Rosemead Considers Tour Bus Ban
By Shel Segal, Beacon Media News
The Rosemead City Council will be deciding if it should ban the picking up and dropping off of passengers from city streets by tour and casino buses, according to a published report.
This is because the city has been getting complaints regarding trash, safety issues and lack of parking, according to that report.
If the council approves this ordinance, bus operators will “face a $500 fine for the first violation. The fine is $1,000 for repeat offenses,” according to that report.
The proposed ordinance has built-in exceptions, including “emergencies, dropping off or picking up passengers at hotels where they are registered guests and ferrying people to and from specific cultural or entertainment events in Rosemead,” according to that report.
The proposed ordinance would allow these buses to park, load and unload passengers on private property or parking lots only if they have received permission from the property owner and the tenants and the bus operators would need to get a business license from the city of Rosemead, according to that report.
As there have been complaints about private buses in the past, they have increased in number since the city of San Gabriel passed a similar ordinance that “restricted private buses from stopping on their city streets,” according to that report.
In addition, that has also increased the number of buses in Rosemead, according to that report.
The buses contribute to the problems of littering and traffic and pedestrian safety. Also, bus passengers have been criticized as they park their cars all day on residential streets, according to that report.
The traffic commission has reviewed the material after it was looked at by city staff and has brought its recommendation to the council, according to that report.
The city sent about 100 notices “to private bus operators about the ordinance but haven’t heard yet from the companies,” according to that report. In addition, if the ordinance passes the city plans to use “the 30 days before the law takes effect to spread the word to private bus operators,” according to that report.
(Shel Segal can be reached at [email protected]. He can be followed via Twitter @segallanded.)