BILL REQ. #:  S-4481.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to incorporating motorcycles into certain transportation planning; and amending RCW 70.94.531, 46.61.165, and 47.52.025.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 70.94.531 and 2006 c 329 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) State agency worksites are subject to the same requirements under this section and RCW 70.94.534 as private employers.
     (2) Not more than ninety days after the adoption of a jurisdiction's commute trip reduction plan, each major employer in that jurisdiction shall perform a baseline measurement consistent with the rules established by the department of transportation under RCW 70.94.537. Not more than ninety days after receiving the results of the baseline measurement, each major employer shall develop a commute trip reduction program and shall submit a description of that program to the jurisdiction for review. The program shall be implemented not more than ninety days after approval by the jurisdiction.
     (3) A commute trip reduction program of a major employer shall consist of, at a minimum (a) designation of a transportation coordinator and the display of the name, location, and telephone number of the coordinator in a prominent manner at each affected worksite; (b) regular distribution of information to employees regarding alternatives to single-occupant vehicle commuting; (c) a regular review of employee commuting and reporting of progress toward meeting the single-occupant vehicle reduction goals to the county, city, or town consistent with the method established in the commute trip reduction plan and the rules established by the department of transportation under RCW 70.94.537; and (d) implementation of a set of measures designed to achieve the applicable commute trip reduction goals adopted by the jurisdiction. Such measures may include but are not limited to:
     (i) Provision of preferential parking or reduced parking charges, or both, for high occupancy vehicles and motorcycles;
     (ii) Instituting or increasing parking charges for single-occupant vehicles;
     (iii) Provision of commuter ride matching services to facilitate employee ridesharing for commute trips;
     (iv) Provision of subsidies for transit fares;
     (v) Provision of vans for van pools;
     (vi) Provision of subsidies for car pooling or van pooling;
     (vii) Permitting the use of the employer's vehicles for car pooling or van pooling;
     (viii) Permitting flexible work schedules to facilitate employees' use of transit, car pools, or van pools;
     (ix) Cooperation with transportation providers to provide additional regular or express service to the worksite;
     (x) Construction of special loading and unloading facilities for transit, car pool, and van pool users;
     (xi) Provision of bicycle parking facilities, lockers, changing areas, and showers for employees who bicycle or walk to work;
     (xii) Provision of a program of parking incentives such as a rebate for employees who do not use the parking facility;
     (xiii) Establishment of a program to permit employees to work part or full time at home or at an alternative worksite closer to their homes;
     (xiv) Establishment of a program of alternative work schedules such as compressed work week schedules which reduce commuting; and
     (xv) Implementation of other measures designed to facilitate the use of high occupancy vehicles such as on-site day care facilities and emergency taxi services.
     (4) Employers or owners of worksites may form or utilize existing transportation management associations or other transportation-related associations authorized by RCW 35.87A.010 to assist members in developing and implementing commute trip reduction programs.
     (5) Employers shall make a good faith effort towards achievement of the goals identified in RCW 70.94.527(4)(d).

Sec. 2   RCW 46.61.165 and 2011 c 379 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The state department of transportation and the local authorities are authorized to reserve all or any portion of any highway under their respective jurisdictions, including any designated lane or ramp, for the exclusive or preferential use of one or more of the following: (a) Public transportation vehicles; (b) motorcycles; (c) private motor vehicles carrying no fewer than a specified number of passengers; or (((c))) (d) the following private transportation provider vehicles if the vehicle has the capacity to carry eight or more passengers, regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle, and if such use does not interfere with the efficiency, reliability, and safety of public transportation operations: (i) Auto transportation company vehicles regulated under chapter 81.68 RCW; (ii) passenger charter carrier vehicles regulated under chapter 81.70 RCW, except marked or unmarked stretch limousines and stretch sport utility vehicles as defined under department of licensing rules; (iii) private nonprofit transportation provider vehicles regulated under chapter 81.66 RCW; and (iv) private employer transportation service vehicles, when such limitation will increase the efficient utilization of the highway or will aid in the conservation of energy resources.
