Senate Bill S5703B

                                BILL NUMBER:S5703

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to authorizing certain buses owned and operated by the
metropolitan transportation authority or the New York city transit
authority to use flashing purple lights

PURPOSE: To permit the use of flashing purple lights on Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) or New York City Transit Authority
(NYCTA) Select Bus Services (SBS) buses.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subdivision 41 of section 375 of the vehicle and
traffic law to add a new subparagraph 1-a so that the MTA and NYCTA
are permitted to use flashing purple lights on SBS buses.

JUSTIFICATION: The Authorities' SBS buses had previously utilized
flashing blue lights to signal their approach to passengers. Under the
current law, blue lights are authorized for use by volunteer
firefighters and EMTs on their vehicles. Although almost all of fire
and EMT emergency services in New York City are professional, not
volunteer, in the interest of avoiding confusion with emergency
vehicles, even relatively rare volunteer vehicles, SBS buses should be
authorized to use flashing purple lights, which is a color not used by
any emergency vehicle under VTL section 375(41).
              

In addition, emergency vehicles are easy to distinguish from buses, so
the use of different colored lights is not an issue. Without the
flashing purple lights, passengers cannot easily tell when a SBS bus
is coming. This is critical for passengers boarding at stops that
serve both the SBS bus and the local bus, or are nearby. At such
stops, which are common to all SBS routes, Passengers have the option
of purchasing their ticket from the sidewalk ticket vending machine,
which is needed to board an SBS bus, or using a MetroCard or exact
change to board a local bus. Passengers at these locations must be
able to distinguish well in advance which bus is approaching in order
to exercise one or the other option in time to board the arriving bus.

The flashina purple lights provide that necessary advance notice. The
absence of flashing purple lights on SBS buses makes the commute for
passengers less convenient and unnecessarily stressful. This bill
would allow the use of flashing purple lights on SBS buses owned and
operated by the MTA or NYCTA, thereby remedying the problem.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.

                                BILL NUMBER:S5703A

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to authorizing  certain  buses  owned  and  operated  by  the
metropolitan  transportation  authority  or  the New York city transit
authority to use flashing purple lights

PURPOSE:  To permit the use of flashing purple lights on  Metropolitan
Transportation  Authority  (MTA)  or  New  York City Transit Authority
(NYCTA) buses that are used on the Select  Bus  Service  (SBS)  Routes
with off-board fare collection.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section  1:  Amends  subdivision  41 of section 375 of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law to add a new subparagraph 1-a so that. MTA and NYCTA buses
that are used on SBS Routes  are  permitted  to  use  flashing  purple
lights when running along Select Bus Service Routes.

JUSTIFICATION:   The Authorities' buses utilized on the SBS Routes had
previously utilized flashing blue lights to signal their  approach  to
passengers.    However,  under  the current. law, blue lights are only
authorized for  use  by  volunteer  firefighters  and  EMTs  on  their
vehicles.  Although  almost  all of fire and EMT emergency services in
New  York  City  are  paid  professional  emergency  responders,   not
volunteer,  in  the  interest  of  avoiding  confusion  with emergency
              

vehicles, even relatively rare volunteer vehicles, buses on SBS Routes
should be authorized to use flashing purple lights, which is  a  color
not used by any emergency vehicle under VTL section 375(41).

In addition, emergency vehicles are easy to distinguish from buses, so
the  use  of  different  colored  lights  is not an issue. Without the
flashing purple lights, passengers cannot easily tell when a  SBS  bus
is  coming.  This  is  critical  for passengers boarding at stops that
serve both the SBS bus and the local  bus,  or  are  nearby.  At  such
stops,  which are common to all SBS routes, Passengers have the option
of purchasing their ticket from the sidewalk ticket  vending  machine,
which  is  needed  to board an SBS bus, or using a MetroCard or exact.
change to board a local bus. Passengers at  these  locations  must  be
able  to distinguish well in advance which bus is approaching in order
to exercise one or the other option in time to board the arriving bus.
There are no SBS Routes in Staten Island.

The flashing purple lights provide the necessary  advance  notice  for
bus  patrons.  The  absence  of flashing purple lights on buses on SBS
Routes  makes  the  commute  for  passengers   less   convenient   and
unnecessarily  stressful.  This  bill  would allow the use of flashing
purple lights on buses that are on the SBS Routes that are  owned  and
operated by the MTA or NYCTA, thereby remedying the problem.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.