NY Veh & Traf L § 1642-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws VAT - Vehicle and Traffic Title 8 - Respective Powers of State and Local Authorities Article 39 - Regulation of Traffic by Cities and Villages 1642-A - Bus Permit System in Cities Having a Population of One Million or More.

§  1642-a.  Bus  permit  system  in  cities having a population of one million or more. 1. For the purposes  of  this  section,  the  following terms shall have the following meanings:   a.  "Charter  bus"  shall  mean  a  bus  transporting  passengers  for compensation in chartered party.   b. "Chartered party" shall mean a group of persons who, pursuant to  a common  purpose  and under a single contract and at a fixed charge, have acquired exclusive use of a bus to travel  together  as  a  group  to  a specific destination or for a particular itinerary either agreed upon in advance or modified after having left the place of origin by such group.   c.  "Community  board"  shall  mean  a  community  board as defined in section twenty-eight hundred of the New York city charter.   d. "Intercity bus" shall mean a bus that transports the general public between a city having a population  of  one  million  or  more  and  any location  outside  of  such  city  in  scheduled  bus service. Provided, however, that such term shall  not  include  a  school  bus;  or  a  bus providing public transportation; or a charter bus.   e.  "Metropolitan transportation authority" shall mean the corporation created by section twelve hundred sixty-three of the public  authorities law.   f. "Public transportation" shall mean:  (i) mass transportation services provided to the general public by any public benefit corporation constituting a transportation authority, or a subsidiary thereof, or any public transportation corporation constituted as  an  instrumentality of a state, or a subsidiary thereof, directly or through a contact with another entity, or  (ii) mass transportation services provided to the  general  public  by any  county,  city,  town or village directly or through a contract with another entity pursuant to section one hundred nineteen-r of the general municipal law, or provided to the general public by another state or any county, city, town or village in a state other than New York directly or through a contract with another entity pursuant to a similar law of such other state.   2. Notwithstanding any provision of law  to  the  contrary,  any  city having  a population of one million or more may prohibit intercity buses from loading or unloading passengers on streets within such city  except on  designated  streets  and  at  designated  locations  on such streets pursuant to a permit in accordance with the provisions of this section.   3. The mayor of such city which acts pursuant to  subdivision  two  of this  section shall designate an agency to promulgate rules to implement this section. Such city agency shall promulgate such rules  which  shall comply  with chapter forty-five of the New York city charter including a public hearing. Such rules shall:   a.  Establish  a  system  of  permits  for  allocating  locations   on designated streets where intercity buses may load and unload passengers, and  prohibit  loading  and  unloading  of passengers other than at such designated locations on such designated streets pursuant to a permit;   b. Require the owner or operator of an  intercity  bus  to  submit  an application  for  a  permit  for  each proposed location for loading and unloading of passengers. Such application shall  include  the  following information:  (i)  The  name,  address,  telephone  number, e-mail address and motor carrier number of the intercity bus owner or operator, the United States department of transportation number and/or New York state department  of transportation  number  for  each  bus  that  would  use  such  proposed location;  (ii) A proposed location or locations to  be  used  by  the  specified intercity  buses  for  loading  or unloading passengers, and two or more alternative proposed locations;  (iii)  The  number  of  intercity  buses  that  would use the proposed location or locations;  (iv) The number of passengers anticipated for each such intercity bus;  (v) The proposed intercity bus schedule;  (vi) The planned garage or parking location  of  the  intercity  buses during periods when such buses are not being used; and  (vii)  Any  other  information deemed necessary by the commissioner of the city agency designated pursuant to this subdivision.   c. Establish criteria for assigning locations  to  permit  applicants, which  shall  include traffic and safety considerations, the preferences of the  applicant,  consultation  with  the  local  community  board  as provided  in  paragraph  b of subdivision four of this section and other criteria deemed appropriate by the commissioner of such city agency;   d. Provide that such permit shall be issued for a term of up to  three years,  except that such city may relocate a designated location for the loading and unloading of passengers by an  intercity  bus,  upon  ninety days  notice  to  the holder of a permit and after consultation with the local community board as provided in paragraph b of subdivision four  of this  section,  pursuant  to the criteria established in accordance with paragraph c of this subdivision;   e. Include criteria under which  intercity  bus  owners  or  operators assigned  a  designated  location  for  loading and unloading passengers prior to the effective date of this section shall be issued a permit  to use  such  location  for  the  loading and unloading of passengers for a period of up to three years from the effective date of this section;   f. Establish  a  timeframe  of  up  to  one  hundred  fifty  days  for determinations  on  permit applications, and a process for reviewing the determination on the application;   g. Require intercity bus owners  or  operators  to  notify  such  city agency of changes to information provided in such permit application;   h.  