Senate Bill S8658A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8658--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 27, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  GIANARIS,  BRISPORT,  SALAZAR  --  read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Transportation   --   committee   discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "get congestion pricing right act".
   § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
 declares  the  importance  of  the  New York Metropolitan Transportation
 Authority (MTA) and affirms the duty of the legislature to  ensure  that
 the  MTA  operates  effectively.  The MTA provides an essential service:
 transporting millions of New Yorkers on billions of trips each  year  to
 and  from their places of work, worship, and gathering.  The legislature
 further finds that, as the MTA moves to  implement  congestion  pricing,
 the  MTA must also encourage the use of public transit as an alternative
 by providing more frequent, reliable, and affordable service  -  partic-
 ularly  bus  service.  The legislature finds that bus system investments
 were at the core of London's successful congestion  pricing  implementa-
 tion and declares that New York must follow suit by investing in its own
 bus  service prior to the implementation of congestion pricing to better
 serve riders and attract riders for the long-term.
   § 3. The public authorities law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
 1266-n to read as follows:
   §  1266-N.  BUS  SERVICE  FREQUENCY  AND RELIABILITY AND FARE-FREE BUS
 EXPANSION. 1. THE AUTHORITY SHALL ALLOCATE FORTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS IN
 STATE FUNDS RECEIVED TO THE AUTHORITY'S BUS SYSTEM TO INCREASE FREQUENCY
 AND RELIABILITY.
   (A) UPON RECEIPT OF SUCH FUNDING THE AUTHORITY SHALL EVALUATE  TARGET-
 ING SUCH INVESTMENTS ACCORDING, BUT NOT LIMITED, TO INCREASING THE RELI-
 ABILITY, FREQUENCY, AND SPEED OF THE FOLLOWING:
   (I) FEEDER ROUTES TO SUBWAY STATIONS;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14661-02-4
 S. 8658--A                          2
 
   (II) EXPRESS BUSES INTO THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT;
   (III) BUSES THAT ARE CHRONICALLY OVER CAPACITY; AND
   (IV) LOCAL AND SELECT BUSES.
   (B)  ROUTES  CHOSEN  SHALL  HAVE  CAPACITY  FOR  MORE FREQUENCY ABSENT
 INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES AND PRIORITY SHALL BE GIVEN TO INCREASING SERVICE
 ON THE LINES THAT ARE PART OF THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM.
   (C) THE AUTHORITY SHALL REPORT ON ITS ROUTE DECISIONS  IN  AN  INITIAL
 PUBLIC  REPORT  PRIOR  TO  THE LAUNCH OF SUCH INVESTMENTS. THE AUTHORITY
 SHALL ALSO REPORT AN EVALUATION OF FREQUENCY AND RELIABILITY OUTCOMES OF
 EACH SELECTED ROUTE VIA TWO REPORTS. THE  FIRST  SUCH  REPORT  SHALL  BE
 COMPLETED NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR,
 AND  THE  SECOND  SUCH  REPORT SHALL BE COMPLETED NO LATER THAN ONE YEAR
 AFTER THE LAUNCH OF SUCH INVESTMENTS. SUCH OUTCOME  REPORTS  SHALL  ALSO
 INCLUDE  COST  AND  SCHEDULE  PROJECTIONS  FOR EACH ROUTE FUNDED BY SUCH
 INCREASE.
   (D) SUCH  INVESTMENTS  SHALL  BE  IMPLEMENTED  BY  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF
 CONGESTION PRICING'S IMPLEMENTATION.
   2.  THE  AUTHORITY  SHALL ALLOCATE FORTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS IN STATE
 FUNDS RECEIVED TO EXPAND THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM WITHIN THE CITY
 OF NEW YORK.
   (A) THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM EXPANSION SHALL LAST FOR ONE YEAR.
   (B) THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM  EXPANSION  SHALL  CONSIST  OF  AT
 LEAST  FIFTEEN  NEW  FARE-FREE  BUS  ROUTES  AND SHALL COST NO MORE THAN
 FORTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS IN NET OPERATING COSTS. NET  OPERATING  COSTS
 SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE TOTAL COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING THE FARE-FREE BUS
 PILOT PROGRAM EXPANSION AND SHALL NOT ACCRUE TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
   (C)  THE  FARE-FREE  BUS  ROUTES  INCLUDED  IN THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT
 PROGRAM EXPANSION SHALL BE SELECTED BY THE AUTHORITY,  AND  MAY  INCLUDE
 EITHER  NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY OR MTA BUS ROUTES, PROVIDED THAT
 THERE SHALL BE AT LEAST THREE NEW FARE-FREE BUS ROUTES  WITHIN  EACH  OF
 THE  FOLLOWING  COUNTIES:  KINGS COUNTY, NEW YORK COUNTY, QUEENS COUNTY,
 RICHMOND COUNTY, AND BRONX COUNTY.
