Transit operators: street harassment survey.

Existing law creates various transit districts throughout the state, with specified powers and duties relative to providing public transit service. Existing law provides various provisions applicable to all public transit and transit districts. Existing law requires the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University to, on or before December 31, 2023, develop and make available on its internet website a survey for the purpose of promoting consistency in the collection of specified survey data to inform efforts to improve the safety of riders and reduce street harassment on public transit. This bill would require a transit operator, as defined, to collect and publish specified survey data for the purpose of informing efforts to improve the safety of riders and reduce street harassment on public transit on or before December 31, 2024, to the extent feasible with the funding it receives to conduct these activities from the Department of Transportation under a funding agreement with a transit operator to collect and publish that survey data, as provided. The bill would require the department to enter into these funding agreements on or before July 1, 2024. The bill would require a transit operator to conduct outreach activities with subpopulations of riders who are underrepresented in surveys and impacted by street harassment to gain insight into the perspectives of these riders based on their experiences. The bill would authorize a transit operator to collect survey data in multiple languages to reach limited-English-proficient riders impacted by street harassment, as provided. The bill would require a transit operator to publish and make publicly available on its internet website the survey data collected pursuant to these provisions and promptly notify the Governor and the Legislature of publication of the survey data. The bill would provide that specified information collected by a transit operator in the 5 years before the effective date of this bill is deemed to be survey data collected by the transit operator for purposes of the bill, and that specified outreach activity conducted by a transit operator in the 5 years before the effective date of this bill is deemed to be outreach activity conducted by the transit operator for purposes of the bill. To the extent the bill imposes additional duties on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.