     (2) Any transit-only lanes that allow other vehicles to access abutting businesses that are authorized pursuant to subsection (1) of this section may not be authorized for the use of private transportation provider vehicles as described under subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) The state department of transportation and the local authorities authorized to reserve all or any portion of any highway under their respective jurisdictions, for exclusive or preferential use, may prohibit the use of a high occupancy vehicle lane by the following private transportation provider vehicles: (a) Auto transportation company vehicles regulated under chapter 81.68 RCW; (b) passenger charter carrier vehicles regulated under chapter 81.70 RCW, and marked or unmarked limousines and stretch sport utility vehicles as defined under department of licensing rules; (c) private nonprofit transportation provider vehicles regulated under chapter 81.66 RCW; and (d) private employer transportation service vehicles, when the average transit speed in the high occupancy vehicle lane fails to meet department of transportation standards and falls below forty-five miles per hour at least ninety percent of the time during the peak hours, as determined by the department of transportation or the local authority, whichever operates the facility.
     (4) Regulations authorizing such exclusive or preferential use of a highway facility may be declared to be effective at all times or at specified times of day or on specified days. Violation of a restriction of highway usage prescribed by the appropriate authority under this section is a traffic infraction.
     (5) Local authorities are encouraged to establish a process for private transportation providers, as described under subsections (1) and (3) of this section, to apply for the use of public transportation facilities reserved for the exclusive or preferential use of public transportation vehicles. The application and review processes should be uniform and should provide for an expeditious response by the local authority. Whenever practicable, local authorities should enter into agreements with such private transportation providers to allow for the reasonable use of these facilities.
     (6) For the purposes of this section, "private employer transportation service" means regularly scheduled, fixed-route transportation service that is similarly marked or identified to display the business name or logo on the driver and passenger sides of the vehicle, meets the annual certification requirements of the department of transportation, and is offered by an employer for the benefit of its employees.

Sec. 3   RCW 47.52.025 and 2011 c 379 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Highway authorities of the state, counties, and incorporated cities and towns, in addition to the specific powers granted in this chapter, shall also have, and may exercise, relative to limited access facilities, any and all additional authority, now or hereafter vested in them relative to highways or streets within their respective jurisdictions, and may regulate, restrict, or prohibit the use of such limited access facilities by various classes of vehicles or traffic. Such highway authorities may reserve any limited access facility or portions thereof, including designated lanes or ramps for the exclusive or preferential use of (a) public transportation vehicles, (b) privately owned buses, (c) motorcycles, (d) private motor vehicles carrying not less than a specified number of passengers, or (((d))) (e) the following private transportation provider vehicles if the vehicle has the capacity to carry eight or more passengers, regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle, and if such use does not interfere with the efficiency, reliability, and safety of public transportation operations: (i) Auto transportation company vehicles regulated under chapter 81.68 RCW; (ii) passenger charter carrier vehicles regulated under chapter 81.70 RCW, except marked or unmarked stretch limousines and stretch sport utility vehicles as defined under department of licensing rules; (iii) private nonprofit transportation provider vehicles regulated under chapter 81.66 RCW; and (iv) private employer transportation service vehicles, when such limitation will increase the efficient utilization of the highway facility or will aid in the conservation of energy resources. Regulations authorizing such exclusive or preferential use of a highway facility may be declared to be effective at all time or at specified times of day or on specified days.
     (2) Any transit-only lanes that allow other vehicles to access abutting businesses that are reserved pursuant to subsection (1) of this section may not be authorized for the use of private transportation provider vehicles as described under subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) Highway authorities of the state, counties, or incorporated cities and towns may prohibit the use of limited access facilities by the following private transportation provider vehicles: (a) Auto transportation company vehicles regulated under chapter 81.68 RCW; (b) passenger charter carrier vehicles regulated under chapter 81.70 RCW, and marked or unmarked limousines and stretch sport utility vehicles as defined under department of licensing rules; (c) private nonprofit transportation provider vehicles regulated under chapter 81.66 RCW; and (d) private employer transportation service vehicles, when the average transit speed in the high occupancy vehicle travel lane fails to meet department standards and falls below forty-five miles per hour at least ninety percent of the time during the peak hours for two consecutive months.
     (4)(a) Local authorities are encouraged to establish a process for private transportation providers, described under subsections (1) and (3) of this section, to apply for the use of limited access facilities that are reserved for the exclusive or preferential use of public transportation vehicles.
     (b) The process must provide a list of facilities that the local authority determines to be unavailable for use by the private transportation provider and must provide the criteria used to reach that determination.
     (c) The application and review processes must be uniform and should provide for an expeditious response by the authority.
     (5) For the purposes of this section, "private employer transportation service" means regularly scheduled, fixed-route transportation service that is similarly marked or identified to display the business name or logo on the driver and passenger sides of the vehicle, meets the annual certification requirements of the department, and is offered by an employer for the benefit of its employees.