Title VI as it Applies to FTA Grant Programs

CIRCULAR
U.S. Department
of Transportation

FTA C 4702.1B
Federal Transit
Administration

October 1, 2012
Subject:

TITLE VI REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR FEDERAL
TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION RECIPIENTS

1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Circular is to provide recipients of Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) financial assistance with guidance and instructions necessary to carry
out U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT” or “the Department”) Title VI regulations (49
CFR part 21) and to integrate into their programs and activities considerations expressed in
the Department’s Policy Guidance Concerning Recipients’ Responsibilities to Limited
English Proficient (“LEP”) Persons (70 FR 74087, December 14, 2005).
2. CANCELLATION. This Circular supersedes FTA Circular 4702.1A “Title VI and Title VIDependent Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients,” dated May 13, 2007.
3. AUTHORITY.
a. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.
b. Federal Transit Laws, Title 49, United States Code, Chapter 53.
c. 49 CFR § 1.51.
d. 49 CFR part 21.
e. 28 CFR § 42.401 et seq.
4. WAIVER. FTA reserves the right to waive any requirements of this Circular to the extent
permitted by law.
5. FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE. In conjunction with publication of this Circular, FTA
published a notice in the Federal Register on August 28, 2012, addressing comments
received during development of the Circular.
6. AMENDMENTS TO THE CIRCULAR. FTA reserves the right to update this Circular to
reflect changes in other revised or new guidance and regulations that undergo notice and
comment, without further notice and comment on this Circular. FTA will post updates on our

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FTA C 4702.1B

website at www.fta.dot.gov. The website allows the public to register for notification when
FTA issues Federal Register notices or new guidance. Please visit the website and click on
“Sign Up For Email Updates” for more information.
7. ACCESSIBLE FORMATS. This document is available in accessible formats upon request.
To obtain paper copies of this Circular as well as information regarding these accessible
formats, call FTA’s Administrative Services Help Desk, at 202-366-4865. Individuals with
hearing impairments may contact the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for assistance
with the call.

_/s/______________
Peter Rogoff
Administrator

FTA C 4702.1B

Page i
TITLE VI GUIDELINES FOR FTA RECIPIENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I

PAGE

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ................................................................ Chap. 1−1 
1.  The Federal Transit Administration (FTA). ...................................................... Chap. 1−1 
2.  Authorizing Legislation..................................................................................... Chap. 1−1 
3.  How to Contact FTA ......................................................................................... Chap. 1−1 
4.  Grants.gov ......................................................................................................... Chap. 1−1 
5.  Definitions ......................................................................................................... Chap. 1−2 
6.  Environmental Justice ....................................................................................... Chap. 1−6 

II PROGRAM OVERVIEW .......................................................................................... Chap. 2−1 
1.  Program Objectives ........................................................................................... Chap. 2−1 
2.  Statutory Authority ............................................................................................ Chap. 2−1 
3.  Regulatory Authority......................................................................................... Chap. 2−1 
4.  Additional Documents....................................................................................... Chap. 2−2 
5.  Reporting Requirements .................................................................................... Chap. 2−2 
6.  Applicability to Contractors .............................................................................. Chap. 2−3 
III GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES................................................ Chap. 3−1 
1.  Introduction ....................................................................................................... Chap. 3−1 
2.  Requirement to Provide Title VI Assurances .................................................... Chap. 3−1 
3.  Requirements for First-Time Applicants........................................................... Chap. 3−1 
4.  Requirement to Prepare and Submit a Title VI Program .................................. Chap. 3−1 
5.  Requirement to Notify Beneficiaries of Protection Under Title VI .................. Chap. 3−4 
6.  Requirement to Develop Title VI Complaint Procedures and Complaint
Form .................................................................................................................. Chap. 3−5 
7.  Requirement to Record and Report Transit-Related Title VI Investigations,
Complaints, and Lawsuits ................................................................................. Chap. 3−5 
8.  Promoting Inclusive Public Participation .......................................................... Chap. 3−5 
9.  Requirement to Provide Meaningful Access to LEP Persons ........................... Chap. 3−6 
10.  Minority Representation on Planning and Advisory Bodies ............................. Chap. 3−9 
11.  Providing Assistance to Subrecipients ............................................................ Chap. 3−10 
12.  Monitoring Subrecipients ................................................................................ Chap. 3−10 
13.  Determination of Site or Location of Facilities ............................................... Chap. 3−11 
14.  Requirement to Provide Additional Information Upon Request ..................... Chap. 3−12
IV REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT
PROVIDERS .............................................................................................................. Chap. 4−1 
1.  Introduction ....................................................................................................... Chap. 4−1
2.
Implementation………………………………………………………………..Chap. 4−2
3.  Requirement to Prepare and Submit a Title VI Program .................................. Chap. 4−3 
4.  Requirement to Set System-Wide Service Standards and Policies ................... Chap. 4−4 

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FTA C 4702.1B

5. 
6. 
7. 

Requirement to Collect and Report Demographic Data.................................... Chap. 4−7 
Requirement to Monitor Transit Service ........................................................... Chap. 4−9 
Requirement to Evaluate Service and Fare Changes ...................................... Chap. 4−10 

V REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES ............................................................................. Chap. 5−1 
1.  Introduction ....................................................................................................... Chap. 5−1 
2.  Requirement to Prepare and Submit a Title VI Program .................................. Chap. 5−1 
3.  Planning ............................................................................................................. Chap. 5−2 
4.  Requirements for Program Administration ....................................................... Chap. 5−3 
VI REQUIREMENTS FOR METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
ORGANIZATIONS .................................................................................................... Chap. 6−1 
1.  Introduction ....................................................................................................... Chap. 6−1 
2.  Requirement to Prepare and Ssubmit a Title VI Program ................................. Chap. 6−1 
3.  Planning ............................................................................................................. Chap. 6−2 
4.  Designated Recipient......................................................................................... Chap. 6−3 
5.  Direct Recipient................................................................................................. Chap. 6−3 
6.  Requirements for Program Administration ....................................................... Chap. 6−3 
VII EFFECTING COMPLIANCE WITH DOT TITLE VI REGULATIONS ................ Chap. 7−1 
1.  Introduction ....................................................................................................... Chap. 7−1 
2.  Procedures for Securing Voluntary Compliance ............................................... Chap. 7−1 
3.  Proceedings ....................................................................................................... Chap. 7−2 
4.  Judicial Review ................................................................................................. Chap. 7−4 
VIII COMPLIANCE REVIEWS ..................................................................................... Chap. 8−1 
1.  Introduction ....................................................................................................... Chap. 8−1 
2.  Compliance Procedures ..................................................................................... Chap. 8−1 
3.  Criteria ............................................................................................................... Chap. 8−1 
4.  Scope ................................................................................................................. Chap. 8−1 
5.  Determinations .................................................................................................. Chap. 8−1 
6.  Results of Compliance Review Activities ......................................................... Chap. 8−2 
7.  Effecting Compliance ........................................................................................ Chap. 8−2
IX COMPLAINTS ........................................................................................................... Chap. 9−1 
1.  Introduction ....................................................................................................... Chap. 9−1 
2.  Right to File a Complaint .................................................................................. Chap. 9−1 
3.  Complaint Acceptance ...................................................................................... Chap. 9−1 
4.  Investigations .................................................................................................... Chap. 9−1 
5.  Letters of Finding .............................................................................................. Chap. 9−1 
6.  Administrative Closure ..................................................................................... Chap. 9−2 
APPENDICES 
A TITLE VI PROGRAM CHECKLIST ........................................................................ App. A−1 
B TITLE VI NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC (GENERAL REQUIREMENT) ...................App. B−1 

FTA C 4702.1B

Page iii

C TITLE VI COMPLAINT PROCEDURE (GENERAL REQUIREMENT) ................App. C−1 
D SAMPLE TITLE VI COMPLAINT FORM (GENERAL REQUIREMENT) ........... App. D−1 
E LIST OF TRANSIT-RELATED TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLAINTS, AND
LAWSUITS (GENERAL REQUIREMENT) ............................................................. App. E−1 
F TABLE DEPICTING MINORITY REPRESENTATION ON COMMITTEES AND
COUNCILS SELECTED BY THE RECIPIENT (GENERAL REQUIREMENT) .... App. F−1 
G SERVICE STANDARDS (REQUIREMENT FOR ALL FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT
PROVIDERS) ............................................................................................................. App. G−1 
H SERVICE POLICIES (REQUIREMENT FOR ALL FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT
PROVIDERS) ............................................................................................................. App. H−1 
I

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE AND TRAVEL PATTERNS (REQUIREMENT FOR
TRANSIT PROVIDERS THAT OPERATE 50 OR MORE FIXED ROUTE VEHICLES IN
PEAK SERVICE AND ARE LOCATED IN URBANIZED AREAS (UZA) OF 200,000 OR
MORE PEOPLE, OR THAT OTHERWISE MEET THE THRESHOLD DEFINED IN
CHAPTER IV) .............................................................................................................. App. I−1 

J

REQUIREMENT TO MONITOR TRANSIT SERVICE (REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSIT
PROVIDERS THAT OPERATE 50 OR MORE FIXED ROUTE VEHICLES IN PEAK
SERVICE AND ARE LOCATED IN URBANIZED AREAS (UZA) OF 200,000 OR MORE
PEOPLE, OR THAT OTHERWISE MEET THE THRESHOLD DEFINED IN
CHAPTER IV) ............................................................................................................. App. J−1 

K SERVICE AND FARE EQUITY ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE CHECKLIST
(REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSIT PROVIDERS THAT OPERATE 50 OR MORE FIXED
ROUTE VEHICLES IN PEAK SERVICE AND ARE LOCATED IN URBANIZED AREAS
(UZA) OF 200,000 OR MORE PEOPLE, OR THAT OTHERWISE MEET THE
THRESHOLD DEFINED IN CHAPTER IV) ......................................................... App. K−1 
L REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................... App. L−1 
M TITLE VI AND LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
RESOURCES ............................................................................................................. App. M−1 
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... REF–1 
INDEX .............................................................................................................................. INDEX–1 

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. I-1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1. THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (FTA). FTA is one of ten operating
administrations within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Headed by an
Administrator who is appointed by the President of the United States, FTA functions through
a Washington, DC, headquarters office, ten regional offices, and five metropolitan offices
that assist transit agencies in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
Public transportation includes buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, monorail, passenger
ferry boats, trolleys, inclined railways, people movers, and vans. Public transportation can be
either fixed route or demand response service.
The Federal Government, through FTA, provides financial assistance to develop new transit
systems and improve, maintain, and operate existing systems. FTA oversees thousands of
grants to hundreds of State and local transit providers, primarily through its ten regional
offices. These grant recipients are responsible for managing their programs in accordance
with Federal requirements, and FTA is responsible for ensuring that recipients follow Federal
statutory and administrative requirements.
2. AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION. Most Federal transit laws are codified at title 49 U.S.C.
Chapter 53. Authorizing legislation is substantive legislation enacted by Congress that
establishes or continues the legal operation of a Federal program or agency. FTA’s most
recent authorizing legislation is the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP21), Public Law 112-141, signed into law on July 6, 2012, and effective October 1, 2012.
3. HOW TO CONTACT FTA. FTA’s regional and metropolitan offices are responsible for
providing financial assistance to FTA recipients and oversight of grant implementation for
most FTA programs. Certain specific programs are the responsibility of FTA headquarters.
Inquiries should be directed to either the regional or metropolitan office responsible for the
geographic area in which the recipient is located. See FTA’s website for more information.
Visit FTA’s website, http://www.fta.dot.gov, or contact FTA Headquarters at the following
address and phone number:
Federal Transit Administration
Office of Communications and Congressional Affairs
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
East Building
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: 202-366-4043; Fax: 202-366-3472
4. GRANTS.GOV. FTA posts all competitive grant opportunities on Grants.gov. Grants.gov is
the one website for information on all discretionary Federal grant opportunities. Led by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and in partnership with Federal
grant-making agencies, including 26 agencies, 11 commissions, and several States,

Chap. I-2

FTA C 4702.1B

Grants.gov is one of 24 government-wide E-government initiatives. It is designed to improve
access to government services via the Internet. More information about Grants.gov is
available at http://www.grants.gov/.
5. DEFINITIONS. All definitions in chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, and in 49 CFR
part 21 apply to this Circular, as well as the following definitions:
a. Applicant means a person or entity that submits an application, request, or plan required
to be approved by the FTA Administrator or by a primary recipient, as a condition of
eligibility for financial assistance from FTA, and “application” means such an
application, request, or plan.
b. Demand response system: Any non-fixed route system of transporting individuals that
requires advanced scheduling including services provided by public entities, non-profits,
and private providers. An advance request for service is a key characteristic of demand
response service.
c. Designated recipient means an entity designated, in accordance with the planning process
under sections 5303 and 5304, by the Governor of a State, responsible local officials, and
publicly owned operators of public transportation, to receive and apportion amounts
under section 5336 to urbanized areas of 200,000 or more in population; or a State or
regional authority, if the authority is responsible under the laws of a State for a capital
project and for financing and directly providing public transportation.
d. Direct recipient means an entity that receives funding directly from FTA. For purposes of
this Circular, a direct recipient is distinguished from a primary recipient in that a direct
recipient does not extend financial assistance to subrecipients, whereas a primary
recipient does.
e. Discrimination refers to any action or inaction, whether intentional or unintentional, in
any program or activity of a Federal aid recipient, subrecipient, or contractor that results
in disparate treatment, disparate impact, or perpetuating the effects of prior
discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
f. Disparate impact refers to a facially neutral policy or practice that disproportionately
affects members of a group identified by race, color, or national origin, where the
recipient’s policy or practice lacks a substantial legitimate justification and where there
exists one or more alternatives that would serve the same legitimate objectives but with
less disproportionate effect on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
g. Disproportionate burden refers to a neutral policy or practice that disproportionately
affects low-income populations more than non-low-income populations. A finding of
disproportionate burden requires the recipient to evaluate alternatives and mitigate
burdens where practicable.
h. Disparate treatment refers to actions that result in circumstances where similarly situated
persons are intentionally treated differently (i.e., less favorably) than others because of
their race, color, or national origin.

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Chap. I-3

i. Fixed guideway means a public transportation facility—using and occupying a
separate right-of-way for the exclusive use of public transportation; using rail; using a
fixed catenary system; for a passenger ferry system; or for a bus rapid transit system.
j. Fixed route refers to public transportation service provided in vehicles operated along
pre-determined routes according to a fixed schedule.
k. Federal financial assistance refers to
(1) grants and loans of Federal funds;
(2) the grant or donation of Federal property and interests in property;
(3) the detail of Federal personnel;
(4) the sale and lease of, and the permission to use (on other than a casual or transient
basis), Federal property or any interest in such property without consideration or at a
nominal consideration, or at a consideration which is reduced for the purpose of
assisting the recipient, or in recognition of the public interest to be served by such
sale or lease to the recipient; and
(5) any Federal agreement, arrangement, or other contract that has as one of its purposes
the provision of assistance.
l. Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons refers to persons for whom English is not their
primary language and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand
English. It includes people who reported to the U.S. Census that they speak English
less than very well, not well, or not at all.
m. Low-income person means a person whose median household income is at or below
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) poverty guidelines.
Recipients are encouraged to use a locally developed threshold, such as the definition
found in 49 U.S.C. 5302 as amended by MAP-21: “refers to an individual whose family
income is at or below 150 percent of the poverty line (as that term is defined in Section
673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C 9902(2)), including any
revision required by that section) for a family of the size involved” or another threshold,
provided that the threshold is at least as inclusive as the HHS poverty guidelines.
n. Low-income population refers to any readily identifiable group of low-income persons
who live in geographic proximity, and, if circumstances warrant, geographically
dispersed/transient persons (such as migrant workers or Native Americans) who will be
similarly affected by a proposed FTA program, policy or activity.
o. Metropolitan planning organization (MPO) means the policy board of an organization
created and designated to carry out the metropolitan transportation planning process.

