Article 2. Findings And Declarations of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 10. >> Part 11. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 2.

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
  (a) Public transportation is an essential component of the balanced transportation system which must be maintained and developed so as to permit the efficient and orderly movement of people and goods in the urban areas of the state. Because public transportation systems provide an essential public service, it is desirable that such systems be designed and operated in such a manner as to encourage maximum utilization of the efficiencies of the service for the benefit of the total transportation system of the state and all the people of the state, including the elderly, the disabled, the youth, and the citizens of limited means.
  (b) The fostering, continuance, and development of public transportation systems are a matter of state concern. Excessive reliance on the private automobile for transportation has caused air pollution and traffic congestion in California's urban areas, and such pollution and congestion are not confined to single incorporated areas but affect entire regions. Furthermore, public transportation systems which are not designed so as to be usable by disabled persons foster increased welfare costs and the waste of human resources. Thus, the Legislature has elected to deal with the multiple problems caused by lack of adequate public transportation on a regional basis through the counties, with coordination of the programs being the responsibility of the state pursuant to contract with county governments.
  (c) While providing county assistance to a particular transportation system may not be of primary interest and benefit to each and every taxpayer in a county, providing an integrated and coordinated system to meet the public transportation needs of an entire county will benefit the county as a whole. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for such systems in those counties where they are needed.
  (d) The local transportation funds authorized by Article 11 (commencing with Section 29530) of Chapter 2 of Division 3 of Title 3 of the Government Code are made possible by the imposition of the state's sales and use taxes on motor vehicle fuel, which allows for a reduction in state taxes without a corresponding loss in revenue. By authorizing counties to increase their sales and use taxes, an additional source of revenue has been made available for public transportation within such counties. Applicants for a disbursement from a local transportation fund shall only be eligible for an allocation from the fund of the county in which such transportation is provided.

It is the intent of the Legislature to improve existing public transportation services and encourage regional public transportation coordination. The Legislature recognizes that in the Southern California Rapid Transit District a unique factual situation exists where several municipal bus systems are providing essential local transportation services within the operating territory of the district, which was created by the Legislature to provide areawide coordinated public transportation services. Within the Southern California Rapid Transit District, as with all transportation service improvements in the County of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall be the governmental entity responsible to establish a unified or officially coordinated public transportation system as part of the comprehensively planned development of the urban area. Both the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the included municipalities that operate bus systems within the jurisdiction of the district are permitted to file claims pursuant to this chapter upon the local transportation fund of the County of Los Angeles; provided, however, any approved claim shall not be allowed for the purpose of the establishment by the included municipal operator after January 1, 1980, of new transportation services that do not meet the criteria established by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the development of new services. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Southern California Rapid Transit District should not be inhibited in its effort to improve transit services within the region by the expansion outside the reserved service areas of the several municipal bus systems of the involved municipalities. The policy of the Legislature is that new services to meet public transportation needs outside of the municipalities presently operating bus systems which do not compete with, or divert patronage from, an existing operating bus system of an included municipal applicant under Section 99280, shall be provided and controlled by the Southern California Rapid Transit District, in complete cooperation and coordination with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in its role as the responsible public agency for providing public transportation systems and facilities within the region.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
  (a) It is in the interest of the state that funds available for transit development be fully expended to meet the transit needs that exist in California.
  (b) Such funds be expended for physical improvement to improve the movement of transit vehicles, the comfort of the patrons, and the exchange of patrons from one transportation mode to another.