(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department adopt and implement the following policies applicable to the operation of feeder bus service provided by the department to and from rail terminals :

(1) Comprehensive marketing strategies to promote, in a cost-effective manner, ridership on intercity rail and feeder bus routes, including notification to the public of new routes and services and modifications to schedules affecting existing routes and services.

(2) Marketing new routes and services prior to the first day of service to avoid low ridership, similar to the marketing approach taken by major airlines with respect to new services.

(3) Implementation of feeder bus services based on evaluations of ridership needs and estimated break-even points. For this purpose, break-even points would be determined by conceptually assigning to a bus service all estimated revenue generated by a feeder bus passenger on the bus and train portions of a trip, and routes that fail to reach break-even points within a reasonable time period would be restructured or discontinued.

(4) Monitoring of feeder bus services to ensure that routes are operated, generally and individually, in a cost-effective manner, that they continue to respond to ridership needs, that bus stops are adequately signed and are located near public telephones, and that they promote and enhance a growing interest in the state’s intercity rail program.

(b) If federal rural transit funds are available to the department for intercity services, the department shall use those funds in support of appropriate intercity feeder bus services that are coordinated to meet intercity rail services at train stations and associated capital facilities.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 610, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.)