Safeguarding Minority Civil Rights and Environmental Justice in Service Delivery and Reductions: Case Study of New York City Transit Authority Title VI Program

Federal civil rights and environmental justice (EJ) mandates require transit agencies to provide service without racial or income discrimination and to ensure meaningful access by individuals with limited English proficiency. EJ research generally focuses on long-range planning and capital investment decision making. However, for operating agencies, equity in scheduling, service planning, and tactical service delivery operations is critical to compliance with Title VI legislation and FTA Circular C4702.1A. In 2009, New York City Transit (NYCT) designed a service reductions package in response to the economic downturn. EJ considerations were integral to its planning. The use of ridership performance criteria for route selection resulted in fewer impacts on routes with heavily minority or low-income populations. Quantitative analysis ensured that protected demographics were not significantly adversely affected by proposed service rationalizations. Route and frequency modifications and service span changes were evaluated with statistical t-tests during programming stages, resulting in proposals sensitive to equity concerns. Operationally, NYCT actively monitors service using U.S. census, survey, and routine agency data. The t-test and the chi-square test explicitly demonstrate racial and income equity in all aspects of agency operations on the basis of service standards and policies. As an example, t-tests compared the observed load factors with published guidelines; no significant differences in service delivery between demographic groups were found.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/2163-05
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Safeguarding+Minority+Civil+Rights+and+Environmental+Justice+in+Service+Delivery+and+Reductions%3a+%0aCase+Study+of+New+York+City+Transit+Authority+Title+VI+Program&author=A.+Reddy&author=T.+Chennadu&author=A.+Lu&publication_year=2010
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780309142939
• Authors:
  • Reddy, Alla
  • Chennadu, Thomas
  • Lu, Alex
• Publication Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 45-56
• Monograph Title: Social, Environmental, and Economic Sustainability, Including 2010 Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lecture
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2163
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Chi square test; Civil rights; Environmental justice; Equity; Low income groups; Minorities; Race; Schedules and scheduling; Social factors; T test
• Identifier Terms: Civil Rights Act Title VI; New York City Transit Authority
• Uncontrolled Terms: Service delivery
• Geographic Terms: New York (New York)
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01157001
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309142939
• Report/Paper Numbers: 10-1155
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: May 24 2010 2:08PM