Chap. I-4

FTA C 4702.1B

p. Metropolitan transportation plan (MTP) means the official multimodal transportation
plan addressing no less than a 20-year planning horizon that is developed, adopted, and
updated by the MPO through the metropolitan transportation planning process.
q. Minority persons include the following:
(1) American Indian and Alaska Native, which refers to people having origins in any of
the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and
who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.
(2) Asian, which refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far
East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia,
China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and
Vietnam.
(3) Black or African American, which refers to people having origins in any of the Black
racial groups of Africa.
(4) Hispanic or Latino, which includes persons of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South
or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
(5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, which refers to people having origins in
any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
r. Minority population means any readily identifiable group of minority persons who live in
geographic proximity and, if circumstances warrant, geographically dispersed/transient
populations (such as migrant workers or Native Americans) who will be similarly
affected by a proposed DOT program, policy, or activity.
s. Minority transit route means a route that has at least 1/3 of its total revenue mileage in a
Census block or block group, or traffic analysis zone(s) with a percentage of minority
population that exceeds the percentage of minority population in the transit service area.
A recipient may supplement this service area data with route-specific ridership data in
cases where ridership does not reflect the characteristics of the census block, block group,
or traffic analysis zone.
t. National origin means the particular nation in which a person was born, or where the
person’s parents or ancestors were born.
u. Noncompliance refers to an FTA determination that the recipient is not in compliance
with the DOT Title VI regulations, and has engaged in activities that have had the
purpose or effect of denying persons the benefits of, excluding from participation in, or
subjecting persons to discrimination in the recipient’s program or activity on the basis of
race, color, or national origin.
v. Non-profit organization: A corporation or association determined by the Secretary of the
Treasury to be an organization described by 26 U.S.C. 501(c) which is exempt from
taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(a) or one which has been determined under State law to be

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. I-5

non-profit and for which the designated State agency has received documentation
certifying the status of the non-profit organization.
w. Predominantly minority area means a geographic area, such as a neighborhood, Census
tract, block or block group, or traffic analysis zone, where the proportion of minority
persons residing in that area exceeds the average proportion of minority persons in the
recipient’s service area.
x. Primary recipient means any FTA recipient that extends Federal financial assistance to a
subrecipient.
y. Provider of fixed route public transportation (or “transit provider”) means any entity that
operates public transportation service, and includes States, local and regional entities, and
public and private entities. This term is used in place of “recipient” in chapter IV and is
inclusive of direct recipients, primary recipients, designated recipients, and subrecipients
that provide fixed route public transportation service.
z. Public transportation means regular, continuing shared-ride surface transportation
services that are open to the general public or open to a segment of the general public
defined by age, disability, or low income; and does not include Amtrak, intercity bus
service, charter bus service, school bus service, sightseeing service, courtesy shuttle
service for patrons of one or more specific establishments, or intra-terminal or intrafacility shuttle services. Public transportation includes buses, subways, light rail,
commuter rail, monorail, passenger ferry boats, trolleys, inclined railways, people
movers, and vans. Public transportation can be either fixed route or demand response
service.
aa. Recipient as used in this Circular, means any public or private entity that receives Federal
financial assistance from FTA, whether directly from FTA or indirectly through a
primary recipient. This term includes subrecipients, direct recipients, designated
recipients, and primary recipients. The term does not include any ultimate beneficiary
under any such assistance program.
bb. Secretary means the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
cc. Service area refers either to the geographic area in which a transit agency is authorized by
its charter to provide service to the public, or to the planning area of a State Department
of Transportation or Metropolitan Planning Organization.
dd. Service standard/policy means an established service performance measure or policy
used by a transit provider or other recipient as a means to plan or distribute services and
benefits within its service area.
ee. Statewide transportation improvement program (STIP) means a statewide prioritized
listing/program of transportation projects covering a period of four years that is consistent
with the long-range statewide transportation plan, metropolitan transportation plans, and
TIPs, and required for projects to be eligible for funding under title 23 U.S.C. and title 49
U.S.C. Chapter 53.

Chap. I-6

FTA C 4702.1B

ff. Subrecipient means an entity that receives Federal financial assistance from FTA through
a primary recipient.
gg. Title VI Program refers to a document developed by an FTA recipient to demonstrate
how the recipient is complying with Title VI requirements. Direct and primary recipients
must submit their Title VI Programs to FTA every three years. The Title VI Program
must be approved by the recipient’s board of directors or appropriate governing entity or
official(s) responsible for policy decisions prior to submission to FTA. For State DOTs,
the appropriate governing entity is the State’s Secretary of Transportation or equivalent.
hh. Transportation improvement program (TIP) means a prioritized listing/program of
transportation projects covering a period of four years that is developed and formally
adopted by an MPO as part of the metropolitan transportation planning process,
consistent with the metropolitan transportation plan, and required for projects to be
eligible for funding under title 23 U.S.C. and title 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53.
ii. Transportation management area (TMA) means an urbanized area with a population over
200,000, as defined by the Bureau of the Census and designated by the Secretary of
Transportation, or any additional area where TMA designation is requested by the
Governor and the MPO and designated by the Secretary of Transportation.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,” was signed by
President Clinton on February 11, 1994. Subsequent to issuance of the Executive Order, the
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a DOT Order for implementing the
Executive Order on environmental justice (EJ). The DOT Order (Order 5610.2(a), “Actions
to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,” 77
FR 27534, May 10, 2012) describes the process the Department and its modal
administrations (including FTA) will use to incorporate EJ principles into programs, policies,
and activities.
The Presidential memorandum accompanying EO 12898 identified Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 as one of several Federal laws that should be applied “to prevent minority
communities and low-income communities from being subject to disproportionately high and
adverse environmental effects.” According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “…the core
tenet of environmental justice—that development and urban renewal benefitting a
community as a whole not be unjustifiably purchased through the disproportionate allocation
of its adverse environmental and health burdens on the community’s minority—flows
directly from the underlying principle of Title VI itself.”1
Title VI prohibits discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance on the basis of
race, color, and national origin, including the denial of meaningful access for limited English
proficient (LEP) persons. Under DOT’s Title VI regulations, recipients of Federal financial
assistance are prohibited from, among other things, using “criteria or methods of
administering its program which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination
based on their race, color, or national origin.” For example, facially neutral policies or
1

 See Title VI Legal Manual, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (2001), page 59.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. I-7

practices that result in discriminatory effects or disparate impacts violate DOT's Title VI
regulations, unless the recipient can show the policies or practices are substantially justified
and there is no less discriminatory alternative. In addition, Title VI and DOT regulations
prohibit recipients from intentionally discriminating against people on the basis of race,
color, and national origin.
The overlap between the statutory obligation placed on Federal agencies under Title VI to
ensure nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs administered by State and local
entities, and the administrative directive to Federal agencies under the Executive Order to
address disproportionate adverse impacts of Federal activities on minority and low-income
populations explain why Title VI and environmental justice are often paired. The clear
objective of the Executive Order and Presidential memorandum is to ensure that Federal
agencies promote and enforce nondiscrimination as one way of achieving the overarching
objective of environmental justice—fair distribution of the adverse impacts of, or burdens
associated with, Federal programs, policies, and activities.
Over the years, U.S. DOT has encouraged a proactive approach to the implementation of
environmental justice principles in its programs, policies, and activities. This is reflected in
the DOT Order on Environmental Justice (DOT Order 5610.2(a)) which, consistent with E.O.
12898, sets forth a process by which DOT and its Operating Administrations, including FTA,
will integrate the goals of environmental justice into their existing operations to ensure that
consideration of EJ principles is an integral part of all programs, policies, and activities, from
the inception of the planning process through to project completion, operations, and
evaluation.
FTA has developed policy guidance in the form of a Circular (Circular 4703.1),
“Environmental Justice Policy Guidance for Federal Transit Administration Recipients,” in
order to provide recipients with a distinct framework to assist them as they integrate
principles of environmental justice into their public transportation decision-making
processes. FTA expects the clarification provided by the EJ Circular and the updated Title VI
Circular will provide recipients with the guidance they need to properly incorporate both
Title VI and environmental justice into their public transportation decision-making.
Because of the connection between EJ and Title VI, the consideration of EJ principles has
sometimes been confused with the requirements of Title VI. Here is a summary of the key
differences between the two:
Key Aspects of the
Authorities

What is the basis for
the authority?

Title VI

Environmental Justice

Title VI is a Federal statute and
provides that no person 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

The basis for addressing
environmental justice is an
Executive Order: EO 12898
directs each Federal agency to
“make achieving environmental
justice part of its mission.” The
EO is intended to improve the
internal management of the

Chap. I-8
Key Aspects of the
Authorities

FTA C 4702.1B
Title VI

Environmental Justice

Federal financial assistance.

executive branch and not to
create legal rights enforceable by
a party against the U.S.

Title VI prohibits recipients of
Federal financial assistance
(e.g., states, local governments,
transit providers) from
discriminating on the basis of
race, color, or national origin in
their programs or activities, and
it obligates Federal funding
agencies to enforce compliance.

EO 12898 calls on each Federal
agency to achieve
"environmental justice...by
identifying and addressing, as
appropriate, disproportionately
high and adverse human health
or environmental effects of its
programs, policies, and activities
on minority populations and lowincome populations...."

To whom does the
authority apply?

Title VI is a Federal law that
applies to recipients and
subrecipients of Federal
financial assistance (e.g., States,
local governments, transit
providers), and not to DOT
itself.

EO 12898 applies to Federal
agency actions, including DOT’s
and FTA’s actions. Title VI is
one of the tools used by Federal
agencies to implement this
directive.

What does the
authority require, and
of whom?

Under Title VI, DOT has the
responsibility to provide
oversight of recipients and to
enforce their compliance with
Title VI, to ensure that
recipients do not use DOT funds
to subsidize discrimination
based on race, color, or national
origin.

EO 12898 is a directive from the
President of the United States to
Federal agencies intended to
improve the internal management
of the Federal government. DOT
issued its own Order
implementing EO 12898, and
updated the Order in May 2012
(Order 5610.2(a)).

What does the
authority say with
regard to negative
effects or impacts?

In accordance with 49 CFR part
21 and Title VI case law, if an
otherwise facially neutral
program, policy, or activity will
have a discriminatory impact on
minority populations, that
program, policy, or activity may
only be carried out if (1) the
recipient can demonstrate a
substantial legitimate
justification for the program,
policy, or activity; (2) there are

In accordance with EO 12898
and the DOT Order on EJ, if a
DOT program, policy, or activity
will have a disproportionately
high and adverse effect on
minority or low-income
populations, that program,
policy, or activity may only be
carried out if further mitigation
measures or alternatives that
would reduce the
disproportionately high and

What is the purpose of
the authority?

FTA C 4702.1B
Key Aspects of the
Authorities

Does the authority
create any rights or
remedies?

Chap. I-9
Title VI

Environmental Justice

no comparably effective
alternative practices that would
result in less-disparate impacts;
and (3) the justification for the
program, policy or activity is
not a pretext for discrimination.

adverse effects are not
practicable. In determining
whether a mitigation measure or
an alternative is “practicable,”
the social, economic (including
costs) and environmental effects
of avoiding or mitigating the
adverse effects will be taken into
account.

Title VI allows persons alleging
discrimination based on race,
color, or national origin by
recipients of Federal funds to
file administrative complaints
with the Federal departments
and agencies that provide
financial assistance. Persons
alleging intentional
discrimination (i.e., disparate
treatment) may bring a court
action seeking to enforce Title
VI but cannot do so with regard
to allegations of discrimination
based on agency disparate
impact regulations. Disparate
impact claims may be filed with
the Federal agency.

EO 12898 establishes the
Executive Branch policy on
environmental justice; it is not
enforceable in court and does not
create any rights or remedies.

Thus, while Title VI is one tool for agencies to use to achieve the principles of environmental
justice, it is important to recognize that Title VI imposes statutory and regulatory
requirements that are broader in scope than environmental justice. Recipients are cautioned
that while there may be overlap, engaging in an EJ analysis under Federal transportation
planning and NEPA provisions will not satisfy Title VI requirements, as outlined in this Title
VI Circular. Similarly, a Title VI analysis will not necessarily satisfy environmental justice,
given that Title VI does not include low-income populations. Moreover, Title VI applies to
all activities of Federal recipients, not solely those which may have disproportionately high
and adverse human health or environmental effects on EJ populations.
For example, while a bus rehabilitation project may not impose disproportionately high or
adverse health or environmental effects on minority or low-income populations, the use of
those buses subsequent to the rehabilitation may be subject to a Title VI analysis to ensure
that vehicles assigned to a particular area do not result in a disparate impact on the basis of

Chap. I-10

FTA C 4702.1B

race, color, or national origin. In addition, if there are substantive changes to the service
levels for which the rehabilitated or other buses will be used, i.e., the vehicles are deployed in
such a way that the nature and quantity of service in a particular area is changed, then a
service equity analysis must be conducted to determine whether this change results in a
disparate impact on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The requirements for that
particular analysis are part of the compliance determinations made for Federal transit
recipients under chapter IV of this Circular.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. II-1
CHAPTER II
PROGRAM OVERVIEW

1. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES. The direction, guidance and procedures in this document will
help FTA recipients to:
a. Ensure that the level and quality of public transportation service is provided in a
nondiscriminatory manner;
b. Promote full and fair participation in public transportation decision-making without
regard to race, color, or national origin;
c. Ensure meaningful access to transit-related programs and activities by persons with
limited English proficiency.
2. STATUTORY AUTHORITY. Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states
the following:
No person in the United States shall, on the ground 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.
The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 clarified the broad, institution-wide application of
Title VI. Title VI covers all of the operations of covered entities without regard to whether
specific portions of the covered program or activity are Federally funded. The term
“program or activity” means all of the operations of a department, agency, special purpose
district, or government; or the entity of such State or local government that distributes such
assistance and each such department or agency to which the assistance is extended, in the
case of assistance to a State or local government.
Therefore, compliance with this Circular does not relieve a recipient from the requirements
and responsibilities of the DOT Title VI regulation at 49 CFR part 21, or any other
requirements under other Federal agencies’ Title VI regulations, as applicable. This Circular
only provides guidance on the transit-related aspects of an entity’s activities. Recipients are
responsible for ensuring that all of their activities are in compliance with Title VI. In other
words, a recipient may engage in activities not described in the Circular, such as ridesharing
programs, roadway incident response programs, or other programs not funded by FTA, and
those programs must also be administered in a nondiscriminatory manner.
3. REGULATORY AUTHORITY. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Title VI
regulations can be found at 28 CFR § 42.401 et seq., and 28 CFR § 50.3. The U.S.
Department of Transportation (“DOT”) Title VI implementing regulations can be found at 49
CFR part 21.
All programs receiving financial assistance from FTA are subject to Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d) and DOT’s implementing regulations. In addition,
DOJ’s regulations require agencies such as DOT to issue guidelines to recipients to provide

