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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 22, 2013 11:36 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Thomas H. Killion |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | De-Regulating the Vanpool Industry |
| I will soon be introducing legislation that will de-regulate the vanpool industry within the Commonwealth. In 1980, the National Association of Vanpool Operators (now the Association for Commuter Transportation) estimated that there were 24,000 vanpools nationwide of which 23,000 were owned and operated by employers on behalf of their employees. However, throughout the 1980's and 1990's, transit agencies and private operators began to expand vanpool offerings as employers no longer needed to provide transportation options for their employees. Today, of the estimated 15,000 vanpools nationwide, less than 1,000 of those are owned and operated by employers on behalf of their employees. In fact, those operations are now limited to four firms in California, Texas, Arizona, and Minnesota. Instead, vanpools are now operated by private providers, by public agencies that include the vanpool operations in their reporting for federal funding eligibility, or in partnerships between private providers and public agencies. Due to current law, the partnership model is the only model that exists in Pennsylvania. As a result, commuter vanpool service organizations are currently limited to providing service through a contract with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Corporation (SPC) in Pittsburgh, as a subcontractor to outreach efforts in York, and on an exclusive basis to other individual employers in Pennsylvania. These restrictions are not in the public interest where the transit services that may be available are threatened by funding constraints and reductions, resulting in the loss of service in many areas of the state. My legislation will allow private operators to provide commuter vanpool service across the state and fill needs where public funding may not be available. Specifically, the legislation will give private operators the ability to advertise the availability of the offering to employers and their employees through group outreach, advertising, and appropriate branding on vehicles. This is crucial to allow the growth of the vanpooling market in Pennsylvania. I appreciate your consideration of this legislation. Please contact Alison Hagler in my office with any questions at ahagler@pahousegop.com. |
Introduced as HB1857