Brief Description: Concerning public transportation fares.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Representatives Clibborn, McIntire and Simpson).

House Committee on Transportation
Senate Committee on Transportation

Background:

Public transportation benefit areas (PTBAs), metropolitan municipal corporations (Metros), and city-owned transit systems (city-owned transits) are special purpose districts authorized to provide public transportation services within their respective boundaries. Metros are also authorized to provide a number of other essential public services, including water supply, sewage treatment, and garbage disposal.

Generally speaking, "public transportation service" means the transportation of packages, passengers, and their incidental baggage by means other than by chartered bus or sight-seeing bus, together with the terminals and parking facilities necessary for passenger and vehicular access to and from such systems. For PTBAs, "public transportation service" also includes passenger-only ferry service for those PTBAs eligible to provide passenger-only ferry service.
City-owned transits, PTBAs, and Metros do not have specific authority to monitor public transportation service fare payment or to issue civil infractions to passengers who fail to provide proof of fare payment.

Regional transit authorities are specifically authorized to monitor fare payment and to issue civil infractions for, among other things, failure to provide proof of payment.

Summary:

Passengers traveling on public transportation operated by PTBAs, Metros, and city-owned transits are required to pay the established fare and to provide proof of payment when requested to do so by persons designated to monitor fare payment.

Metros, PTBAs, and city-owned transits are authorized to designate persons to monitor fare payment, and to establish a schedule of civil fines and penalties for civil infractions related to fare payment violations. A civil infraction not to exceed $250 may be issued by designated fare monitors to passengers who: fail to pay the fare; fail to provide proof of payment when requested to do so by a person designated to monitor fare payment; or refuse to leave the bus when asked by a person designated to monitor fare payment. The authority to issue civil citations for fare payment violations is supplemental to any other existing authority to enforce fare payment.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   84   10
Senate   48   0   (Senate amended)
House   86   8   (House concurred)

Effective: June 12, 2008