Title VI “No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal Financial assistance.” 42 U.S.C § 2000d, et seq

Race, Color & National Origin: the three protected classes Race –U.S. Census categories define race –Persons of any race are protected classes Color – Discrimination based on skin color or complexion is prohibited National Origin –Foreign born ancestry 2 3

Program or Activity Applies institution-wide Title VI applies institution-wide; it is not limited to the program that receives FTA funding (e.g., planning, capital, operations) Examples? Are Title VI requirements limited to primary recipients? 3 4

Title VI applies to both Recipients & Subrecipients Recipient: State DOT Transit Agency Any public or private agency, institution, department or other organizational unit receiving funding from FTA Subrecipient: Any entity that receives FTA financial assistance as a pass-through from another entity 4 5

Discrimination Prohibitions Disparate Treatment ( Intentional Discrimination ): Actions that result in circumstances where similarly situated persons are treated differently because of their race, color, or national origin. Disparate Impact ( Unintentional Discrimination ): The recipient’s procedure or practice, while neutral on its face, has the effect of disproportionately excluding or adversely affecting members of the projected class without substantial legitimate justification. Examples?

FTA Direct Grant Recipients must meet Title VI obligations defined in the Circular FTA Title VI Circular A –AKA “The Circular” Submission Cycle –Direct recipients every 3 years –MPOs every 4 yrs 8

Disproportionate Service/Fare Changes “Recipients can implement a service/fare increase that would have disproportionately high and adverse effects provided that the recipient (1) demonstrates that the action meets a substantial need that is in the public interest; and (2) that alternatives would have more severe adverse effects than the preferred alternative.”* * Circular A, Title VI Guidelines for FTA Recipients 9

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Establishing a Major Service Change Policy Recipient should have established guidelines or threshold for what it considers to be “major” change Often defined as a numerical standard – e.g. change effects greater than 25% of service hours on any route 11

Should I conduct a Service Equity Analysis?

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Service & Fare Equity Analysis When: Conducted at programming stage Who: Urbanized area with population of 200,000 or more that proposes major service change or fare change ( Note: There is no threshold for fare changes – one penny makes a fare change.) Why: Required by FTA Circular A 14

SERVICE & FARE EQUITY ANALYSIS Customary Steps 15

16 Most agencies use Option B

Analytical Approach What dataset(s) will you use? At what geographic levels will you assess disparate impacts? (By route, for the entire service area, …) At what geographic level will you measure minority and low-income concentrations? (Census tract, block group, TAZ, … or by ridership) Within which population will you identify disparate impacts? (Riders, service area population, …) Regardless of option: analytical method for determining disparate impact 17

Golden Rule for Preparing Service Equity Analysis APPLES TO APPLES ORANGES TO ORANGES 18

General idea of the analysis Detail major service changes and how they qualify as major relative to policy How would the proposed service changes impact L-I & minority populations at the geographic level(s) you identified? 19

Presentation of analysis GIS Maps Impacts associated with each type of service change 20

21 Summary of service changes Minority proportion of population Low-income proportion of population Along lineThresholdAlong lineThreshold Segment discontinuation, headway reduction 38.9%34.3%16.7%12.2% Example: Impacts of route-level changes on surrounding populations

22 Maps with overlays

Example: impacts of span of service changes on ridership 23 Type of service change Minority proportion of ridershipLow-income proportion of ridership Affected tripsThresholdAffected tripsThreshold Service span39.9%43.7%48.6%41.4% - An agency proposes to eliminate late-evening service on ALL routes.

Example: impacts of span of service changes by route classification 24 Average span of service (hours) ExistingProposedChange Low- Income Higher- Income Low- Income Higher- Income Low- Income Higher- Income Weekday Saturday Sunday An agency has classified certain routes as “low-income” based on the Census tracts they serve. The agency proposes span of service changes to many of its routes.

Example: impacts of a service improvement on existing riders 25 - An agency proposes to replace an express bus route with a faster fixed guideway service. The agency analyzes travel time differences for existing riders based on their origin locations. Average travel time by ridership group (minutes) Existing bus service New fixed- guideway Change AbsolutePercentage Minority % Low-income % Overall %

26 Average headway (minutes) ExistingProposedChange MinorityNon-MinorityMinorityNon-MinorityMinorityNon-Minority Weekday Peak Weekday Midday Weekday Evening Saturday Sunday Example: impacts of headway changes by route classification - An agency has classified certain routes as “minority” based on the Census tracts they serve. The agency proposes headway changes to many of its routes.

27 Mode Change If an agency operates multiple modes of service but proposed service changes only affect one mode: an equity analysis must be performed at the modal level based on proportions of L-I & minority ridership for each mode.

Alternative services available What alternative services are available for people impacted by the service change? How would the use of alternatives affect riders’ travel times and costs? Example: Other lines or services, potentially involving transfers and/or other modes, that connect affected riders with destinations they typically access. Can test alternatives using a trip planner 28

MITIGATE, MINIMIZE & OFFSET DISPARATE IMPACTS! Alignment or frequency changes to nearby lines or services to offer more convenience to affected areas Expansion of demand-response service in affected areas Guaranteed ride home program Other budgetary actions to taken to limit impacts to riders, i.e. internal cost-containment strategies 29

30 Conclusions What are your conclusions as to the impact of proposed service changes on L-I and minority populations? If disparate impact: –Meets a substantial need that is in the public interest –Alternative strategies have more severe adverse effects than preferred alternative –1 & 2 not a pretext for discrimination –& considered alternatives & mitigation

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Is it always the case that, if a transit agency raises fares such that the percent increase is the same for all fares, then the increased fares are equitable? YesYes? NoNo?

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Example Fare Data: Is there a disparate impact? Fare TypeNonMinMinorityCost/Ride Cash 1-ride149,131302,021$1.00 Day Pass158,451290,456$1.25 Monthly Pass511,225355,544$0.75 TOTAL686,9301,122,250 35

Compare & Mitigate Proposed Fare Changes Analysis should compare the fares that would be paid under the change with fares that would be paid under available alternatives. Describe actions to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects of proposed fare changes on minority and low-income populations. 36

Service & Fare Equity Analysis Summary Points  Evaluate changes during planning  Determine if discriminatory impact  Compare “apples-to-apples”  Explain methodology  Use graphics  Describe actions to mitigate 37