Bill Text: TX SB1273 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to creating a commuter trip reduction pilot program for the Texas Department of Transportation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-13 - Referred to Transportation [SB1273 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-SB1273-Introduced.html
| 83R10696 MCK-D | ||
| By: Watson | S.B. No. 1273 | |
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| relating to creating a commuter trip reduction pilot program for | ||
| the Texas Department of Transportation. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 201, Transportation Code, | ||
| is amended by adding Section 201.407 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 201.407. COMMUTER TRIP REDUCTION PILOT PROGRAM. (a) | ||
| The department shall develop a commuter trip reduction pilot | ||
| program for selected department offices in Austin to reduce the | ||
| number of single-occupant vehicle commuter trips made by department | ||
| employees. | ||
| (b) The director shall appoint a commuter trip reduction | ||
| pilot program committee to develop and oversee the pilot program | ||
| and a commuter trip reduction coordinator to serve as the presiding | ||
| officer of the committee. | ||
| (c) In developing the pilot program, the committee shall: | ||
| (1) consider as a model the state of Washington's Joint | ||
| Comprehensive Commute Trip Reduction Plan; | ||
| (2) meet with the department management team during | ||
| the planning stage to identify potential challenges and | ||
| opportunities; | ||
| (3) consider whether the pilot program will have | ||
| mandatory trip reduction goals or voluntary trip reduction goals | ||
| and whether the goals will be measured agency-wide or by | ||
| department, division, or work group; and | ||
| (4) estimate the potential direct and indirect costs | ||
| to implement the pilot program and identify money and other | ||
| resources to support the pilot program. | ||
| (d) Before implementing the pilot program, the committee | ||
| must survey department employees in the offices participating in | ||
| the pilot program to obtain baseline data regarding the employees' | ||
| commuting habits. The committee must obtain responses from at | ||
| least three-fourths of the employees in the participating offices. | ||
| The committee shall use the data obtained to measure any reduction | ||
| in single-occupant vehicle commuter trips made by department | ||
| employees during the pilot program. | ||
| (e) The program must include strategies designed to reduce | ||
| the number of single-occupant vehicle commuter trips made by | ||
| department employees, including: | ||
| (1) flexible work hours; | ||
| (2) telecommuting; | ||
| (3) mass transit incentives; | ||
| (4) ridesharing; | ||
| (5) bicycle commuting; and | ||
| (6) an emergency ride home program. | ||
| (f) To promote the pilot program the committee shall: | ||
| (1) introduce the pilot program with an official | ||
| announcement that includes presentations by high-level state | ||
| officials; | ||
| (2) communicate with department employees about | ||
| commuting options using information displays, e-mail, flyers and | ||
| posters, the department's intranet, and presentations to work | ||
| groups and management teams, including new employee orientations; | ||
| (3) meet regularly with department heads to address | ||
| issues regarding employee commuting; and | ||
| (4) establish a ridesharing program to match employees | ||
| who work the same hours and live near each other. | ||
| (g) Not later than December 1, 2014, the department shall | ||
| report the results of the pilot program to the legislature and make | ||
| recommendations for abolishing, continuing, or expanding the | ||
| program. The report must: | ||
| (1) compare the number of single-occupant vehicle | ||
| commuter trips and number of vehicle miles traveled by department | ||
| employees before and after implementation of the pilot program; | ||
| (2) include the percentage reduction of | ||
| single-occupant vehicle commuter trips made by department | ||
| employees and the vehicle miles traveled during the pilot program; | ||
| (3) evaluate the effects of the pilot program on | ||
| traffic congestion; | ||
| (4) review the benefits of a mandatory commuter trip | ||
| reduction program in comparison to a voluntary program; | ||
| (5) include a cost-benefit analysis of the pilot | ||
| program, considering direct and indirect fiscal impacts; and | ||
| (6) include any other information the department | ||
| determines is relevant to evaluate the pilot program. | ||
| (h) This section expires September 1, 2015. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. | ||