Require intercity bus owners or operators to prominently display a copy of the permit in each intercity bus;   i. Require the posting of all approved applications on a  website  for public access by such city agency within thirty days of approval;   j.  Include  such  other requirements as are deemed appropriate by the commissioner of such city agency;   k. Set forth a schedule of fines or civil penalties for violations  of the  rules  by  owners  or  operators  of intercity buses, including for loading or unloading passengers on a city street without a permit or for failure to comply with any permit requirements or restrictions, provided that such fines or civil penalties shall not be more than  one  thousand dollars  for  a  first violation, and not be more than two thousand five hundred dollars for a second or subsequent violation within two years of the first violation; and   1. Provide for the suspension or revocation of a permit for failure to comply with any permit requirements or restrictions.   Such rules also may provide for the imposition of an  annual  fee  for such  permit to cover administrative expenses, not to exceed two hundred seventy-five dollars per vehicle.   4. The city agency designated pursuant to subdivision  three  of  this section to promulgate rules shall:   a.  Have  the  authority  to designate streets and locations where the loading  or  unloading  of  passengers  by  intercity  buses  shall   be permitted;    b.   Consult   with   the  local  community  board  for  the  district encompassing the location to be designated in a  permit,  including  but not  limited to a notice and comment period of forty-five days, prior to the issuance or permanent amendment of such permit;   c.  Consult  with  the  metropolitan  transportation  authority when a proposed location  or  relocation  for  the  loading  and  unloading  of passengers   by   an  intercity  bus  would  overlap  with  an  existing metropolitan transportation authority bus stop;   d. Consult with the port authority of New York and New Jersey  when  a proposed  location  or  relocation  for  the  loading  and  unloading of passengers by an intercity bus  would  overlap  with  an  existing  port authority of New York and New Jersey bus facility.   e.  Post  all  locations  designated  for the loading and unloading of passengers by intercity bus on a website for public access within thirty days of approval; and   f. Have the authority to temporarily amend any approved location for a period of up to ninety days  for  reasons  of  public  safety  or  other emergency  or  temporary  need as determined by such city agency without prior consultation with the local community board;  provided  that  such city agency informs the affected community board in writing no more than thirty days after any such temporary amendment.   5.  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law, in addition to those persons otherwise authorized to enforce any rules  promulgated  pursuant to  this  section  and adjudicate violations thereof pursuant to article two-A or two-B of this chapter, this section shall also  be  enforceable by  an  agency  or  agencies designated for such purpose by the mayor of such city, and notices of violation issued by such  agency  or  agencies shall  be  returnable  to  the environmental control board of such city, which shall  have  the  power  to  impose  the  civil  penalties  herein provided. All proceedings before the environmental control board and any enforcement   proceedings   shall   be   conducted  in  accordance  with subdivision d of section one thousand forty-nine-a of the New York  city charter  and  the  rules of the environmental control board, except that service of a notice of violation of any  rule  promulgated  pursuant  to this section shall be made on the owner or operator of the intercity bus involved  in  the  violation (i) in the same manner as is prescribed for service of process by article three of the civil practice law and  rules or  article  three  of  the business corporation law; (ii) by delivering such notice to the operator of the intercity bus, and mailing a copy  of the  notice to the owner or operator of the intercity bus, provided that proof of such service shall be  filed  with  the  environmental  control board  within  twenty days, and service shall be complete ten days after such filing; or (iii) by affixing such notice to the intercity bus,  and mailing  a  copy of the notice to the owner or operator of the intercity bus, provided that proof  of  such  service  shall  be  filed  with  the environmental  control  board  within  twenty days, and service shall be complete ten days  after  such  filing.  Civil  penalties  may  also  be recovered   in   a   proceeding   commenced  in  a  court  of  competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding any other provision  of  law,  such  civil penalties imposed by such environmental control board shall be paid into the  general  fund  of  such  city.  Notwithstanding section one hundred fifty-five of this chapter or any other provision of law, where a person has been adjudicated  to  be  in  violation  of  any  rules  promulgated pursuant  to  subdivision three of this section, such adjudication shall not have the force and effect of a conviction of a traffic infraction or of a violation of any provision of this  chapter  for  any  purpose  not specified in this section.