SF Supervisors Ready to Act on New Authority to Protect the Public
(San Francisco, CA) – Flanked by supporters at City Hall, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) announced new legislation he authored, along with Assemblymember David Chiu (D- San Francisco) and Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), to increase tour bus safety inspections by allowing communities to operate their own safety inspection programs.
“The state’s inadequate inspection system cannot be our only option to ensure public safety,” said Assemblymember Ting. “Dangerous buses fall through the cracks, causing preventable tragedies on our streets. We must be able to take charge and protect ourselves. Innocent people are paying the price for failure and it’s time for big changes that will help us reduce traffic fatalities.”
“Tour buses in San Francisco and California must be safer - we cannot have another crash happen like the one in Union Square,” said Chiu, who has authored a bill to address the problem of unregistered tour buses. “I look forward to working with Assemblymember Ting and Senator Hill as we strive to improve the safety of the tour bus industry.”
“The way we currently regulate and inspect buses isn’t working,” said Hill. “We need to improve our inspection and oversight programs to ensure the public’s safety. Local communities should be empowered to keep their residents safe.”
Inspired by the tour bus crash in San Francisco’s Union Square last November involving a double-decker vehicle with an alleged history of safety problems and no known registration as a licensed passenger carrier, AB 1677 will increase tour bus safety inspections. It directs the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to develop a framework for the inspection of tour buses by local jurisdictions in which the buses operate. Local inspection programs would be established at the discretion of local communities and operate in addition to, not in lieu of, any inspections conducted by the state.
Currently, CHP inspects tour bus companies as part of state safety regulations overseen by the Transportation Enforcement Branch of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Each year, CHP inspects a sample of each bus company’s fleet. This results in the inspection of a fraction of all buses, about 30 percent. Since these inspections are frequently pre-scheduled, their potential to identify hazardous buses is reduced.
Supervisors Jane Kim and Aaron Peskin expressed their readiness to act on Ting’s bill, in San Francisco.
"Unsafe operations aren't just dangerous. They're also bad for business," said Supervisor Jane Kim. "I am pleased to see the state and local governments working together to improve the safety of tour bus operations. Should this legislation pass, I plan to explore options for creating our own local tour bus inspection program to ensure the safety of both residents and tourists."
"The safety enforcement and oversight of tour buses are one of the top issues I hear from constituents on," said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who represents a dense district in which the Union Square tour bus accident occurred last year. "District 3 absorbs a tremendous amount of pedestrian traffic every day, from elderly seniors in Chinatown to tourists and workers downtown. They deserve to know that the City is prioritizing their safety. I'm looking forward to working with Supervisor Kim to craft local legislation that builds on the work of our state legislators to do just that."
“As San Francisco's leading resource for bicycle safety, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition recognizes the need for adequate oversight of tour bus operators,” said Janice Li, Advocacy Director at the San Francisco Bike Coalition. “It's critical that professional drivers have what they need to ensure that our city's streets are safe for everyone. Thank you to our civic leaders for taking steps to ensure that these companies are doing everything within their means to protect the people whose paths they cross.”
“By increasing our ability to regulate tour buses locally, the City’s streets will become safer for all,” said Nicole Ferrara, Executive Director at Walk San Francisco. “Buses can be especially dangerous given the physics of a large vehicle hitting the flesh and bone of a human body. We need to prevent these crashes from happening and help San Francisco become the first city in the nation to end all traffic deaths by 2024.”
AB 1677 is part of a tour bus safety package of bills being pushed by state lawmakers Ting, Chiu, and Hill in the State Legislature. If enacted into law, the bills will help San Francisco advance its objectives under Vision Zero a policy commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024.
SB 812, authored by Hill and co-authored by Ting and Chiu, would improve state inspections of tour buses by requiring CHP to update its program so tour bus companies are inspected more frequently, buses are randomly tested to prevent gaming of the system, and buses purchased out of state are inspected prior to operation in California.
AB 1574, authored by Chiu and co-authored by Ting and Hill, would require the CPUC to cross reference tour buses it registers with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in order to identify “ghost buses” otherwise unknown to safety regulators. DMV would be required to notify the CPUC of newly registered buses so that all would face a safety inspection by CHP.