(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Rail passes offering unlimited travel on certain passenger rail and associated transit services for a specified period of time and a fixed price have been a success in Europe, Canada, and Alaska.
(2) A “California Pass,” valid on state-funded intercity and commuter rail lines, state-funded feeder buses, and major local transit systems would be a major benefit to tourism, while at the same time providing a package of transportation options which do not worsen highway congestion.
(3) Use of a single payment mechanism makes existing mass transportation services easier to use, by eliminating the need for familiarity with multiple complex tariffs and the need for correct change.
(b) The department shall investigate, and if feasible implement, a “California Pass” which would be valid, to the extent possible, for all of the following transportation services:
(1) State-funded intercity rail services in the San Diego-Los Angeles, Los Angeles-Santa Barbara, Los Angeles-Fresno-bay area/Sacramento, and Sacramento-bay area rail corridors.
(2) State-funded feeder buses operated in conjunction with the intercity rail services, including, but not limited to, the service operated between Merced and Yosemite National Park for the San Joaquin trains.
(3) Commuter rail services.
(4) Public transit services.
(5) Other transportation services.
(c) The department shall consider offering passes valid for travel over a specified consecutive number of days, as well as so-called “flexi-passes” valid for a specified number of days within a longer period of time. In addition, the department shall develop a procedure for distributing pass revenues to each participating operating entity, and for marketing the pass to prospective users.
(d) Prior to implementing a “California Pass” program, the department shall consult with each participating operating entity. The department shall not adopt procedures for the distribution of pass revenues without first submitting the proposed procedures to each affected operating entity.
(e) Nothing in this section precludes the department from implementing, as an interim measure, any marketing device to increase ridership on state-funded rail and bus services.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 193, Sec. 46. Effective January 1, 2005.)