The Legislature further finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California has established statewide greenhouse gas emissions targets and requirements to be achieved by 2020 pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), which are equivalent to 1990 greenhouse gas emissions in the state. These targets and requirements entail approximately a 25-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from current levels.
(b) Executive Order S-3-05 further identifies a greenhouse gas emissions limit of 80 percent below 1990 levels to be achieved by 2050.
(c) Emissions from the transportation sector account for 38 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions.
(d) The state lacks a comprehensive, statewide, multimodal planning process that details the transportation system needed in the state to meet objectives of mobility and congestion management consistent with the state’s greenhouse gas emission limits and air pollution standards.
(e) Recent increases in gasoline prices resulted in historic increases in ridership on public transportation, including transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail, and in historic reductions in vehicle miles traveled by private vehicles. Increased demand for public transportation included a 16-percent increase in light rail ridership in Sacramento, a 15.3-percent increase in rail transit ridership in Los Angeles, a 23-percent increase in bus ridership in Orange County, a 14.4-percent increase in transit ridership in San Diego, a 6.3-percent increase in rail transit ridership in Oakland, and a 22.5-percent increase in transit ridership in Stockton. Current public transportation services and facilities are inadequate to meet current and expected future increases in demand.
(Added by Stats. 2009, Ch. 585, Sec. 1. (SB 391) Effective January 1, 2010.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018