Chap. II-2

FTA C 4702.1B

detailed information on the requirements of Title VI. In order to assist recipients in carrying
out the provisions of DOT’s Title VI regulations, each of the requirements in this Circular
includes a reference to the corresponding provision of 49 CFR part 21.
4. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS. In addition to the above-listed statute and regulations the
following documents incorporate Title VI principles:
a. The Department’s Policy Guidance Concerning Recipients’ Responsibilities to Limited
English Proficient Persons (“DOT LEP Guidance”), 70 FR 74087, (December 14, 2005).
This guidance is based on the prohibition against national origin discrimination in Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as it affects limited English proficient persons.
b. Section 12 of FTA’s Master Agreement, which provides, in pertinent part, that recipients
agree to comply, and assure the compliance of each subrecipient, lessee, third party
contractor, or other participant at any tier of the Project, with all provisions prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin of Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq., and with U.S. DOT regulations,
“Nondiscrimination in Federally-Assisted Programs of the Department of
Transportation—Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” 49 CFR part 21.
Except to the extent FTA determines otherwise in writing, recipients agree to follow all
applicable provisions of the most recent edition of FTA Circular 4702.1B, “Title VI
Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients,” and any
other applicable Federal directives that may be issued. Unless FTA states otherwise in
writing, the Master Agreement requires all recipients to comply with all applicable
Federal directives.
5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. Title 49 CFR Section 21.9(b) requires recipients to “keep
such records and submit to the Secretary timely, complete, and accurate compliance reports
at such times, and in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may
determine to be necessary to enable him to ascertain whether the recipient has complied or is
complying with [49 CFR part 21].” FTA requires that all direct and primary recipients
document their compliance by submitting a Title VI Program to their FTA regional civil
rights officer once every three years. The Title VI Program must be approved by the direct or
primary recipient’s board of directors or appropriate governing entity or official(s)
responsible for policy decisions prior to submission to FTA. For State DOTs, the appropriate
governing entity is the State’s Secretary of Transportation or equivalent. Recipients shall
submit a copy of the Board resolution, meeting minutes, or similar documentation with the
Title VI Program as evidence that the board of directors or appropriate governing entity or
official(s) has approved the Title VI Program. FTA will review and concur or request the
recipient provide additional information.
Subrecipients shall submit Title VI Programs to the primary recipient from whom they
receive funding, in order to assist the primary recipient in its compliance efforts, on a
schedule to be determined by the primary recipient. In the event an entity receives funds from
more than one primary recipient, the subrecipient shall submit Title VI Programs to all
primary recipients from which it receives funds. Chapters III, IV, V, and VI and appendices

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. II-3

detail the specific information that shall be included in Title VI Programs, based on recipient
characteristics.
6. APPLICABILITY TO CONTRACTORS. Contractors and subcontractors are responsible for
complying with the Title VI Program of the recipient with whom they are contracting.
Contractors are not required to prepare or submit Title VI Programs. Recipients are
responsible for ensuring that contractors are following the Title VI Program, and complying
with Title VI.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. III-1
CHAPTER III
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES

1. INTRODUCTION. This chapter describes requirements that all FTA recipients must follow
to ensure that their programs, policies, and activities comply with DOT’s Title VI
regulations.
2. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE TITLE VI ASSURANCES. In accordance with 49 CFR
Section 21.7(a), every application for financial assistance from FTA must be accompanied by
an assurance that the applicant will carry out the program in compliance with DOT’s Title VI
regulations. This requirement shall be fulfilled when the applicant/recipient submits its
annual certifications and assurances to FTA. Primary recipients shall collect Title VI
assurances from subrecipients prior to passing through FTA funds. The text of FTA’s annual
certifications and assurances is available on FTA’s website.
3. REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST-TIME APPLICANTS. First-time applicants must submit a
Title VI Program that is compliant with this Circular, and submit an assurance (as noted in
Section 2 above) that it will comply with Title VI. In addition, and consistent with 28 CFR §
50.3, entities applying for FTA funding for the first time shall provide information regarding
their Title VI compliance history if they have previously received funding from another
Federal agency. This shall include a copy of any Title VI compliance review activities
conducted in the previous three years. The summary shall include:
a. The purpose or reason for the review.
b. The name of the agency or organization that performed the review.
c. A summary of the findings and recommendations of the review.
d. A report on the status and/or disposition of such findings and recommendations. This
information shall be relevant to the organizational entity actually submitting the
application, not necessarily the larger agency or department of which the entity is a part.
In addition, first-time applicants shall submit a brief description of any pending applications
to other Federal agencies for assistance, and whether any Federal agency has found the
applicant to be in noncompliance with any civil rights requirement.
4. REQUIREMENT TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT A TITLE VI PROGRAM. Title 49 CFR
Section 21.9(b) requires recipients to “keep such records and submit to the Secretary timely,
complete, and accurate compliance reports at such times, and in such form and containing
such information, as the Secretary may determine to be necessary to enable him to ascertain
whether the recipient has complied or is complying with this [rule].” FTA requires that all
direct and primary recipients document their compliance with DOT’s Title VI regulations by
submitting a Title VI Program to their FTA regional civil rights officer once every three
years or as otherwise directed by FTA. For all recipients (including subrecipents), the Title
VI Program must be approved by the recipient’s board of directors or appropriate governing
entity or official(s) responsible for policy decisions prior to submission to FTA. For State

Chap. III-2

FTA C 4702.1B

DOTs, the appropriate governing entity is the State’s Secretary of Transportation or
equivalent. Recipients shall submit a copy of the board resolution, meeting minutes, or
similar documentation with the Title VI Program as evidence that the board of directors or
appropriate governing entity or official(s) has approved the Title VI Program. FTA will
review and concur or request the recipient provide additional information.
Subrecipients shall submit Title VI Programs to the primary recipient from whom they
receive funding in order to assist the primary recipient in its compliance efforts. Such
Programs may be submitted and stored electronically at the option of the primary recipient.
Subrecipients may choose to adopt the primary recipient’s notice to beneficiaries, complaint
procedures and complaint form, public participation plan, and language assistance plan
where appropriate. Operational differences between the primary recipient and subrecipient
may require, in some instances, that the subrecipient tailor its language assistance plan.
Subrecipients shall develop and submit to the primary recipient a list of complaints,
investigations, or lawsuits. Subrecipients that have transit-related non-elected planning
boards, advisory councils, or committees, the membership of which is selected by the
subrecipient, must provide a table depicting the racial breakdown of the membership of those
committees, and a description of efforts made to encourage the participation of minorities on
such committees. Subrecipients must submit all the above information to the primary
recipient on a schedule requested by the primary recipient. Collection and storage of
subrecipient Title VI Programs may be electronic at the option of the primary recipient.
a. Contents. Every Title VI Program shall include the following information:
(1) A copy of the recipient’s Title VI notice to the public that indicates the recipient
complies with Title VI, and informs members of the public of the protections against
discrimination afforded to them by Title VI. Include a list of locations where the
notice is posted. A sample Title VI notice is in Appendix B.
(2) A copy of the recipient’s instructions to the public regarding how to file a Title VI
discrimination complaint, including a copy of the complaint form. Sample complaint
procedures are in Appendix C, and a sample Title VI complaint form is in Appendix
D.
(3) A list of any public transportation-related Title VI investigations, complaints, or
lawsuits filed with the recipient since the time of the last submission. See Appendix E
for an example of how to report this information. This list should include only those
investigations, complaints, or lawsuits that pertain to allegations of discrimination on
the basis of race, color, and/or national origin in transit-related activities and
programs and that pertain to the recipient submitting the report, not necessarily the
larger agency or department of which the recipient is a part.
(4) A public participation plan that includes an outreach plan to engage minority and
limited English proficient populations, as well as a summary of outreach efforts made
since the last Title VI Program submission. A recipient’s targeted public participation
plan for minority populations may be part of efforts that extend more broadly to

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. III-3

include other constituencies that are traditionally underserved, such as people with
disabilities, low-income populations, and others.
(5) A copy of the recipient’s plan for providing language assistance to persons with
limited English proficiency, based on the DOT LEP Guidance.
(6) Recipients that have transit-related, non-elected planning boards, advisory councils or
committees, or similar bodies, the membership of which is selected by the recipient,
must provide a table depicting the racial breakdown of the membership of those
committees, and a description of efforts made to encourage the participation of
minorities on such committees or councils.
(7) Primary recipients shall include a narrative or description of efforts the primary
recipient uses to ensure subrecipients are complying with Title VI, as well as a
schedule of subrecipient Title VI program submissions.
(8) If the recipient has constructed a facility, such as a vehicle storage facility,
maintenance facility, operation center, etc., the recipient shall include a copy of the
Title VI equity analysis conducted during the planning stage with regard to the
location of the facility.
(9) Additional information as specified in chapters IV, V, and VI, depending on whether
the recipient is a fixed route transit provider, a State, or an MPO.
b. Upload Title VI Program to TEAM. Direct and primary recipients must upload their Title
VI Program into FTA’s Transportation Electronic Award Management (TEAM) system,
or other tracking system as directed by FTA. The Title VI Program shall be attached via
the paper clip function on the Civil Rights screen, and not attached to a particular grant.
Recipients must also notify their FTA Regional Civil Rights Officer via email that they
have uploaded their Title VI Program to TEAM. The Title VI Program must be uploaded
to TEAM no fewer than sixty calendar days prior to the date of expiration of the Title VI
Program.
c. Determinations. The status of a direct or primary recipient’s Title VI Program will be
noted in TEAM. The three status determinations are:
(1) Concur. This status indicates that the recipients’ Title VI Program meets the
requirements as set out in this Circular. The recipient may receive grant funds.
(2) In review. This status indicates that the recipient’s Title VI Program is being
reviewed by FTA staff and a determination as to sufficiency has not yet been made.
“In review” status is only effective for sixty days and grants may be processed while
a Title VI Program has an “in review” status.
(3) Expired/Expiration. This status indicates that the recipients’ Title VI Program has
expired and that an updated Title VI Program must be submitted. A recipient with an
expired Title VI Program may have its draw-down privileges suspended and grants
may not be processed.

Chap. III-4

FTA C 4702.1B

d. Reporting Requirement Exemptions. Recipients whose only FTA funding is through
FTA’s University Transportation Center Program, National Research and Technology
Program, Transportation Cooperative Research Program, Over the Road Bus
Accessibility program, or the Public Transportation on Indian Reservations program are
exempt from submitting a Title VI Program to FTA. In addition, FTA may exempt a
recipient, upon receipt of a request for a waiver submitted to the Director of the Office of
Civil Rights, from the requirement to submit a Title VI Program, or from some elements
of the Title VI Program. The absence of the requirement to submit a Title VI Program
does not obviate the underlying obligations to comply with DOT’s Title VI regulations.
Furthermore, with the exception of the Public Transportation on Indian Reservation
program, FTA may, at any time, request information from an exempt recipient in order to
determine compliance with Title VI regulations and statutes.
5. REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY BENEFICIARIES OF PROTECTION UNDER TITLE VI.
Title 49 CFR Section 21.9(d) requires recipients to provide information to the public
regarding the recipient’s obligations under DOT’s Title VI regulations and apprise members
of the public of the protections against discrimination afforded to them by Title VI. At a
minimum, recipients shall disseminate this information to the public by posting a Title VI
notice on the agency’s website and in public areas of the agency’s office(s), including the
reception desk, meeting rooms, etc. Recipients should also post Title VI notices at stations or
stops, and/or on transit vehicles. A sample Title VI notice to the public is provided in
Appendix B.
a. Contents. The Title VI notice shall include:
(1) A statement that the agency operates programs without regard to race, color, or
national origin.
(2) A description of the procedures that members of the public should follow in order to
request additional information on the recipient’s Title VI obligations.
(3) A description of the procedures that members of the public shall follow in order to
file a Title VI discrimination complaint against the recipient.
b. Effective Practices for Fulfilling the Notification Requirement.
(1) Dissemination. Agencies shall inform the public of their rights under Title VI through
such measures as posting the Title VI notice on posters, comment cards, or flyers
placed at stations, bus shelters, and in transit vehicles. The type, timing, and
frequency of these measures are at the recipient’s discretion, as long as the type,
timing, and frequency are sufficient to notify passengers and other interested persons
of their rights under DOT’s Title VI regulations with regard to the recipient’s
program.
(2) Document translation. Notices detailing a recipient’s Title VI obligations and
complaint procedures shall be translated into languages other than English, as needed
and consistent with the DOT LEP Guidance and the recipient’s language assistance
plan.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. III-5

(3) Subrecipients. In order to reduce the administrative burden associated with this
requirement, subrecipients may adopt the Title VI Notice developed by the primary
recipient; however, subrecipients shall notify passengers and other interested persons
that they may file discrimination complaints directly with the subrecipient.
6. REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP TITLE VI COMPLAINT PROCEDURES AND
COMPLAINT FORM. In order to comply with the reporting requirements established in 49
CFR Section 21.9(b), all recipients shall develop procedures for investigating and tracking
Title VI complaints filed against them and make their procedures for filing a complaint
available to members of the public. Recipients must also develop a Title VI complaint form,
and the form and procedure for filing a complaint shall be available on the recipient’s
website. FTA requires direct and primary recipients to report information regarding their
complaint procedures in their Title VI Programs in order for FTA to determine compliance
with DOT’s Title VI regulations. In order to reduce the administrative burden associated with
this requirement, subrecipients may adopt the Title VI complaint investigation and tracking
procedures and complaint form developed by the primary recipient. Sample complaint
procedure and complaint forms are located in Appendices C and D. See Chapter IX of this
Circular for more information on complaints.
7. REQUIREMENT TO RECORD AND REPORT TRANSIT-RELATED TITLE VI
INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLAINTS, AND LAWSUITS. In order to comply with the
reporting requirements of 49 CFR Section 21.9(b), FTA requires all recipients to prepare and
maintain a list of any of the following that allege discrimination on the basis of race, color, or
national origin: active investigations conducted by entities other than FTA; lawsuits; and
complaints naming the recipient. This list shall include the date that the investigation,
lawsuit, or complaint was filed; a summary of the allegation(s); the status of the
investigation, lawsuit, or complaint; and actions taken by the recipient in response, or final
findings related to, the investigation, lawsuit, or complaint. This list shall be included in the
Title VI Program submitted to FTA every three years. See Appendix E for an example of
how to report this information.
8. PROMOTING INCLUSIVE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. The content and considerations of
Title VI, the Executive Order on LEP, and the DOT LEP Guidance shall be integrated into
each recipient’s established public participation plan or process (i.e., the document that
explicitly describes the proactive strategies, procedures, and desired outcomes that underpin
the recipient’s public participation activities). Recipients have wide latitude to determine
how, when, and how often specific public participation activities should take place, and
which specific measures are most appropriate. Recipients should make these determinations
based on a demographic analysis of the population(s) affected, the type of plan, program,
and/or service under consideration, and the resources available. Efforts to involve minority
and LEP populations in public participation activities can include both comprehensive
measures, such as placing public notices at all transit stations, stops, and vehicles, as well as
targeted measures to address linguistic, institutional, cultural, economic, historical, or other
barriers that may prevent minority and LEP persons from effectively participating in a
recipient’s decision-making process. FTA has developed a Circular, 4703.1, “Environmental
Justice Policy Guidance for Federal Transit Administration Recipients,” that includes many
examples of effective strategies for engaging minority and low-income populations. FTA

