Bill Text: NY A09415 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Enacts the "get congestion pricing right act"; directs the MTA to allocate $45 million to the MTA's bus system to increase frequency and reliability; directs the MTA to allocate $45 million to expand the fare-free bus pilot program within NYC; requires reporting on such investments.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-27 - print number 9415a [A09415 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09415-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9415

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 14, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MAMDANI  --  Multi-Sponsored  by -- M. of A.
          BICHOTTE HERMELYN,   DAVILA,   FORREST,   GALLAGHER,   GONZALEZ-ROJAS,
          MITAYNES, SEPTIMO, SHRESTHA -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions

        AN  ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to enacting the
          "get congestion pricing right act"

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "get congestion pricing right act".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
     4  declares the importance of  the  New  York  Metropolitan  Transportation
     5  Authority  (MTA)  and affirms the duty of the legislature to ensure that
     6  the MTA operates effectively. The MTA  provides  an  essential  service:
     7  transporting  millions  of New Yorkers on billions of trips each year to
     8  and from their places of work, worship, and gathering.  The  legislature
     9  further  finds  that,  as the MTA moves to implement congestion pricing,
    10  the MTA must also encourage the use of public transit as an  alternative
    11  by  providing  more frequent, reliable, and affordable service - partic-
    12  ularly bus service. The legislature finds that  bus  system  investments
    13  were  at  the core of London's successful congestion pricing implementa-
    14  tion and declares that New York must follow suit by investing in its own
    15  bus service prior to the implementation of congestion pricing to  better
    16  serve riders and attract riders for the long-term.
    17    §  3.  The  public  authorities law is amended by adding a new section
    18  1266-n to read as follows:
    19    § 1266-n. Bus service frequency  and  reliability.  1.  The  authority
    20  shall allocate forty-five million dollars in state funds received to the
    21  authority's bus system to increase frequency and reliability.
    22    (a)  Upon receipt of such funding the authority shall evaluate target-
    23  ing such investments according, but not limited, to increasing the reli-
    24  ability, frequency, and speed of the following:
    25    (i) feeder routes to subway stations;
    26    (ii) express buses into the central business district; and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14661-01-4
        A. 9415                             2

     1    (iii) local and select buses.
     2    (b)  Routes  chosen  shall  have  capacity  for  more frequency absent
     3  infrastructure changes.
     4    (c) The authority shall report on its route decisions  in  an  initial
     5  public  report  prior  to  the launch of such investments. The authority
     6  shall also report an evaluation of frequency and reliability outcomes of
     7  each selected route via two reports. The  first  such  report  shall  be
     8  completed no later than December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-four,
     9  and  the  second  such  report shall be completed no later than one year
    10  after the launch of such investments. Such outcome  reports  shall  also
    11  include  cost  and  schedule  projections  for each route funded by such
    12  increase.
    13    (d) Such  investments  shall  be  implemented  by  the  first  day  of
    14  congestion pricing's implementation.
    15    2.  The  authority  shall allocate forty-five million dollars in state
    16  funds received to expand the fare-free bus pilot program within the city
    17  of New York.
    18    (a) The fare-free bus pilot program expansion shall last for one year.
    19    (b) The fare-free bus pilot program  expansion  shall  consist  of  at
    20  least  fifteen  new  fare-free  bus  routes  and shall cost no more than
    21  forty-five million dollars in net operating costs. Net  operating  costs
    22  shall be determined by the total costs of implementing the fare-free bus
    23  pilot program expansion and shall not accrue to the city of New York.
    24    (c)  The  fare-free  bus  routes  included  in the fare-free bus pilot
    25  program expansion shall be selected  by  the  authority,  provided  that
    26  there  shall  be  at least three new fare-free bus routes within each of
    27  the following counties: Kings county, New York  county,  Queens  county,
    28  Richmond county, and Bronx county.
    29    (d)  The  factors  considered by the authority in selecting such fare-
    30  free bus routes shall include but not be limited to:
    31    (i) service adequacy and equity for low-income and economically disad-
    32  vantaged communities; and
    33    (ii) access to employment and commercial activity in areas  served  by
    34  such fare-free routes.
    35    (e) Each route selected shall meet a minimum threshold of twenty thou-
    36  sand daily riders.
    37    (f) The authority shall report to its board on the fare-free bus pilot
    38  program  expansion  after  it  has  been in effect for three months, six
    39  months, and again upon the conclusion of the fare-free bus pilot program
    40  expansion. Such reports shall also be sent to  the  governor  and  every
    41  member  of  the  state legislature and shall include, but not be limited
    42  to, the following comparative performance metrics:
    43    (i) ridership totals relative to equivalent time  periods  before  the
    44  fare-free bus pilot program expansion took effect;
    45    (ii) percent of scheduled service delivered;
    46    (iii) average end-to-end bus speed changes;
    47    (iv) customer journey time performance;
    48    (v) additional bus stop time and travel time;
    49    (vi) wait assessments;
    50    (vii)  the cost to provide such service itemized by route; and
    51    (viii) scheduled service frequency.
    52    (g)  The authority shall also survey riders on the fare-free routes at
    53  the three-, six- and twelve-month marks  on  topics  including  but  not
    54  limited to:
    55    (i) overall rider satisfaction;
        A. 9415                             3

     1    (ii)  real  and  perceived  economic  benefit  experienced  by riders,
     2  including economic savings;
     3    (iii) experience of security and safety when riding the fare-free bus;
     4  and
     5    (vi)  general demographic information including annual income, vehicle
     6  access, race and  ethnicity,  disability  status,  age,  and  enrollment
     7  status  in  discount program. The authority shall also include questions
     8  from the UMKC Center for Economic Information  survey  research  of  the
     9  Kansas  City  Area  Transportation  Authority's  (KCATA/RideKC) ZeroFare
    10  program quality-of-life effects. Survey methods shall include in-person,
    11  phone and online.
    12    (h) The authority shall implement all-door boarding on  all  fare-free
    13  buses  beginning the first day of the fare-free bus pilot program expan-
    14  sion.
    15    (i) The authority shall  promote  the  fare-free  routes  through  the
    16  following  methods at a minimum: signage on buses, signage at bus stops,
    17  intersecting subway stops, announcement on the authority "fares & tolls"
    18  webpage, digital advertisements on subways, and across MTA social  media
    19  accounts.
    20    (j) The authority shall present the fare-free bus pilot program expan-
    21  sion to its board for approval no later than sixty days after the effec-
    22  tive  date of this section, for implementation no later than ninety days
    23  after board adoption.
    24    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.