120475-120478

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE
SECTION 120475-120478




120475.  The board shall coordinate the operation of all regional
public transit services which operate within the area under the
jurisdiction of the board so as to achieve efficient operation
thereof and shall establish procedures to resolve disputes between
public transit operators and local agencies. The objective of the
coordination is to ensure that regional operators, the local
operators, and local public agencies do not compete or unnecessarily
duplicate services, but assist each other to provide the maximum
level of transit service to the general public at the lowest possible
cost.



120476.  The board shall act in full cooperation and coordination
with the regional operators, the local operators, and the local
public agencies in such matters as schedules, routes, and exchange of
transfers. The role of the board in coordinating, reviewing, and
resolving conflicts, approving plans, and developing programs shall
be a cooperative effort with the operators and public agencies and
shall be executed so as not to unnecessarily impede or slow the
transportation planning and programming process. The board shall
adopt procedures which shall include a provision that would provide a
process whereby any operator or agency involved in a dispute could
settle the matter without requiring board involvement.




120477.  (a) The board shall resolve regional transit service
disputes between local agencies and transit operators which provide
services in the area, pursuant to the rules and regulations adopted
by the board.
   (b) In resolving a regional transit service dispute pursuant to
rules and regulations it has adopted, the board, on a case-by-case
basis, may, by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members,
resolve the dispute, notwithstanding Sections 99280 and 99281.
   (c) Nothing in this article shall supersede the lawful authority
of any local public agency to regulate and provide for transit
services within its jurisdiction or the duties and authority of the
North San Diego County Transit Development Board pursuant to Sections
125105 and 125260.
   (d) Regional service shall be characterized by operating speed
above the system average, limited stops, and moderate service
frequencies connecting different communities or cities.



120478.  The rules and regulations adopted by the board shall
include, but not be limited to, the following:
   (a) Criteria to determine the definition and validity of a
regional transit service dispute.
   (b) Procedures for the submission of a regional transit service
dispute to the board.
   (c) The information, such as the matter in dispute, to be included
in the notice to be sent to the parties in the regional transit
service dispute.
   (d) The procedure for mediation prior to a hearing before a
transit coordination and service committee.
   (e) The appointment, if mediation fails, of a transit coordination
and service committee, consisting of board members, to hold a public
hearing on the regional transit service dispute in the locality of
the dispute and to make reports of its findings of fact and its
recommendations regarding the dispute to the board.
   (f) The adoption of one or more alternative procedures for the
review and resolution of regional disputes involving the San Diego
Transit Corporation, to be mutually agreed upon by the parties to the
dispute.
   (g) If the regional dispute involves one or more local agencies
not within the area governed by the board, the adoption of one or
more alternative procedures for the review and resolution of the
dispute, to be mutually agreed upon by the parties to the dispute.
   (h) Actions the board may take to resolve the dispute.