   (D) THE FACTORS CONSIDERED BY THE AUTHORITY IN  SELECTING  SUCH  FARE-
 FREE BUS ROUTES SHALL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
   (I) SERVICE ADEQUACY AND EQUITY FOR LOW-INCOME AND ECONOMICALLY DISAD-
 VANTAGED COMMUNITIES; AND
   (II)  ACCESS  TO EMPLOYMENT AND COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY IN AREAS SERVED BY
 SUCH FARE-FREE ROUTES.
   (E) EACH ROUTE SELECTED SHALL MEET A MINIMUM THRESHOLD OF TWENTY THOU-
 SAND DAILY RIDERS.
   (F) THE AUTHORITY SHALL REPORT TO ITS BOARD ON THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT
 PROGRAM EXPANSION AFTER IT HAS BEEN IN  EFFECT  FOR  THREE  MONTHS,  SIX
 MONTHS, AND AGAIN UPON THE CONCLUSION OF THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM
 EXPANSION.  SUCH  REPORTS  SHALL  ALSO BE SENT TO THE GOVERNOR AND EVERY
 MEMBER OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND SHALL INCLUDE, BUT  NOT  BE  LIMITED
 TO, THE FOLLOWING COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE METRICS:
   (I)  RIDERSHIP  TOTALS  RELATIVE TO EQUIVALENT TIME PERIODS BEFORE THE
 FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM EXPANSION TOOK EFFECT;
   (II) PERCENT OF SCHEDULED SERVICE DELIVERED;
   (III) AVERAGE END-TO-END BUS SPEED CHANGES;
   (IV) CUSTOMER JOURNEY TIME PERFORMANCE;
   (V) ADDITIONAL BUS STOP TIME AND TRAVEL TIME;
   (VI) WAIT ASSESSMENTS;
   (VII)  THE COST TO PROVIDE SUCH SERVICE ITEMIZED BY ROUTE; AND
   (VIII) SCHEDULED SERVICE FREQUENCY.
 S. 8658--A                          3
 
   (G) THE AUTHORITY SHALL ALSO SURVEY RIDERS ON THE FARE-FREE ROUTES  AT
 THE  THREE-,  SIX-  AND  TWELVE-MONTH  MARKS ON TOPICS INCLUDING BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO:
   (I) OVERALL RIDER SATISFACTION;
   (II)  REAL  AND  PERCEIVED  ECONOMIC  BENEFIT  EXPERIENCED  BY RIDERS,
 INCLUDING ECONOMIC SAVINGS;
   (III) EXPERIENCE OF SECURITY AND SAFETY WHEN RIDING THE FARE-FREE BUS;
 AND
   (VI) GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION INCLUDING ANNUAL INCOME,  VEHICLE
 ACCESS,  RACE  AND  ETHNICITY,  DISABILITY  STATUS,  AGE, AND ENROLLMENT
 STATUS IN DISCOUNT PROGRAM. THE AUTHORITY SHALL ALSO  INCLUDE  QUESTIONS
 FROM  THE  UMKC  CENTER  FOR ECONOMIC INFORMATION SURVEY RESEARCH OF THE
 KANSAS CITY  AREA  TRANSPORTATION  AUTHORITY'S  (KCATA/RIDEKC)  ZEROFARE
 PROGRAM QUALITY-OF-LIFE EFFECTS. SURVEY METHODS SHALL INCLUDE IN-PERSON,
 PHONE AND ONLINE.
   (H)  THE  AUTHORITY SHALL IMPLEMENT ALL-DOOR BOARDING ON ALL FARE-FREE
 BUSES BEGINNING THE FIRST DAY OF THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM  EXPAN-
 SION.
   (I)  THE  AUTHORITY  SHALL  PROMOTE  THE  FARE-FREE ROUTES THROUGH THE
 FOLLOWING METHODS AT A MINIMUM: SIGNAGE ON BUSES, SIGNAGE AT BUS  STOPS,
 INTERSECTING SUBWAY STOPS, ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE AUTHORITY "FARES & TOLLS"
 WEBPAGE,  DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENTS ON SUBWAYS, AND ACROSS MTA SOCIAL MEDIA
 ACCOUNTS.   ANY MESSAGING PROMOTING  THE  FARE-FREE  ROUTES  SHALL  ALSO
 INCLUDE MESSAGING REMINDING RIDERS THAT SUCH PROGRAM IS ON SELECT ROUTES
 AND  THAT  SUCH RIDERS SHOULD TREAT THEIR BUS OPERATORS WITH RESPECT AND
 DECORUM.
   (J) THE AUTHORITY SHALL PRESENT THE FARE-FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM EXPAN-
 SION TO ITS BOARD FOR APPROVAL NO LATER THAN SIXTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFEC-
 TIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, FOR IMPLEMENTATION NO LATER THAN NINETY  DAYS
 AFTER BOARD ADOPTION.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.