Chap. III-6

FTA C 4702.1B

encourages recipients to review that Circular for ideas when developing their public
engagement strategy. Some of those effective practices include:
a. Scheduling meetings at times and locations that are convenient and accessible for
minority and LEP communities.
b. Employing different meeting sizes and formats.
c. Coordinating with community- and faith-based organizations, educational institutions,
and other organizations to implement public engagement strategies that reach out
specifically to members of affected minority and/or LEP communities.
d. Considering radio, television, or newspaper ads on stations and in publications that serve
LEP populations. Outreach to LEP populations could also include audio programming
available on podcasts.
e. Providing opportunities for public participation through means other than written
communication, such as personal interviews or use of audio or video recording devices to
capture oral comments.
Grant recipients are required to comply with the public participation requirements of 49
U.S.C. Sections 5307(b) (requires programs of projects to be developed with public
participation) and 5307(c)(1)(I) (requires a locally developed process to consider public
comment before raising a fare or carrying out a major reduction in transportation service).
FTA/FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) joint planning regulations (23 CFR part 450)
require States and MPOs engaged in planning activities to seek out and consider the needs
and input of the general public, including interested parties and those traditionally
underserved by existing transportation systems, such as minority and LEP persons, who may
face challenges accessing employment and other services, as States and MPOs develop and
conduct their public involvement activities. Recipients engaged in planning and other
decision-making activities at the local level should consider the principles embodied in the
planning regulations, and develop and use a documented public participation plan or process
that provides adequate notice of public participation activities, as well as early and
continuous opportunities for public review and comment at key decision points.
9. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO LEP PERSONS. Consistent
with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, DOT’s implementing regulations, and
Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English
Proficiency” (65 FR 50121, Aug. 11, 2000), recipients shall take reasonable steps to ensure
meaningful access to benefits, services, information, and other important portions of their
programs and activities for individuals who are limited-English proficient (LEP). This
Circular contains only a summary of the LEP requirements as they apply to FTA recipients;
recipients are encouraged to review DOT’s LEP guidance for additional information (70 FR
74087, Dec. 14, 2005) http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2005-12-14/pdf/05-23972.pdf.
Recipients are also encouraged to review DOJ’s guidelines on self-assessment, Language
Access Assessment and Planning Tool for Federally Conducted and Federally Assisted
Programs (May 2011), as well as other materials, available at www.lep.gov.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. III-7

a. Four Factor Analysis. In order to ensure meaningful access to programs and activities,
recipients shall use the information obtained in the Four Factor Analysis to determine the
specific language services that are appropriate to provide. A careful analysis can help a
recipient determine if it communicates effectively with LEP persons and will inform
language access planning. The Four Factor Analysis is an individualized assessment that
balances the following four factors:
(1) The number or proportion of LEP persons eligible to be served or likely to be
encountered by the program or recipient. This population will be programspecific. In addition to the number or proportion of LEP persons served, the
recipient’s analysis should, at a minimum, identify:
(a) How LEP persons interact with the recipient’s agency;
(b) Identification of LEP communities, and assessing the number or proportion of
LEP persons from each language group to determine the appropriate language
services for each language group;
(c) The literacy skills of LEP populations in their native languages, in order to
determine whether translation of documents will be an effective practice; and
(d) Whether LEP persons are underserved by the recipient due to language barriers.
(2) The frequency with which LEP persons come into contact with the program.
Recipients should survey key program areas and assess major points of contact with
the public, such as:
(a) Use of bus and rail service;
(b) Purchase of passes and tickets through vending machines, outlets, websites, and
over the phone;
(c) Participation in public meetings;
(d) Customer service interactions;
(e) Ridership surveys;
(f) Operator surveys.
(3) The nature and importance of the program, activity, or service provided by the
program to people’s lives. Generally speaking, the more important the program, the
more frequent the contact and the likelihood that language services will be needed.
The provision of public transportation is a vital service, especially for people without
access to personal vehicles. An MPO’s regional planning activities will impact every
person in a region. Development of a coordinated plan to meet the specific

Chap. III-8

FTA C 4702.1B
transportation needs of seniors and people with disabilities will often also meet the
needs of LEP persons. A person who is LEP may have a disability that prevents the
person from using fixed route service, thus making the person eligible for ADA
complementary paratransit. Transit providers, States, and MPOs must assess their
programs, activities and services to ensure they are providing meaningful access to
LEP persons. Facilitated meetings with LEP persons are one method to inform the
recipient on what the local LEP population considers to be an essential service, as
well as the most effective means to provide language assistance.

(4) The resources available to the recipient for LEP outreach, as well as the costs
associated with that outreach. Resource and cost issues can often be reduced by
technological advances, reasonable business practices, and the sharing of language
assistance materials and services among and between recipients, advocacy groups,
LEP populations and Federal agencies. Large entities and those entities serving a
significant number of LEP persons should ensure that their resource limitations are
well substantiated before using this factor as a reason to limit language assistance.
b. Developing a Language Assistance Plan. After completing the Four Factor Analysis, the
recipient shall use the results of the analyses to determine which language assistance
services are appropriate. Additionally, the recipient shall develop an assistance plan to
address the identified needs of the LEP population(s) it serves. The DOT LEP Guidance
recognizes that certain recipients, such as those serving very few LEP persons or those
with very limited resources, may choose not to develop a written plan. However, FTA
has determined it is necessary to require its recipients to develop an assistance plan in
order to ensure compliance. A recipient may formally request an exemption from this
requirement if it believes it fits within the exception described.
Recipients have considerable flexibility in developing a Language Assistance Plan, or
LEP Plan. An LEP Plan shall, at a minimum:
(a) Include the results of the Four Factor Analysis, including a description of the LEP
population(s) served;
(b) Describe how the recipient provides language assistance services by language;
(c) Describe how the recipient provides notice to LEP persons about the availability of
language assistance;
(d) Describe how the recipient monitors, evaluates and updates the language access plan;
and
(e) Describe how the recipient trains employees to provide timely and reasonable
language assistance to LEP populations.
FTA will solely determine, at the time the recipient submits its Title VI Program or
subsequent to a complaint investigation or compliance review, whether a recipient’s plan
is sufficient to ensure meaningful access and thus ensure the recipient is not engaging in
discrimination on the basis of national origin.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. III-9

After completing the Four Factor Analysis, a recipient may determine that an effective
LEP plan for its community includes the translation of vital documents into the language
of each frequently encountered LEP group eligible to be served and/or likely to be
affected by the recipient’s programs and services. Vital written documents include, but
are not limited to, consent and complaint forms; intake and application forms with the
potential for important consequences; written notices of rights; notices of denials, losses,
or decreases in benefits or services; and notices advising LEP individuals of free
language assistance services. Examples of vital documents include an ADA
complementary paratransit eligibility application, a Title VI complaint form, notice of a
person’s rights under Title VI, and other documents that provide access to essential
services. Failure to translate these vital documents could result in a recipient denying an
eligible LEP person access to services and discrimination on the basis of national origin.
c. Safe Harbor Provision. DOT has adopted DOJ’s Safe Harbor Provision, which outlines
circumstances that can provide a “safe harbor” for recipients regarding translation of
written materials for LEP populations. The Safe Harbor Provision stipulates that, if a
recipient provides written translation of vital documents for each eligible LEP language
group that constitutes five percent (5%) or 1,000 persons, whichever is less, of the total
population of persons eligible to be served or likely to be affected or encountered, then
such action will be considered strong evidence of compliance with the recipient’s written
translation obligations. Translation of non-vital documents, if needed, can be provided
orally. If there are fewer than 50 persons in a language group that reaches the five percent
(5%) trigger, the recipient is not required to translate vital written materials but should
provide written notice in the primary language of the LEP language group of the right to
receive competent oral interpretation of those written materials, free of cost.
These safe harbor provisions apply to the translation of written documents only. They do
not affect the requirement to provide meaningful access to LEP individuals through
competent oral interpreters where oral language services are needed and are reasonable.
A recipient may determine, based on the Four Factor Analysis, that even though a
language group meets the threshold specified by the Safe Harbor Provision, written
translation may not be an effective means to provide language assistance measures. For
example, a recipient may determine that a large number of persons in that language group
have low literacy skills in their native language and therefore require oral interpretation.
In such cases, background documentation regarding the determination shall be provided
to FTA in the Title VI Program.
10. MINORITY REPRESENTATION ON PLANNING AND ADVISORY BODIES. Title 49
CFR Section 21.5(b)(1)(vii) states that a recipient may not, on the grounds of race, color, or
national origin, “deny a person the opportunity to participate as a member of a planning,
advisory, or similar body which is an integral part of the program.” Recipients that have
transit-related, non-elected planning boards, advisory councils or committees, or similar
committees, the membership of which is selected by the recipient, must provide a table
depicting the racial breakdown of the membership of those committees, and a description of
efforts made to encourage the participation of minorities on such committees.

Chap. III-10

FTA C 4702.1B

11. PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO SUBRECIPIENTS. Title 49 CFR Section 21.9(b) states
that if “a primary recipient extends Federal financial assistance to any other recipient, such
other recipient shall also submit such compliance reports to the primary recipient as may be
necessary to enable the primary recipient to carry out its obligations under this part.” See
Appendix L for clarification of reporting responsibilities by recipient category. Primary
recipients should assist their subrecipients in complying with DOT’s Title VI regulations,
including the general reporting requirements. Assistance shall be provided to the subrecipient
as necessary and appropriate by the primary recipient. Primary recipients should provide the
following information to subrecipients; such information, forms, and data may be kept in a
central repository and available for all subrecipients:
a. Sample notices to the public informing beneficiaries of their rights under DOT’s Title VI
regulations, procedures on how to file a Title VI complaint, and the recipient’s Title VI
complaint form.
b. Sample procedures for tracking and investigating Title VI complaints filed with a
subrecipient, and when the primary recipient expects the subrecipient to notify the
primary recipient of complaints received by the subrecipient.
c. Demographic information on the race and English proficiency of residents served by the
subrecipient. This information will assist the subrecipient in assessing the level and
quality of service it provides to communities within its service area and in assessing the
need for language assistance.
d. Any other recipient-generated or obtained data, such as travel patterns, surveys, etc., that
will assist subrecipients in complying with Title VI.
12. MONITORING SUBRECIPIENTS. In accordance with 49 CFR 21.9(b), and to ensure that
subrecipients are complying with the DOT Title VI regulations, primary recipients must
monitor their subrecipients for compliance with the regulations. Importantly, if a subrecipient
is not in compliance with Title VI requirements, then the primary recipient is also not in
compliance.
a.

In order to ensure the primary and subrecipient are in compliance with Title VI
requirements, the primary recipient shall undertake the following activities:
(1) Document its process for ensuring that all subrecipients are complying with the
general reporting requirements of this circular, as well as other requirements that
apply to the subrecipient based on the type of entity and the number of fixed route
vehicles it operates in peak service if a transit provider.
(2) Collect Title VI Programs from subrecipients and review programs for compliance.
Collection and storage of subrecipient Title VI Programs may be electronic at the
option of the primary recipient.
(3) At the request of FTA, in response to a complaint of discrimination, or as otherwise
deemed necessary by the primary recipient, the primary recipient shall request that
subrecipients who provide transportation services verify that their level and quality of

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. III-11

service is provided on an equitable basis. Subrecipients that are fixed route transit
providers are responsible for reporting as outlined in Chapter IV of this Circular.
b. When a subrecipient is also a direct recipient of FTA funds, that is, applies for funds
directly from FTA in addition to receiving funds from a primary recipient, the
subrecipient/direct recipient reports directly to FTA and the primary recipient/designated
recipient is not responsible for monitoring compliance of that subrecipient. The
supplemental agreement signed by both entities in their roles as designated recipient and
direct recipient relieves the primary recipient/designated recipient of this oversight
responsibility. See Appendix L for clarification of reporting responsibilities by recipient
category.
13. DETERMINATION OF SITE OR LOCATION OF FACILITIES. Title 49 CFR Section
21.9(b)(3) states, “In determining the site or location of facilities, a recipient or applicant
may not make selections with the purpose or effect of excluding persons from, denying them
the benefits of, or subjecting them to discrimination under any program to which this
regulation applies, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin; or with the purpose or
effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of the Act
or this part.” Title 49 CFR part 21, Appendix C, Section (3)(iv) provides, “The location of
projects requiring land acquisition and the displacement of persons from their residences and
businesses may not be determined on the basis of race, color, or national origin.” For
purposes of this requirement, “facilities” does not include bus shelters, as these are transit
amenities and are covered in Chapter IV, nor does it include transit stations, power
substations, etc., as those are evaluated during project development and the NEPA process.
Facilities included in this provision include, but are not limited to, storage facilities,
maintenance facilities, operations centers, etc. In order to comply with the regulations:
a. The recipient shall complete a Title VI equity analysis during the planning stage with
regard to where a project is located or sited to ensure the location is selected without
regard to race, color, or national origin. Recipients shall engage in outreach to persons
potentially impacted by the siting of facilities. The Title VI equity analysis must compare
the equity impacts of various siting alternatives, and the analysis must occur before the
selection of the preferred site.
b. When evaluating locations of facilities, recipients should give attention to other facilities
with similar impacts in the area to determine if any cumulative adverse impacts might
result. Analysis should be done at the Census tract or block group where appropriate to
ensure that proper perspective is given to localized impacts.
c. If the recipient determines that the location of the project will result in a disparate impact
on the basis of race, color, or national origin, the recipient may only locate the project in
that location if there is a substantial legitimate justification for locating the project there,
and where there are no alternative locations that would have a less disparate impact on
the basis of race, color, or national origin. The recipient must show how both tests are
met; it is important to understand that in order to make this showing, the recipient must
consider and analyze alternatives to determine whether those alternatives would have less

Chap. III-12

FTA C 4702.1B

of a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and then implement
the least discriminatory alternative.
14. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION UPON REQUEST. FTA
may request, at its discretion, information other than that required by this Circular from a
recipient in order for FTA to investigate complaints of discrimination or to resolve concerns
about possible noncompliance with DOT’s Title VI regulations.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-1
CHAPTER IV

REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT PROVIDERS
1. INTRODUCTION. The requirements described in this chapter apply to all providers of fixed
route public transportation (also referred to as transit providers) that receive Federal financial
assistance, inclusive of States, local and regional entities, and public and private entities.
Contractors are responsible for following the Title VI Program(s) of the transit provider(s)
with whom they contract. Transit providers that are subrecipients will submit the information
required in this chapter to their primary recipient (the entity from whom they directly receive
transit funds) every three years on a schedule determined by the primary recipient. Direct and
primary recipients will submit the information required in this chapter to FTA every three
years. See Appendix L for clarification of reporting responsibilities by recipient category.
All transit providers—whether direct recipients, primary recipients or subrecipients—that
receive financial assistance from FTA are also responsible for following the general
requirements in Chapter III of this circular. The requirements in this chapter are scaled based
on the size of the fixed route transit provider.
Providers of public transportation that only operate demand response service are responsible
only for the requirements in Chapter III. Demand response includes general public
paratransit, Americans with Disabilities Act complementary paratransit, vanpools, and
Section 5310 non-profits that serve only their own clientele (closed door service). Providers
of public transportation that operate fixed route and demand response service, or only fixed
route service, are responsible for the reporting requirements in this chapter, but these
requirements only apply to fixed route service.

