renewed interest in transit reflects the understanding that current
5 methods of bus transit are inadequate to address increases in ridership
6 and the continuing decline of bus speeds throughout the city of New
7 York. Such concerns have led to a re-examination of existing transit
8 technologies and the embrace of new, creative ways of providing transit
9 service and performance. The legislature finds bus rapid transit can be
10 an extremely cost-effective way of providing high-quality, high-perfor-
11 mance transit. Bus rapid transit, while inexpensive to implement, will
12 address current problems such as long journey and board times and serve
13 as a catalyst towards further increases in ridership. The legislature
14 further finds that bus rapid transit will not only increase ridership
15 but also create a new and more diverse class of bus riders in prepara-
16 tion for the opening of the second avenue subway.
17 Therefore, this legislature intends to authorize the establishment of
18 a bus rapid transit demonstration project in New York city and to moni-
19 tor such project's statewide expansion possibilities.
20 S 2. The transportation law is amended by adding a new section 31-b to
21 read as follows:
22 S 31-B. BUS RAPID TRANSIT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 1. THE COMMISSIONER
23 SHALL UNDERTAKE A BUS RAPID TRANSIT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT PURSUANT TO
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10078-01-9
A. 6887 2
1 SECTION THIRTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE NEW YORK
2 CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTA-
3 TION, ALONG BUS ROUTES ON FIRST AND SECOND AVENUES IN THE COUNTY OF NEW
4 YORK.
5 2. THE FEATURES OF THE BRT PROJECT SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
6 A. DEDICATED RUNNING WAYS,
7 B. STATIONS AND BUS STOPS,
8 C. DISTINCTIVE EASY-TO-BOARD VEHICLES,
9 D. EXPEDITED FARE COLLECTION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO OFF-VEHICLE
10 FARE COLLECTION, AND
11 E. FREQUENT ALL-DAY SERVICE.
12 3. A. RUNNING WAYS FOR THE BRT PROJECT SHALL INCLUDE MIXED TRAFFIC
13 LANES, CURB BUS LANES, AND MEDIAN BUSWAYS ON CITY STREETS. THE COMMIS-
14 SIONER, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND THE
15 NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SHALL IDENTIFY, PLAN AND
16 DESIGN RECOMMENDED CORRIDORS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BRT PROJECT ALONG
17 BUS ROUTES ON FIRST AND SECOND AVENUES IN THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK.
18 B. VEHICLES FOR THE BRT PROJECT SHALL INCLUDE STANDARD AND/OR ARTIC-
19 ULATED DIESEL BUSES. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL CONSIDER THE USE OF LOW-SUL-
20 FUR DIESEL FUEL BUSES, DIESEL-ELECTRIC HYBRID BUSES AND COMPRESSED
21 NATURAL GAS BUSES. ALL BUSES ON THESE ROUTES SHALL ALSO BE "LOW-FLOOR",
22 "ONE-STEP" BUSES.
