SF Supervisors ready for new public safety powers if bill clears final hoops in State Capitol
(San Francisco, CA) - Flanked by street safety advocates and local leaders on the steps of City Hall, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) urged passage of his tour bus safety reform legislation before the California State Legislature concludes its work at the end of this month.
"Dangerous buses fall through the cracks of today's tour bus safety inspections. We are so close to enacting critical reforms that will save lives," said Ting. "It's time to give communities new tools to take charge and keep local streets safe. Innocent people are paying the price for failure."
Inspired by the tour bus crash in San Francisco's Union Square last November, AB 1677 enables communities where tour buses operate to get more tour buses inspected. Local inspection programs would be established at the discretion of these communities and operate consistent with existing safety standards required for charter tour bus company licensure.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) inspects tour bus companies. Every 13 months CHP inspects a sample of each bus company's fleet, resulting in about 30 percent of all buses getting inspected. Ting's bill gives communities a choice to have a higher inspection rate of local tour bus fleets by contracting with CHP to get the job done.
AB 1677 passed the Assembly 52-26 in June. It is now two steps from becoming law. The bill awaits a vote on the Senate Floor and, should it pass, a signature from Governor Jerry Brown.
Supervisors Norman Yee and Aaron Peskin expressed their readiness to act on Ting's bill, in San Francisco.
"San Francisco is a Vision Zero city," said Supervisor Norman Yee. "In order to meet the goal of zero pedestrian deaths by 2024 we must ensure that the state passes AB1677 which would allow San Francisco to implement additional protocols and inspections to increase safety and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities."
"It's encouraging to see our State Legislature taking the issue of tour bus safety seriously, particularly for San Francisco where tour buses enjoy robust business," said Supervisor Aaron Peskin. "Assemblyman Ting's work reiterates the critical role that state policymaking has with respect to fulfilling our Vision Zero mandate - we really can't do it alone. We need the flexibility to legislate solutions locally and AB 1677 will allow San Francisco to prioritize oversight of tour buses and ensure they are safely sharing the road."
"While large vehicles, like tour buses, account for only four percent of crashes in San Francisco, they are responsible for 17 percent of traffic deaths," said Natalie Burdick, Walk San Francisco's Outreach Director. "The inspection measures called for in AB 1677 must be adopted by state lawmakers to allow communities like San Francisco to take common sense steps toward safeguarding everyone who walks, bikes and travels on our city streets."
"Professional drivers spend the most time on our roads and bear the biggest burden to keep all of us safe as we return to work from lunch, pick up our children, and head out to the park with loved ones," said Brian Wiedenmeier, Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. "That's why we are proud to stand with safe streets advocates and welcome the passage of fair and reasonable oversight for tour bus operators."
Ting's AB 1677 is part of a tour bus safety reform package authored by Bay Area lawmakers and pending in the State Legislature. AB 1574 by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) would identify "ghost buses" otherwise unknown to tour bus safety regulators. SB 812 by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) would reform tour bus safety standards by focusing CHP inspections on tour bus companies with safety violations.
In 2014, San Francisco adopted Vision Zero as a policy goal to prioritize traffic safety and eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024. Every year in San Francisco, about 30 people lose their lives and over 200 more are seriously injured while on traveling in city streets.
Further information about AB 1677 and the other tour bus safety reforms is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.
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