Requirement 

Transit Providers that
operate fixed route
service 

Set system-wide
Required  
standards and policies 
Collect and report
Not required  
data 

Evaluate service and
fare equity changes 
Monitor transit
service 

Transit Providers that
operate 50 or more fixed
route vehicles in peak
service and are located in a
UZA of 200,000 or more in
population 
Required  

Not required  

Required:  
 Demographic and service
profile maps and charts
 Survey data regarding
customer demographic
and travel patterns  
Required  

Not required 

Required 

Chap. IV-2

FTA C 4702.1B

a. If a transit provider:
(1) Operates 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and is located in an
Urbanized Area (UZA) of 200,000 or more in population; or
(2) Has been placed in this category at the discretion of the Director of Civil Rights in
consultation with the FTA Administrator,
Then the transit provider’s Title VI Program must contain all of the elements described in
this chapter.
b. If a fixed route transit provider does not meet the threshold in paragraph a, then the
transit provider is only required to set system-wide standards and policies, as further
described below.
c. Threshold. FTA requires all transit providers to submit a Title VI Program to comply
with DOT Title VI regulations; the threshold provides a distinction regarding the degree
of evidence a fixed route transit provider must provide to demonstrate compliance with
those regulations.
d. Determination. As of the effective date of this circular (4702.1B), those transit providers
that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located in a UZA of
200,000 or more in population, are required to meet all requirements of this chapter (i.e.,
setting service standards and policies, collecting and reporting data, monitoring transit
service, and evaluating fare and service changes).
2. IMPLEMENTATION. Fixed route transit providers with Title VI Programs due between
October 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 must submit a Title VI Program that is compliant with
this Circular by March 31, 2013. On or about October 1, 2012, FTA will publish a list of
recipients that are in this group, and FTA will also reach out to each recipient to ensure
awareness of the requirement.
a. All fixed route transit providers with Title VI Programs that do not expire between
October 1, 2012, and March 31, 2013, are required to develop or update their systemwide standards and policies and submit them into TEAM by March 31, 2013.
b. Title VI Programs due to expire on or after April 1, 2013, must comply with the reporting
requirements of this Circular, 4702.1B.
c. Service Equity Analyses. Transit providers with 50 or more vehicles in fixed route
service that are located in large UZAs and have major service changes scheduled between
October 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013, may follow the service equity analysis guidance
provided in FTA Circular 4702.1A. A transit provider may conduct a service equity
analysis consistent with the new Circular for major service changes occurring prior to
April 1, 2013, but is not required to do so. All major service changes occurring on or
after April 1, 2013 must be analyzed with the framework outlined in section 7 of this
chapter.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-3

d. Surveys. Transit providers with 50 or more vehicles in fixed route service that are
located in large UZAs and that have not conducted passenger surveys in the last five
years will have until December 31, 2013, to conduct these surveys.
3. REQUIREMENT TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT A TITLE VI PROGRAM. As stated in
Chapter III of this Circular, in order to ensure compliance with the reporting requirements of
49 CFR Section 21.9(b), FTA requires that all direct and primary recipients document their
compliance by submitting a Title VI Program to their FTA regional civil rights officer once
every three years or as otherwise directed by FTA. For all transit providers (including
subrecipients), the Title VI Program must be approved by the transit provider’s board of
directors or appropriate governing entity or official(s) responsible for policy decisions prior
to submission to FTA. For State DOTs, the appropriate governing entity is the State’s
Secretary of Transportation or equivalent. Transit providers shall submit a copy of the board
resolution, meeting minutes, or similar documentation with the Title VI Program as evidence
that the board of directors or appropriate governing entity or official(s) has approved the Title
VI Program. FTA will review and concur or request the recipient provide additional
information. Subrecipients shall submit Title VI Programs to the primary recipient from
whom they receive funding, on a schedule to be determined by the primary recipient, in order
to assist the primary recipient in its compliance efforts. Collection and storage of
subrecipient Title VI Programs may be electronic at the option of the primary recipient.
a. Contents of the Title VI Program. Providers of fixed route public transportation shall
include the following information in their Title VI Program.
(1) All fixed route transit providers shall submit:
(a) All general requirements set out in Section 4 of Chapter III of this Circular; and
(b) System-wide service standards and system-wide service policies, whether existing
or new (i.e., adopted by the transit provider since the last submission) as described
in this chapter.
(2) Transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are
located in a UZA of 200,000 or more in population shall include the information in
paragraph a(1) above, and will also include:
(a) A demographic analysis of the transit provider’s service area. This shall include
demographic maps and charts completed since submission of the last Title VI
Program that contains demographic information and service profiles;
(b) Data regarding customer demographics and travel patterns, collected from
passenger surveys;
(c) Results of the monitoring program of service standards and policies and any
action taken, including documentation (e.g., a resolution, copy of meeting
minutes, or similar documentation) to verify the board’s or governing entity or
official(s)’s consideration, awareness, and approval of the monitoring results;

Chap. IV-4

FTA C 4702.1B
(d) A description of the public engagement process for setting the “major service
change policy” and disparate impact policy;
(e) A copy of board meeting minutes or a resolution demonstrating the board’s or
governing entity or official(s)’s consideration, awareness, and approval of the
major service change policy and disparate impact policy.
(f) Results of equity analyses for any major service changes and/or fare changes
implemented since the last Title VI Program submission; and
(g) A copy of board meeting minutes or a resolution demonstrating the board’s or
governing entity or official(s)’s consideration, awareness, and approval of the
equity analysis for any service or fare changes required by this circular.

4. REQUIREMENT TO SET SYSTEM-WIDE SERVICE STANDARDS AND POLICIES.
These requirements apply to all fixed route providers of public transportation service. Title
49 CFR Section 21.5 states the general prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of race,
color, or national origin. Section 21.5(b)(2) specifies that a recipient shall not “utilize criteria
or methods of administration which have the effect of subjecting persons to discrimination
because of their race, color, or national origin, or have the effect of defeating or substantially
impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the program with respect to individuals of a
particular race, color, or national origin.” Section 21.5(b)(7) requires recipients to “take
affirmative action to assure that no person is excluded from participation in or denied the
benefits of the program or activity on the grounds of race, color, or national origin.” Finally,
Appendix C to 49 CFR part 21 provides in Section (3)(iii) that “[n]o person or group of
persons shall be discriminated against with regard to the routing, scheduling, or quality of
service of transportation service furnished as a part of the project on the basis of race, color,
or national origin. Frequency of service, age and quality of vehicles assigned to routes,
quality of stations serving different routes, and location of routes may not be determined on
the basis of race, color, or national origin.”
All fixed route transit providers shall set service standards and policies for each specific fixed
route mode of service they provide. Fixed route modes of service include but are not limited
to, local bus, express bus, commuter bus, bus rapid transit, light rail, subway, commuter rail,
passenger ferry, etc. These standards and policies must address how service is distributed
across the transit system, and must ensure that the manner of the distribution affords users
access to these assets.
These system-wide service standards differ from any standards set by the APTA Standards
Development Program and other standards development organizations (SDOs), in that they
will be set by individual transit providers and will apply agency-wide rather than industrywide.
Providers of fixed route public transportation shall also adopt system-wide service policies to
ensure service design and operations practices do not result in discrimination on the basis of
race, color, or national origin. Service policies differ from service standards in that they are
not necessarily based on a quantitative threshold.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-5

a. Effective Practices to Fulfill the Service Standard Requirement. FTA requires all fixed
route transit providers to develop quantitative standards for all fixed route modes of
operation for the indicators listed below. Providers of public transportation may set
additional standards as appropriate or applicable to the type of service they provide. See
Appendix G for an example of how to report this information.
(1) Vehicle load for each mode. Vehicle load can be expressed as the ratio of passengers
to the total number of seats on a vehicle. For example, on a 40-seat bus, a vehicle load
of 1.3 means all seats are filled and there are approximately 12 standees. A vehicle
load standard is generally expressed in terms of peak and off-peak times. Transit
providers that operate multiple modes of transit must describe the specific vehicle
load standards for peak and off-peak times for each mode of fixed route transit
service (i.e., bus, express bus, bus rapid transit, light rail, heavy rail, commuter rail,
passenger ferry, etc., as applicable), as the standard may differ by mode.
(2) Vehicle headway for each mode. Vehicle headway is the amount of time between two
vehicles traveling in the same direction on a given line or combination of lines. A
shorter headway corresponds to more frequent service. Vehicle headways are
measured in minutes (e.g., every 15 minutes); service frequency is measured in
vehicles per hour (e.g., 4 buses per hour). Headways and frequency of service are
general indications of the level of service provided along a route. Vehicle headway is
one component of the amount of travel time expended by a passenger to reach his/her
destination. A vehicle headway standard is generally expressed for peak and off-peak
service as an increment of time (e.g., peak: every 15 minutes; and off peak: every 30
minutes). Transit providers may set different vehicle headway standards for different
modes of transit service. A vehicle headway standard might establish a minimum
frequency of service by area based on population density. For example, service at 15minute peak headways and 30-minute off-peak headways might be the standard for
routes serving the most densely populated portions of the service area, whereas 30minute peak headways and 45-minute off-peak headways might be the standard in
less densely populated areas. Headway standards are also typically related to vehicle
load. For example, a service standard might state that vehicle headways will be
improved first on routes that exceed the load factor standard or on routes that have the
highest load factors.
(3) On-time performance for each mode. On-time performance is a measure of runs
completed as scheduled. This criterion first must define what is considered to be “on
time.” For example, a transit provider may consider it acceptable if a vehicle
completes a scheduled run between zero and five minutes late in comparison to the
established schedule. On-time performance can be measured against route origins and
destinations only, or against origins and destinations as well as specified time points
along the route. Some transit providers set an on-time performance standard that
prohibits vehicles from running early (i.e., ahead of schedule) while others allow
vehicles to run early within a specified window of time (e.g., up to five minutes ahead
of schedule). An acceptable level of performance must be defined (expressed as a
percentage). The percentage of runs completed system-wide or on a particular route
or line within the standard must be calculated and measured against the level of

Chap. IV-6

FTA C 4702.1B
performance for the system. For example, a transit provider might define on-time
performance as 95 percent of all runs system-wide or on a particular route or line
completed within the allowed “on-time” window.

(4) Service availability for each mode. Service availability is a general measure of the
distribution of routes within a transit provider’s service area. For example, a transit
provider might set a service standard to distribute routes such that a specified
percentage of all residents in the service area are within a one-quarter mile walk of
bus service or a one-half mile walk of rail service. A standard might also indicate the
maximum distance between stops or stations. These measures related to coverage and
stop/station distances might also vary by population density. For example, in more
densely populated areas, the standard for bus stop distance might be a shorter distance
than it would be in less densely populated areas, and the percentage of the total
population within a one-quarter mile walk of routes or lines might be higher in more
densely populated areas than it would be in less densely populated areas. Commuter
rail service or passenger ferry service availability standards might include a threshold
of residents within a certain driving distance as well as within walking distance of the
stations or access to the terminal.
b. Effective Practices to Fulfill the Service Policy Requirement. FTA requires fixed route
transit providers to develop a policy for each of the following service indicators. Transit
providers may set policies for additional indicators as appropriate. See Appendix H for an
example of how to report this information.
(1) Distribution of transit amenities for each mode. Transit amenities refer to items of
comfort, convenience, and safety that are available to the general riding public.
Fixed route transit providers must set a policy to ensure equitable distribution of
transit amenities across the system. Transit providers may have different policies for
the different modes of service that they provide. Policies in this area address how
these amenities are distributed within a transit system, and the manner of their
distribution determines whether transit users have equal access to these amenities.
This subparagraph is not intended to impact funding decisions for transit amenities.
Rather, this subparagraph applies after a transit provider has decided to fund an
amenity.
This policy does not apply to transit providers that do not have decision-making
authority over the siting of transit amenities. Transit providers are not responsible for
setting a policy for transit amenities that are solely sited by a separate jurisdiction
(e.g., a city, town, or county) unless the transit provider has the authority to set
policies to determine the siting of these amenities. Transit providers are responsible
for setting a policy for transit amenities that are installed under a contract between the
transit provider and a private entity. In these cases, the transit provider shall
communicate its service policy to the private entity.
Transit providers shall submit their siting policy where the definition of transit
amenities includes but is not limited to:
(a) Seating (i.e., benches, seats at stops/stations)

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-7

(b) Bus and rail shelters and rail platform canopies
(c) Provision of information:
i. Printed signs, system maps, route maps, and schedules.
ii. Digital equipment such as next vehicle arrival time signs along bus routes
and at fixed guideway stations (i.e., electronic signage that depicts when a
transit vehicle will next arrive at the station or stop).
(d) Escalators
(e) Elevators
(f) Waste receptacles (including trash and recycling)
(2) Vehicle assignment for each mode. Vehicle assignment refers to the process by which
transit vehicles are placed into service in depots and on routes throughout the transit
provider’s system. Policies for vehicle assignment may be based on the age of the
vehicle, where age would be a proxy for condition. For example, a transit provider
could set a policy to assign vehicles to depots so that the age of the vehicles at each
depot does not exceed the system-wide average. The policy could also be based on
the type of vehicle. For example, a transit provider may set a policy to assign vehicles
with more capacity to routes with higher ridership and/or during peak periods. The
policy could also be based on the type of service offered. For example, a transit
provider may set a policy to assign specific types of vehicles to express or commuter
service. Transit providers deploying vehicles equipped with technology designed to
reduce emissions could choose to set a policy for how these vehicles will be deployed
throughout the service area.
5. REQUIREMENT TO COLLECT AND REPORT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. This
requirement applies only to transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in
peak service and are located in Urbanized Areas (UZA) of 200,000 or more in population or
that otherwise meet the threshold in the Introduction section of this chapter. Title 49 CFR
Section 21.9(b) requires recipients to keep records and submit compliance reports (a Title VI
Program) to FTA. Title VI Programs shall contain “such information, as the Secretary may
determine to be necessary to enable him to ascertain whether the recipient has complied or is
complying with this part.” In addition, 49 CFR 21.9(b) states that recipients “should have
available for the Secretary racial and ethnic data showing the extent to which members of
minority groups are beneficiaries of programs receiving Federal financial assistance.” In
order to ensure compliance with the regulation, FTA requires these transit providers to
prepare data regarding demographic and service profile maps and charts as well as customer
demographics and travel patterns.
In order to comply with the reporting requirements in 49 CFR Section 21.9(b), transit
providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located in a
UZA of 200,000 or more in population shall collect and analyze racial and ethnic data as
described below in order to determine the extent to which members of minority groups are
beneficiaries of programs receiving Federal financial assistance from FTA.
a. Demographic and Service Profile Maps and Charts. Transit providers shall prepare
demographic and service profile maps and charts after each decennial census and prior to
proposed service reductions or eliminations. Transit providers may use decennial census