23 C. NEW FARE COLLECTION TECHNIQUES SHALL BE STUDIED AND IMPLEMENTED IN
24 ORDER TO DECREASE PASSENGER BOARDING TIMES. EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE ELIMI-
25 NATION OF CASH-FARES DURING PEAK HOURS, THE INSTALLMENT OF DUAL-FARE
26 BOXES, COLLECTING FARES AT BUS STATIONS, A "PROOF-OF-PAYMENT" SYSTEM OR
27 THE DEVELOPMENT OF "SMART-CARDS" WHICH ALLOW PASSENGERS TO WAVE THEIR
28 BUS PASSES AT A READER AND ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR RIDERS TO DIP THEIR
29 METROCARD.
30 D. INTELLIGENT TRAFFIC AND VEHICLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SHALL BE
31 STUDIED AND IMPLEMENTED AS A MEANS TO COMBAT BUS BUNCHING. EXAMPLES OF
32 SUCH MEASURES INCLUDE AUTOMATED VEHICLE LOCATION SYSTEMS (AVLS) WHICH
33 DETECT THE LOCATION OF BUSES AND THEIR SPEED, AUTOMATIC PASSENGER COUNT-
34 ERS (APC) WHICH RELAY INFORMATION ON BUS AND BUS STATION COUNTING
35 COMBINED WITH REAL TIME DISPATCHERS WHICH UTILIZE AVLS AND APC TECHNOLO-
36 GY TO ORDER DRIVERS TO SLOW DOWN OR SPEED UP, AND THE INTEGRATION OF
37 AVLS AND APC TECHNOLOGY WHICH WOULD ALLOW BUS DRIVERS TO HOLD A GREEN
38 LIGHT FOR TEN PERCENT LONGER IF NECESSARY.
39 E. THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND THE NEW YORK CITY DEPART-
40 MENT OF TRANSPORTATION SHALL EXECUTE A PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN TO
41 RAISE THE AWARENESS OF BRT SYSTEMS AND REINFORCE A POSITIVE IMAGE OF BRT
42 WITH THE PASSENGERS IT SERVES. SUCH INNOVATIONS COMBINED WITH OTHER
43 COMPONENTS OF BRT SHALL BE ANALYZED TO INCREASE RIDERSHIP. EXAMPLES OF
44 SUCH OTHER INNOVATIONS SHALL INCLUDE THE USE OF DISTINCTIVE COLOR
45 SCHEMES AND SYMBOLS OR "BRANDING," THE CONSTRUCTION OF UNIQUE BUS
46 STATIONS WITH WELL-LIT SHELTERS, SEATING AND PARTIAL WEATHER PROTECTION
47 AS WELL AS TICKET VENDING MACHINES, BUS MAPS AT EVERY STATION AND REAL
48 TIME INFORMATION WHICH INFORMS PASSENGERS WHEN THE NEXT EXPECTED BUS
49 WILL ARRIVE.
50 4. THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT
51 AUTHORITY AND THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SHALL
52 DEVELOP PHASES OF THE BRT PROJECT. THE FIRST PHASE SHALL INCLUDE IDEN-
53 TIFICATION OF CORRIDORS, SUB-CORRIDORS AND SUB-AREAS OF THE BRT PROJECT.
54 THE SECOND PHASE SHALL INCLUDE PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND STRATEGIES FOR
55 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BRT PROJECT.
A. 6887 3
1 5. ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, AND ANNUALLY
2 THEREAFTER, THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE NEW YORK CITY
3 TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION,
4 SHALL REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, THE
5 MINORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE MINORITY
6 LEADER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE CITY
7 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, AND THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION
8 AUTHORITY. EACH SUCH REPORT SHALL:
9 A. DESCRIBE THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENT-
10 ING THE BRT PROJECT, INCLUDING COSTS AND USAGE ESTIMATES ATTRIBUTABLE
11 THERETO, IN RELATION TO ACHIEVING AN INTEGRATED ACCESSIBLE BUS RAPID
12 TRANSIT SYSTEM IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
13 B. ASSESS THE NEED FOR CHANGES IN THE CURRENT MASS TRANSPORTATION
14 SYSTEM AND THE BRT PROJECT BASED ON TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES AND OTHER
15 CHANGING CONDITIONS AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COORDINATION AND EXPAN-
16 SION OF THE BRT PROJECT WITH OTHER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND SPECIALIZED
17 TRANSPORTATION SERVICES IN THE REGION AND THE STATE; AND
18 C. INCLUDE SUCH OTHER ELEMENTS AS MAY BE DEEMED NECESSARY TO EVALUATE
19 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BRT PROJECT.
20 6. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
21 A. "BUS RAPID TRANSIT" IS A FLEXIBLE, RUBBER-TIRED LIGHT-RAIL
22 RAPID-TRANSIT MODE THAT COMBINES STATIONS, VEHICLES, SERVICES, RUNNING
23 WAYS, AND INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ELEMENTS INTO AN INTEGRATED
24 SYSTEM. BUS RAPID TRANSIT APPLICATIONS ARE DESIGNED TO BE APPROPRIATE TO
25 THE MARKET SUCH TRANSIT SERVES AND SUCH TRANSIT'S PHYSICAL SURROUNDING.
26 BUS RAPID TRANSIT IS AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND
27 AMENITIES THAT COLLECTIVELY IMPROVES THE SPEED, RELIABILITY, AND IDENTI-
28 TY OF BUS TRANSIT.
29 B. "THE BRT PROJECT" MEANS THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
30 CREATED BY THIS SECTION.
31 S 3. The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000), or so much thereof
32 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of trans-
33 portation out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to
34 the credit of the local assistance account, not otherwise appropriated,
35 and made immediately available, for the purpose of carrying out phases
36 one and two of the bus rapid transit demonstration project as identified
37 by the commissioner of transportation, as provided by the provisions of
38 this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the
39 comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of
40 transportation in the manner prescribed by law.
41 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire March 31,
42 2020 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed
43 repealed.