Chap. IV-8

FTA C 4702.1B

data to develop maps and charts until the next decennial census or they may use
American Community Survey (ACS) data between decennial censuses. These maps and
charts will help the transit provider determine whether and to what extent transit service
is available to minority populations within the transit provider’s service area. These maps
may be prepared using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, although
transit providers without access to GIS technology may prepare the maps in alternative
formats. FTA requires transit providers to prepare the following maps and charts:
(1) A base map of the transit provider’s service area that overlays Census tract, Census
block or block group, traffic analysis zone (TAZ), or other locally available
geographic data with transit facilities—including transit routes, fixed guideway
alignments, transit stops and stations, depots, maintenance and garage facilities, and
administrative buildings—as well as major activity centers or transit trip generators,
and major streets and highways. Major activity centers and transit trip generators can
include, but are not necessarily limited to, the central business district, outlying high
employment areas, schools, and hospitals. This map shall overlay Census tract, block
or block group data depicting minority populations with fixed transit facilities, such
as bus shelters, transit stations, and fixed guideways. Another map shall highlight
those transit facilities that were recently replaced, improved or are scheduled (projects
identified in planning documents) for an update in the next five years.
(2) A demographic map that plots the information listed in (1) above and also shades
those Census tracts, blocks, block groups, TAZs, or other geographic zones where
the percentage of the total minority population residing in these areas exceeds the
average percentage of minority populations for the service area as a whole. Transit
providers may elect to produce maps that highlight separately the presence of
specific minority populations if this information will assist the transit provider in
determining compliance with Title VI and/or LEP. Transit providers shall also
prepare a GIS or alternative map overlaying minority populations with fixed transit
facilities, such as bus shelters, transit stations, and fixed guideways.
(3) For purposes of addressing environmental justice, and in order to evaluate the impacts
of major service changes on low-income populations, demographic maps shall also
depict those Census tracts, blocks, block groups, TAZs, or other geographic zones
where the percentage of the total low-income population residing in these areas
exceeds the average percentage of low-income populations for the service area as a
whole.
b. Demographic Ridership and Travel Patterns. Fixed route providers of public
transportation that meet the threshold in the Introduction section of this chapter shall
collect information on the race, color, national origin, English proficiency, language
spoken at home, household income and travel patterns of their riders using customer
surveys. Transit providers shall use this information to develop a demographic profile
comparing minority riders and non-minority riders, and trips taken by minority riders and
non-minority riders. Demographic information shall also be collected on fare usage by
fare type amongst minority users and low-income users, in order to assist with fare equity

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-9

analyses. The demographic information shall be displayed in tabular format. An example
of this analysis is depicted in Appendix I.
The information required in this subparagraph may be integrated into passenger surveys
employed by transit providers on a schedule determined by the transit provider but no
less than every five years and may be collected at the time that such surveys are routinely
performed, such as customer satisfaction surveys and origin and destination surveys used
to update travel demand models. Transit providers should contact FTA for further
guidance on survey sample sizes, data expansion procedures, and data collection methods
suitable to the transit provider’s specific situation.
Transit providers shall take steps to translate customer surveys into languages other than
English as necessary, or to provide translation services in the course of conducting
customer surveys consistent with the DOT LEP guidance and the recipient’s language
assistance plan.
6. REQUIREMENT TO MONITOR TRANSIT SERVICE. This requirement applies only to
providers of public transportation that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service
and are located in a UZA of 200,000 or more in population or that otherwise meet the
threshold in the Introduction section of this chapter. In order to ensure compliance with
DOT’s Title VI regulations, FTA requires these transit providers to monitor the performance
of their transit system relative to their system-wide service standards and service policies
(i.e., vehicle load, vehicle assignment, transit amenities, etc.) not less than every three years
using the following method:
a. Transit providers shall use the minority transit route definition to implement this
monitoring program. Transit providers shall select a sample of minority and nonminority routes from all modes of service provided, e.g., local bus, bus rapid transit,
light rail, etc. The sample shall include routes that provide service to predominantly
minority areas and non-minority areas. Transit providers should bear in mind that the
greater the sample size, the more reliable the results.
As defined in Chapter I, a minority transit route is one in which at least one-third of
the revenue miles are located in a Census block, Census block group, or traffic
analysis zone where the percentage minority population exceeds the percentage
minority population in the service area. Transit providers may supplement this with
ridership data and adjust route designations accordingly. For example, a commuter
bus that picks up passengers in generally non-minority areas and then travels through
predominantly minority neighborhoods but does not pick up passengers who live
closer to downtown might be more appropriately classified as a non-minority route,
even if one-third of the route mileage is located in predominantly minority Census
blocks or block groups. On the other hand, a light rail line may carry predominantly
minority passengers to an area where employment centers and other activities are
located, but the minority population in the surrounding Census blocks or block groups
does not meet or exceed the area average. This route may be more appropriately
classified as a minority transit route. Transit providers should ensure they have

Chap. IV-10

FTA C 4702.1B

adequate ridership data before making these determinations, and include that data in
their analyses.
b. Transit providers shall assess the performance of each minority and non-minority
route in the sample for each of the transit provider’s service standards and service
policies.
c. Transit providers shall compare the transit service observed in the assessment to the
transit provider’s established service policies and standards.
d. For cases in which the observed service for any route exceeds or fails to meet the
standard or policy, depending on the metric measured, the transit provider shall
analyze why the discrepancies exist, and take steps to reduce the potential effects.
e. Transit providers shall evaluate their transit amenities policy to ensure amenities are
being distributed throughout the transit system in an equitable manner.
f. Transit providers shall develop a policy or procedure to determine whether disparate
impacts exist on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and apply that policy or
procedure to the results of the monitoring activities;
g. Transit providers shall brief and obtain approval from the transit providers’ policymaking officials, generally the board of directors or appropriate governing entity
responsible for policy decisions regarding the results of the monitoring program;
h. Submit the results of the monitoring program as well as documentation (e.g., a
resolution, copy of meeting minutes, or similar documentation) to verify the board’s
or governing entity or official(s)’s consideration, awareness, and approval of the
monitoring results to FTA every three years as part of the Title VI Program. See
Appendix J for an example of how to report this information.
Transit providers shall undertake these periodic service monitoring activities to compare the
level of service provided to predominantly minority areas with the level of service provided
to predominantly non-minority areas to ensure the end result of policies and decision-making
is equitable. A transit provider at its discretion may choose to conduct service monitoring
more frequently than every three years.
If a transit provider determines, based on its monitoring activities, that prior decisions have
resulted in a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, or national origin, the transit
provider shall take corrective action to remedy the disparities to the greatest extent possible,
and shall discuss in the Title VI Program these disparate impacts and actions taken to remedy
the disparities.
7. REQUIREMENT TO EVALUATE SERVICE AND FARE CHANGES. This requirement
applies only to transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service
and are located in a UZA of 200,000 or more in population or that otherwise meet the
threshold in the Introduction section of this chapter. These transit providers are required to
prepare and submit service and fare equity analyses as described below. Transit providers not

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-11

subject to this requirement are responsible for complying with the DOT Title VI regulations
which prohibit disparate impact discrimination, and therefore should review their policies
and practices to ensure their service and fare changes do not result in disparate impacts on the
basis of race, color, or national origin.
To further ensure compliance with 49 CFR Section 21.5(b)(2), 49 CFR Section 21.5(b)(7),
and Appendix C to 49 CFR part 21, all providers of public transportation to which this
Section applies shall develop written procedures consistent with this Section to evaluate,
prior to implementation, any and all service changes that exceed the transit provider’s major
service change threshold, as well as all fare changes, to determine whether those changes will
have a discriminatory impact based on race, color, or national origin. The written procedures
and results of service and/or fare equity analyses shall be included in the transit provider’s
Title VI Program.
One purpose of conducting service and fare equity analyses prior to implementing service
and/or fare changes is to determine whether the planned changes will have a disparate impact
on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
The typical measure of disparate impact involves a comparison between the proportion of
persons in the protected class who are adversely affected by the service or fare change and
the proportion of persons not in the protected class who are adversely affected. The
comparison population for a statistical measure of disparate impact is all persons who are
either affected by the service or fare changes or who could possibly be affected by the service
or fare change (e.g., potential passengers). When a transit provider uses ridership as the
comparison population, the transit provider will compare the ridership of the affected route(s)
with the ridership of the system. For example, if the ridership of affected route(s) is 60
percent minority and the system ridership is 40 percent minority, then changes to the route(s)
may have a disparate impact. When a transit provider uses the population of the service area
as the comparison population, it will compare the population in Census blocks or block
groups served by the affected route(s) with the population in the service area. For example,
if affected route(s) serves Census blocks that are 40 percent minority and the service area is
45 percent minority, there would likely not be a disparate impact. Examples of this analysis
are provided in Appendix K.
Low-income populations are not a protected class under Title VI. However, recognizing
the inherent overlap of environmental justice principles in this area, and because it is
important to evaluate the impacts of service and fare changes on passengers who are
transit-dependent, FTA requires transit providers to evaluate proposed service and fare
changes to determine whether low-income populations will bear a disproportionate
burden of the changes. As depicted below, when a minority population is present, the
correct analysis is a disparate impact analysis:

Chap. IV-12

FTA C 4702.1B

Transit providers shall use tables similar to those provided in Appendix K to depict the
results of the service and/or fare equity analysis. Transit providers should refer to the
checklist and examples in the Appendix for additional technical assistance with service and
fare equity analyses.
Upon completion of a service or fare equity analysis, the transit provider shall brief its board
of directors, top executive, or appropriate governing entity or official(s) responsible for
policy decisions regarding the service and/or fare change(s) and the equity impacts of the
service and/or fare change(s). The transit provider shall submit documentation such as a
board resolution, copy of meeting minutes, or similar documentation with the Title VI
Program as evidence of the board or governing entity or official’s consideration, awareness,
and approval of the analysis.
a. Service Equity Analysis
FTA encourages transit providers to contact their FTA Regional Civil Rights Officer for
technical assistance when they have determined that a service equity analysis is
necessary. Upon request, FTA can provide technical assistance related to methodology
and analysis prior to a transit provider’s board of directors taking action.
Transit providers shall evaluate the impacts of their proposed service changes on minority
and low-income populations separately, using the following methods:
(1) Service Equity Analysis for Minority Populations:
(a) Major Service Change Policy. In order to begin the analysis, the transit provider
must first identify what constitutes a “major service change” for its system, as
only “major service changes” are subject to a service equity analysis. The transit
provider must conduct a service equity analysis for those service changes that
meet or exceed the transit provider’s “major service change policy.”
A major service change policy is typically presented as a numerical standard, such
as a change that affects “x” percent of a route, “x” number of route miles or hours,
or some other route-specific or system-wide change, or the number or
concentration of people affected. The major service change policy will include

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-13

adding service and reducing service. The threshold for analysis shall not be set so
high so as to never require an analysis; rather, agencies shall select a threshold
most likely to yield a meaningful result in light of the transit provider’s system
characteristics.
A transit provider may exempt a temporary addition of service (e.g.,
demonstration projects), including those that would otherwise qualify as a major
service change, from its definition of major service change. If a temporary
service addition or change lasts longer than twelve months, then FTA considers
the service addition or change permanent and the transit provider must conduct a
service equity analysis if the service otherwise qualifies as a major service
change.
(b) Adverse Effects. The transit provider shall define and analyze adverse effects
related to major changes in transit service. The adverse effect is measured by the
change between the existing and proposed service levels that would be deemed
significant. Changes in service that have an adverse effect and that may result in
a disparate impact include reductions in service (e.g., elimination of route,
shortlining a route, rerouting an existing route, increase in headways).
Elimination of a route will generally have a greater adverse impact than a change
in headways. Additions to service may also result in disparate impacts, especially
if they come at the expense of reductions in service on other routes. Transit
providers shall consider the degree of adverse effects, and analyze those effects,
when planning their service changes.
(c) Disparate Impact Policy. The transit provider shall develop a policy for measuring
disparate impacts. The policy shall establish a threshold for determining when
adverse effects of service changes are borne disproportionately by minority
populations. The disparate impact threshold defines statistically significant
disparity and may be presented as a statistical percentage of impacts borne by
minority populations compared to impacts borne by non-minority populations.
The disparate impact threshold must be applied uniformly, regardless of mode,
and cannot be altered until the next Title VI Program submission.
For illustrative purposes only, here is an example: a transit provider adopts a
disparate impact policy that provides any time there is a difference in adverse
impacts between minority and non-minority populations of plus or minus ten
percent, this is statistically significant, and such differences in adverse impacts
are disparate. For example, if minorities make up 30 percent of the overall
population, but would bear 45 percent of the impacts, and the non-minority
group would bear 55 percent, there may be a disparate impact insofar as the
minority group bears 15 percent more than its expected share, from 45 percent
of the burden to 30 percent of the population; while the non-minority group
bears 15 percent less than its expected share of 55 percent of burden compared
to 70 percent of population—even though the absolute majority of the burden
rests with the non-minority group. Applying the ten percent disparate impact
policy, the provider will find a disparate impact and must therefore consider

Chap. IV-14

FTA C 4702.1B
modifying the proposed changes in order to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the
disparate impacts of the proposed changes. [NOTE: Ten percent is not a
suggested baseline or standard, and is used here solely as an example. As
described above, each transit provider will adopt a disparate impact policy.]

(d) Public Participation. The transit provider shall engage the public in the decisionmaking process to develop the major service change policy and disparate impact
policy.
(e) Data Analysis. The transit provider shall describe the dataset(s) the transit
provider will use in the service equity analysis, i.e., whether the provider is using
American Community Survey (ACS), Census blocks, block groups, traffic
analysis zone (TAZ) level, or using ridership data. The transit provider shall also
describe what techniques and/or technologies were used to collect the data. When
relying on population data instead of ridership data, the choice of dataset should
be the smallest geographic area that reasonably has access to the bus or rail stop
or station. For example, passengers will generally walk up to one-quarter mile to
a bus stop or one-half mile to a light or heavy rail station, or drive up to three
miles to a commuter rail station. The demographics of the neighborhoods within
those distances should be the datasets used. Transit providers may use the data
from an entire Census block or block group when a portion of the area is within
the walking or driving distance described above.
(f) Assessing Service Impacts. Transit providers shall evaluate the impacts of
proposed service changes on minority populations using the following
framework:
(i) The typical measure of disparate impact involves a comparison between the
proportion of persons in the protected class who are adversely affected by the
service or fare change and the proportion of persons not in the protected class
who are adversely affected. The population for a statistical measure of
disparate impact is all persons that are either affected by the service or fare
changes or that could possibly be affected by the service or fare change (e.g.,
potential passengers), thus the comparison population may vary depending on
the type of change under evaluation. The transit provider shall include in the
analysis the reason for the comparison population selected.
For example, when making headway changes, eliminating a route, or
increasing service to an area currently served by the transit system, the
appropriate comparison population would likely be ridership, and the transit
provider would compare the ridership of the affected route(s) with the
ridership of the system.
On the other hand, when proposing to provide new service to a neighborhood
or corridor not served by the transit system, the appropriate comparison
population would likely be the population of the service area, and the transit

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-15
provider would compare the population in Census blocks or block groups
served by the proposed route(s) with the population in the service area.
Further, if a transit provider is proposing a major service change that involves
both headway changes and new service to a neighborhood or corridor not
served by the transit system, the transit provider would not have to use
different comparison populations for the different types of changes. The
transit provider would select either ridership or population of the service area
and conduct an analysis using the same comparison population.
Transit providers are cautioned not to “mix and match” their comparison
populations. Ridership of affected route(s) should be compared to ridership of
the system, and Census blocks or block groups should be compared with the
population of the service area.
In instances where a transit provider does not have adequate ridership data or
is otherwise uncertain as to which population to use for comparison purposes,
the transit provider should contact their FTA regional office for technical
assistance.

(ii) Ridership Data. When the transit provider determines that the correct
population base is ridership, the transit provider shall document the reasons
for selecting this population base and analyze any available information
generated from ridership surveys to determine the minority and non-minority
population ridership of the affected route(s) and the minority and nonminority ridership of the entire system.
(iii)GIS or Alternative Maps. When the transit provider determines that the
correct population base is Census blocks or block groups, the transit provider
shall document the reasons for selecting this population base and shall prepare
maps of the routes that would be reduced, increased, eliminated, added, or
restructured, overlaid on a demographic map of the service area, in order to
study the affected population. Transit providers may also find it helpful to
prepare these maps when doing an analysis based on ridership.
(iv) Determination of Disparate Impact. Each service change analysis must
compare existing service to proposed changes, and calculate the absolute
change as well as the percent change. The transit provider shall use its adverse
effects definition and disparate impact threshold to determine whether the
proposed major service change will result in adverse effects that are
disproportionately borne by minority populations, by comparing the
proportion of minorities adversely affected to the proportion of non-minorities
adversely affected. The transit provider shall consider the degree of the
adverse effects when doing this analysis. Any service change analysis shall
be expressed as a percent change in tabular format. See Appendix K for an
example of how to report this data.

Chap. IV-16

FTA C 4702.1B
(v) Analysis of Modifications. If the transit provider finds potential disparate
impacts and then modifies the proposed changes in order to avoid, minimize,
or mitigate potential disparate impacts, the transit provider must reanalyze the
proposed changes in order to determine whether the modifications actually
removed the potential disparate impacts of the changes.
(vi) Finding a Disparate Impact on the Basis of Race, Color, or National Origin.
If a transit provider chooses not to alter the proposed service changes despite
the potential disparate impact on minority populations, or if the transit
provider finds, even after the revisions, that minority riders will continue to
bear a disproportionate share of the proposed service change, the transit
provider may implement the service change only if:


the transit provider has a substantial legitimate justification for the
proposed service change, and



the transit provider can show that there are no alternatives that
would have a less disparate impact on minority riders but would
still accomplish the transit provider’s legitimate program goals.
It is important to understand that in order to make this showing, the
transit provider must consider and analyze alternatives to
determine whether those alternatives would have less of a disparate
impact on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and then
implement the least discriminatory alternative.

(vii) Examining Alternatives. If the transit provider determines that a proposed
service change will have a disparate impact, the transit provider shall analyze
the alternatives (identified in the second bullet above) to determine whether
alternatives exist that would serve the same legitimate objectives but with less
of a disparate effect on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The
existence of such an alternative method of accomplishing the transit
provider’s substantial and legitimate interests demonstrates that the disparate
effects can be avoided by adoption of the alternative methods without harming
such interests. In addition, if evidence undermines the legitimacy of the transit
provider’s asserted justification - that is, that the justification is not supported
by demonstrable evidence - the disparate effects will violate Title VI, as the
lack of factual support will indicate that there is not a substantial legitimate
justification for the disparate effects. At that point, the transit provider must
revisit the service changes and make adjustments that will eliminate
unnecessary disparate effects on populations defined by race, color, or
national origin. Where disparate impacts are identified, the transit provider
shall provide a meaningful opportunity for public comment on any proposed
mitigation measures, including the less discriminatory alternatives that may be
available.
(2) Service Equity Analysis for Low-Income Populations. As noted above, lowincome populations are not a protected class under Title VI. However,

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-17

recognizing the inherent overlap of environmental justice principles in this area,
and because it is important to evaluate the impacts of service and fare changes on
passengers who are transit-dependent, FTA requires transit providers to evaluate
proposed service and fare changes to determine whether low-income populations
will bear a disproportionate burden of the changes.
(a) Major Service Change Policy. As described under the Service Equity Analysis for
Minority Populations, the transit provider must first identify what constitutes a
“major service change” for its system, as only “major service changes” are subject
to a service equity analysis. The transit provider’s major service change policy
will apply to both analyses.
(b) Adverse Effects. As described under the Service Equity Analysis for Minority
Populations, the transit provider shall define and analyze adverse effects related to
major changes in transit service. The transit provider’s adverse effects policy will
apply to both analyses.
(c) Disproportionate Burden Policy. The transit provider shall develop a policy for
measuring disproportionate burdens on low-income populations. The policy shall
establish a threshold for determining when adverse effects of service changes are
borne disproportionately by low-income populations. The disproportionate
burden threshold defines statistically significant disparity and may be presented as
a statistical percentage of impacts borne by low-income populations as compared
to impacts borne by non-low-income populations. The disproportionate burden
threshold must be applied uniformly, regardless of mode.
(d) Public Participation. The transit provider shall engage the public in the
decision-making process to develop the disproportionate burden policy.
(e) Selection of Comparison Population. Transit providers may use ridership data
or population of the service area for the comparison population. If a transit
provider uses ridership as the comparison population for the Title VI (minority
populations) service equity analysis, the transit provider should use ridership
as the comparison population for the low-income equity analysis. Similarly, if
the transit provider uses the service area as the comparison population for the
Title VI (minority populations) analysis, the provider should use the service
area as the comparison population for the low-income analysis.
(f) Data Analysis. The transit provider shall describe the dataset(s) the transit
provider will use in the service equity analysis, i.e., whether the provider is
using American Community Survey (ACS), Census blocks, block groups, or
traffic analysis zone (TAZ) level, or using ridership data. The transit provider
shall also describe what techniques and/or technologies were used to collect
the data. When relying on population data instead of ridership data, the choice
of dataset should be the smallest geographic area that reasonably has access to
the bus or rail stop or station. [NOTE: Census tract level may be used if that is
the smallest geographic area available for income data]. For example,

Chap. IV-18

FTA C 4702.1B
passengers will generally walk up to one-quarter mile to a bus stop or one-half
mile to a light or heavy rail station, or drive up to three miles to a commuter
rail station. The demographics of the neighborhoods within those distances
should be the datasets used. Transit providers may use the data from an entire
Census block or block group when a portion of the area is within the walking
or driving distance described above.

(g) Assessing Service Impacts. Transit providers shall evaluate the impacts of
proposed service changes on low-income populations using the following
method:
(i) Ridership Data. When the transit provider determines that the correct
comparison population is ridership, the transit provider shall document the
reasons for selecting this comparison population and analyze any available
information generated from ridership surveys to determine the low-income
and non-low-income population ridership of the affected route(s) and the lowincome and non-low-income ridership of the entire system.
(ii) GIS or Alternative Maps. When the transit provider determines that the
correct population base is Census blocks or block groups, the transit provider
shall document the reasons for selecting this population base and shall prepare
maps of the routes that would be reduced, increased, eliminated, added, or
restructured/rerouted, overlaid on a demographic map of the service area, in
order to study the affected population. Transit providers may also find it
helpful to prepare these maps when doing an analysis based on ridership.
(iii)Determination of Disproportionate Burden. Each service change analysis must
compare existing service to proposed service, and calculate the absolute
change as well as the percent change. The transit provider shall use its
disproportionate burden threshold to determine whether the proposed change
will result in adverse effects that are disproportionately borne by low-income
populations, by comparing the proportion of low-income persons adversely
affected to the proportion of non-low-income persons adversely affected. Any
service change analysis shall be expressed as a percent change in tabular
format. See Appendix K for an example of how to report this data.
(iv) Avoid, Minimize, Mitigate. At the conclusion of the analysis, if the transit
provider finds that low-income populations will bear a disproportionate
burden of the proposed major service change, the transit provider should take
steps to avoid, minimize, or mitigate impacts where practicable. The provider
should also describe alternatives available to low-income passengers affected
by the service changes.
(v) FTA considers the disproportionate burden analysis for low-income
populations described above to be important for planning and
environmental justice analysis purposes; however, since low-income
populations are not a protected class under Title VI, failure to complete
this analysis will not result in a finding of noncompliance under Title VI.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-19

b. Fare Equity Analysis
(1) Fare Changes. The fare equity analysis requirement applies to all fare changes
regardless of the amount of increase or decrease. As with the service equity
analysis, FTA requires transit providers to evaluate the effects of fare changes on
low-income populations in addition to Title VI-protected populations.
(a) Exceptions.
(i) “Spare the air days” or other instances when a local municipality or transit
agency has declared that all passengers ride free.
(ii) Temporary fare reductions that are mitigating measures for other actions.
For example, construction activities may close a segment of a rail system
for a period of time and require passengers to alter their travel patterns. A
reduced fare for these impacted passengers is a mitigating measure and
does not require a fare equity analysis.
(iii) Promotional fare reductions. If a promotional or temporary fare reduction
lasts longer than six months, then FTA considers the fare reduction
permanent and the transit provider must conduct a fare equity analysis.
(2) Data Analysis. For proposed changes that would increase or decrease fares on the
entire system, or on certain transit modes, or by fare payment type or fare media, the
transit provider shall analyze any available information generated from ridership
surveys indicating whether minority and/or low-income riders are disproportionately
more likely to use the mode of service, payment type, or payment media that would
be subject to the fare change. Notably, Census data will not be effective data for fare
analyses, since it is impossible to know, based on Census data, what fare media
people are using. The transit provider shall describe the dataset(s) the transit provider
will use in the fare change analysis. This section shall also describe what techniques
and/or technologies were used to collect the data. The transit provider shall—
(i) Determine the number and percent of users of each fare media being changed;
(ii) Review fares before the change and after the change;
(iii)Compare the differences for each particular fare media between minority users
and overall users; and
(iv) Compare the differences for each particular fare media between low-income users
and overall users.
Please see Appendix K for a sample analysis.
(3) Assessing Impacts. Transit providers shall evaluate the impacts of their proposed fare
changes (either increases or decreases) on minority and low-income populations
separately, using the following framework:

Chap. IV-20

FTA C 4702.1B

(a) Minority Disparate Impact Policy. The transit provider shall develop a policy
for measuring disparate impact to determine whether minority riders are
bearing a disproportionate impact of the change between the existing cost and
the proposed cost. The impact may be defined as a statistical percentage. The
disparate impact threshold must be applied uniformly, regardless of fare
media, and cannot be altered until the next Title VI Program submission.
(b) Public Participation Process. The transit provider shall engage the public in the
decision-making process to develop the disparate impact threshold.
(c) Modification of Proposal. If the transit provider finds potential disparate impacts
and then modifies the proposed changes in order to avoid, minimize or mitigate
those impacts, the transit provider must reanalyze the proposed changes in order
to determine whether the modifications actually removed the potential disparate
impacts of the changes.
(d) Finding a Disparate Impact on the Basis of Race, Color, or National Origin. If a
transit provider chooses not to alter the proposed fare changes despite the
disparate impact on minority ridership, or if the transit provider finds, even after
the revisions, that minority riders will continue to bear a disproportionate share of
the proposed fare change, the transit provider may implement the fare change
only if:


the transit provider has a substantial legitimate justification for the proposed
fare change, and



the transit provider can show that there are no alternatives that would have a
less disparate impact on minority riders but would still accomplish the transit
provider’s legitimate program goals.
It is important to understand that in order to make this showing, the transit
provider must consider and analyze alternatives to determine whether those
alternatives would have less of a disparate impact on the basis of race, color,
or national origin, and then implement the least discriminatory alternative.

(e) Examining Alternatives. If the transit provider determines that a proposed fare
change will have a disparate impact, the transit provider shall analyze the
alternatives (identified in the second bullet above) to determine whether
alternatives exist that would serve the same legitimate objectives but with less of
a disparate effect on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The existence of
such an alternative method of accomplishing the transit provider’s substantial and
legitimate interests demonstrates that the disparate effects can be avoided by
adoption of the alternative methods without harming such interests. In addition, if
evidence undermines the legitimacy of the transit provider’s asserted
justification—that is, that the justification is not supported by demonstrable
evidence—the disparate effects will violate Title VI, as the lack of factual support
will indicate that there is not a substantial legitimate justification for the disparate
effects. At that point, the transit provider must revisit the fare changes and make

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IV-21

adjustments that will eliminate unnecessary disparate effects on populations
defined by race, color, or national origin. Where disparate impacts are identified,
the transit provider shall provide a meaningful opportunity for public comment on
any proposed mitigation measures, including any less discriminatory alternatives
that may be available.
(f) Low-Income Disproportionate Burden Policy. The transit provider shall
develop a policy for measuring the burden of fare changes on low-income
riders to determine when low-income riders are bearing a disproportionate
burden of the change between the existing fare and the proposed fare. The
impact may be defined as a statistical percentage. The disproportionate burden
threshold must be applied uniformly, regardless of fare media, and cannot be
altered until the next program submission.
(i) The transit provider shall engage the public in the decision-making process
to develop the disproportionate burden threshold.
(ii) At the conclusion of the analysis, if the transit provider finds that low-income
populations will bear a disproportionate burden of the proposed fare change,
the transit provider should take steps to avoid, minimize or mitigate impacts
where practicable. The transit provider should describe alternatives available
to low-income populations affected by the fare changes.
c. Service and Fare Equity Analysis for New Starts and Other New Fixed Guideway
Systems. Transit providers that have implemented or will implement a New Start, Small
Start, or other new fixed guideway capital project shall conduct a service and fare equity
analysis. The service and fare equity analysis will be conducted six months prior to the
beginning of revenue operations, whether or not the proposed changes to existing service
rise to the level of “major service change” as defined by the transit provider. All proposed
changes to parallel or connecting service will be examined. If the entity that builds the
project is different from the transit provider that will operate the project, the transit
provider operating the project shall conduct the analysis. The service equity analysis shall
include a comparative analysis of service levels pre-and post- the New Starts/Small
Starts/new fixed guideway capital project. The analysis shall be depicted in tabular
format and shall determine whether the service changes proposed (including both
reductions and increases) due to the capital project will result in a disparate impact on
minority populations. The transit provider shall also conduct a fare equity analysis for
any and all fares that will change as a result of the capital project.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. V-1
CHAPTER V
REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES

1. INTRODUCTION. This chapter provides requirements for States. States that receive
financial assistance from FTA are also responsible for following:
a. The general requirements in Chapter III of this Circular; and
b. The requirements in Chapter IV of this Circular if the State is a provider of fixed route
public transportation.
2. REQUIREMENT TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT A TITLE VI PROGRAM. Title 49 CFR
Section 21.9(b) requires recipients to submit reports to FTA in order for FTA to ascertain
whether the recipient is in compliance with the DOT Title VI regulations, and recipients must
have available “racial and ethnic data showing the extent to which members of minority
groups are beneficiaries of programs receiving Federal financial assistance.” As stated in
Chapter III of this Circular, FTA requires that all direct and primary recipients document
their compliance by submitting a Title VI Program to their FTA regional civil rights officer
once every three years, or as otherwise directed by FTA.
For all recipients (including subrecipients), the Title VI Program must be approved by the
recipient’s board of directors or appropriate governing entity or official(s) responsible for
policy decisions prior to submission to FTA. For State DOTs, the appropriate governing
entity is the State’s Secretary of Transportation or equivalent. States shall submit a copy of
the appropriate documentation demonstrating that the State’s Secretary of Transportation or
equivalent official has approved the Title VI Program. FTA will review and concur or
request the recipient provide additional information. Subrecipients, including MPOs that
receive planning money from the State, shall submit Title VI Programs to the State as the
primary recipient from whom they receive funding, in order to assist the State in its
compliance efforts, on a schedule determined by the State. Collection and storage of
subrecipient Title VI Programs may be electronic at the option of the State. See Appendix L
for clarification of reporting responsibilities by recipient category.
States shall include the following information in their Title VI Program:
a. All general requirements set out in section 4 of Chapter III of this Circular;
b. All requirements for transit providers set out in Chapter IV of this Circular if the State is
a provider of fixed route public transportation services;
c. A demographic profile of the State that includes identification of the locations of
minority populations in the aggregate;
d. Demographic maps that overlay the percent minority and non-minority populations as
identified by Census or American Community Survey data at Census tract or block group
level, and charts that analyze the impacts of the distribution of State and Federal funds in

Chap. V-2

FTA C 4702.1B

the aggregate for public transportation purposes, including Federal funds managed by the
State as a designated recipient;
e. An analysis of impacts identified in paragraph d that identifies any disparate impacts on
the basis of race, color, or national origin, and, if so, determines whether there is a
substantial legitimate justification for the policy that resulted in the disparate impacts,
and if there are alternatives that could be employed that would have a less discriminatory
impact.
f. A description of the statewide transportation planning process that identifies the
transportation needs of minority populations;
g. A description of the procedures the State uses to pass through FTA financial assistance to
subrecipients in a non-discriminatory manner; and
h. A description of the procedures the State uses to provide assistance to potential
subrecipients applying for funding, including its efforts to assist applicants that would
serve predominantly minority populations.
3. PLANNING. All States are responsible for conducting planning activities that comply with
49 U.S.C. Section 5304, Statewide Transportation Planning, as well as subpart B of 23 CFR
part 450, Statewide Transportation Planning and Programming. Since States “pass through”
planning funds to the MPO, the State as primary recipient is responsible for collecting Title
VI programs from MPOs on a schedule to be determined by the State. Collection and storage
of subrecipient Title VI Programs may be electronic at the option of the State. The State is
thus responsible for monitoring the Title VI compliance of the MPO for those activities for
which the MPO is a subrecipient.
Self-certification of compliance with all applicable Federal requirements is required of all
States, which is reviewed by FTA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the
joint Statewide Planning Finding, rendered at the time of update or amendment of the
Statewide Improvement Program (STIP). The joint FTA/FHWA planning certification
review includes a review of Title VI compliance. The self-certification and joint FTA/FHWA
“Finding” include a review of Title VI compliance. As part of the planning certification
review, FTA/FHWA review State-developed documentation to determine whether States
have:
a. Analyzed regional demographic data to identify minority populations within the nonurbanized areas of the State.
b. Where necessary, provided local service providers and agencies with data to assist them
in identifying minority populations in their service area.
c. Ensured that members of minority communities are provided with full opportunities to
engage in the Statewide Transportation Planning process. This includes actions to
eliminate language, mobility, temporal, and other obstacles to allow these populations to
participate fully in the process.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. V-3

d. Monitored the activities of subrecipients with regard to Title VI compliance, where the
State passes funds through to subrecipients.
4. REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. In order to comply with 49 CFR
Section 21.5, the general nondiscrimination provision, States shall document that they pass
through FTA funds under the Enhanced Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with
Disabilities (Section 5310) program, the Formula Grants for Rural Areas (Section 5311)
program, and any other FTA funds, to subrecipients without regard to race, color, or national
origin, and assure that minority populations are not being denied the benefits of or excluded
from participation in these programs.
States shall prepare and maintain, but not report unless requested by FTA, the following
information:
a. A record of funding requests received from private non-profit organizations, State or
local governmental authorities, and Indian tribes. The record shall identify those
applicants that would use grant program funds to provide assistance to predominantly
minority populations. The record shall also indicate which applications were rejected and
accepted for funding.
b. A description of how the agency develops its competitive selection process or annual
program of projects submitted to FTA as part of its grant applications. This description
shall emphasize the method used to ensure the equitable distribution of funds to
subrecipients that serve predominantly minority populations, including Native American
tribes, where present. Equitable distribution can be achieved by engaging in outreach to
diverse stakeholders regarding the availability of funds, and ensuring the competitive
process is not itself a barrier to selection of minority applicants.
c. A description of the agency’s criteria for selecting entities to participate in an FTA grant
program.
When a subrecipient is also a direct recipient of FTA funds, that is, applies for funds directly
from FTA in addition to receiving funds from a State, the subrecipient/direct recipient reports
directly to FTA and the State as designated recipient is not responsible for monitoring
compliance of that subrecipient/direct recipient. The supplemental agreement signed by both
entities in their roles as designated recipient and direct recipient relieves the State as
designated recipient of this oversight responsibility. See Appendix L for clarification of
reporting responsibilities by recipient category.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. VI-1
CHAPTER VI

REQUIREMENTS FOR METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
ORGANIZATIONS
1. INTRODUCTION. This chapter describes the procedures that metropolitan planning
organizations (MPOs) shall follow in order to comply with the DOT’s Title VI regulations.
MPOs are also responsible for following the general requirements in Chapter III of this
circular.
An MPO may serve many different roles depending on its “recipient” status, i.e., designated
recipient, direct recipient, primary recipient, or subrecipient. This chapter describes the many
roles an MPO may fill, and provides guidance on Title VI compliance for each of those roles.
2. REQUIREMENT TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT A TITLE VI PROGRAM. Title 49 CFR
Section 21.9(b) requires recipients to submit reports to FTA in order for FTA to ascertain
whether the recipient is in compliance with the DOT Title VI regulations, and recipients must
have available “racial and ethnic data showing the extent to which members of minority
groups are beneficiaries of programs receiving Federal financial assistance.” As stated in
Chapter III of this Circular, FTA requires that all direct and primary recipients document
their compliance by submitting a Title VI Program to their FTA regional civil rights officer
once every three years, or as otherwise directed by FTA.
For all recipients (including subrecipients), the Title VI Program must be approved by the
recipient’s board of directors or appropriate governing entity or official(s) responsible for
policy decisions prior to submission to FTA. FTA will review and concur or request the
recipient provide additional information. Subrecipients, including MPOs that receive Federal
planning money from the State, shall submit Title VI Programs to the State as the primary
recipient from whom they receive funding, on a schedule to be determined by the State, in
order to assist the State in its compliance efforts. Collection and storage of subrecipient Title
VI Programs may be electronic at the option of the State. See Appendix L for clarification of
reporting responsibilities by recipient category.
MPOs shall include the following information in their Title VI Programs.
a. In its regional transportation planning capacity, the MPO shall submit to the State as the
primary recipient, and also to FTA:
(1) All general requirements) set out in section 4 of Chapter III of this Circular;
(2) A demographic profile of the metropolitan area that includes identification of the
locations of minority populations in the aggregate;
(3) A description of the procedures by which the mobility needs of minority populations
are identified and considered within the planning process;

Chap. VI-2

FTA C 4702.1B

(4) Demographic maps that overlay the percent minority and non-minority populations as
identified by Census or ACS data, at Census tract or block group level, and charts that
analyze the impacts of the distribution of State and Federal funds in the aggregate for
public transportation purposes, including Federal funds managed by the MPO as a
designated recipient;
(5) An analysis of impacts identified in paragraph (4) that identifies any disparate
impacts on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and, if so, determines whether
there is a substantial legitimate justification for the policy that resulted in the
disparate impacts, and if there are alternatives that could be employed that would
have a less discriminatory impact.
b. In its capacity as a direct recipient, the MPO shall submit to FTA:
(1) The information required under section 2a of this chapter; and
(2) If the MPO is a provider of fixed route public transportation service, the information
required under section 2 of chapter IV (Requirements and Guidelines for Fixed Route
Transit Providers). The reporting requirements that the MPO must follow for the
provision of public transportation service will be based on whether the MPO serves a
large UZA with 200,000 or more in population and whether the number of fixed route
vehicles in peak service is 50 or more.
c. In its capacity as a primary recipient, the MPO shall submit to FTA:
(1) The information required under section 2a of this chapter;
(2) A description of the procedures the MPO uses to pass through FTA financial
assistance to subrecipients in a nondiscriminatory manner; and
(3) A description of the procedures the MPO uses to provide assistance to potential
subrecipients applying for funding, including its efforts to assist applicants that would
serve predominantly minority populations.
See Appendix L for clarification of reporting responsibilities by recipient category.
3. PLANNING. All MPOs are responsible for conducting planning activities that comply with
49 U.S.C. Section 5303, Metropolitan Transportation Planning, as well as subpart C of 23
CFR part 450, Metropolitan Transportation Planning and Programming, for a specified
metropolitan planning area. Since States “pass through” planning funds to the MPO, MPOs
are subrecipients of the State and must submit Title VI compliance reports for planning
activities to the State in order to assist the State in demonstrating compliance with Title VI.
The State is thus responsible for monitoring the Title VI compliance of the MPO for those
activities for which the MPO is a subrecipient. If the MPO passes planning funds through to
one or more subrecipients, the MPO is responsible for ensuring those subrecipients comply
with Title VI.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. VI-3

All MPOs are required to self-certify compliance with all applicable Federal requirements.
Planning certification reviews conducted jointly by FTA and FHWA of the metropolitan
transportation planning processes of transportation management areas include a review of
Title VI compliance. As part of the planning certification review, FTA/FHWA review MPOdeveloped documentation to determine whether MPOs have:
a. Analyzed regional demographic data to identify minority populations within the region.
b. Where necessary, provided member agencies with regional data to assist them in
identifying minority populations in their service area.
c. Ensured that members of minority communities are provided with full opportunities to
engage in the transportation planning process. This includes actions to eliminate
language, mobility, temporal, and other obstacles to allow these populations to participate
fully in the process.
d. Monitored the activities of subrecipients with regard to Title VI compliance, where the
MPO passes funds through to subrecipients.
4. DESIGNATED RECIPIENT. MPOs sometimes serve the role of designated recipient. FTA
apportions funds each year to the MPO as designated recipient, and the MPO, in turn,
suballocates funds (without receiving the actual funds from FTA) to various entities and/or
retains funds to carry out its own projects or activities, or to pass through to subrecipients. If
the MPO as designated recipient simply suballocates the funds to other entities, and those
entities apply to FTA directly for the funds, the MPO and each entity to which it suballocates
funds enter into a “supplemental agreement.” Under a supplemental agreement, the direct
recipient is responsible for demonstrating compliance with Federal law, including Title VI,
and the MPO is not in any manner subject to or responsible for the direct recipient’s
compliance with the DOT Title VI regulations.
However, the MPO as designated recipient is responsible for suballocating FTA funds
without regard to race, color, or national origin. Suballocations must be based on project
implementation priorities in the MTP, which includes a robust public participation process.
Each MPO must have a locally developed process that establishes criteria for making
determinations of funding priorities in a nondiscriminatory manner.
5. DIRECT RECIPIENT. An MPO that receives funding directly from FTA for its own
activities is a direct recipient, and therefore must develop a Title VI Program and report Title
VI compliance to FTA for those activities for which it is a direct recipient. As a direct
recipient, an MPO may also pass through funds to subrecipients. When an MPO receives
funds directly from FTA and then passes funds through to subrecipients, the MPO becomes a
primary recipient under the DOT Title VI regulations and is responsible for monitoring the
compliance of its subrecipients with Title VI, unless that subrecipient is also an FTA direct
recipient. Refer to Appendix L for clarification of reporting responsibilities by recipient
category.
6. REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. In order to comply with 49 CFR
Section 21.5, the general nondiscrimination provision, MPOs shall document that they pass

Chap. VI-2

FTA C 4702.1B

through FTA funds under any FTA programs (e.g., 49 U.S.C. 5310, Enhanced Mobility for
Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities), to subrecipients without regard to race, color, or
national origin, and assure that minority populations are not being denied the benefits of or
excluded from participation in these programs.
MPOs shall prepare and maintain, but not report unless requested by FTA, the following
information:
a. A record of funding requests received from private non-profit organizations, State or
local governmental authorities, and Indian tribes. The record shall identify those
applicants that would use grant program funds to provide assistance to predominantly
minority populations. The record shall also indicate which applications were rejected and
accepted for funding.
b. A description of how the MPO develops its competitive selection process or annual
program of projects submitted to FTA as part of its grant applications. This description
shall emphasize the method used to ensure the equitable distribution of funds to
subrecipients that serve predominantly minority populations, including Native American
tribes, where present. Equitable distribution can be achieved by engaging in outreach to
diverse stakeholders regarding the availability of funds, and ensuring the competitive
process is not itself a barrier to selection of minority applicants.
c. A description of the MPO’s criteria for selecting entities to participate in an FTA grant
program.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. VII-1
CHAPTER VII

EFFECTING COMPLIANCE WITH DOT TITLE VI REGULATIONS
1. INTRODUCTION. This chapter outlines procedures when FTA determines that a recipient is
noncompliant with the DOT Title VI regulations. Title 49 CFR Section 21.13(a) states the
following:
If there appears to be a failure or threatened failure to comply with this part, and if
the noncompliance or threatened noncompliance cannot be corrected by informal
means, compliance with this part may be effected by the suspension or
termination of or refusal to grant or to continue Federal financial assistance or by
any other means authorized by law. Such other means may include, but are not
limited to: (1) A reference to the Department of Justice with a recommendation
that appropriate proceedings be brought to enforce any rights of the United States
under any law of the United States (including other titles of the [Civil Rights]
Act), or any assurance or other contractual undertaking, and (2) any applicable
proceeding under State or local law.
2. PROCEDURES FOR SECURING VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. FTA may determine a
recipient is noncompliant with DOT’s Title VI regulations following a compliance review or
after FTA completes an investigation in response to a Title VI complaint. Prior to taking
measures to effect compliance, FTA will attempt to resolve noncompliance informally and
by using the following procedures.
a. Notification to the Recipient. When FTA has determined that a recipient is noncompliant
with DOT’s Title VI regulations, it will transmit a letter of finding to the recipient that
describes FTA’s determination and requests that the recipient voluntarily take corrective
action(s) that FTA deems necessary and appropriate.
b. Recipient Response. Within 30 days of receipt of FTA’s letter of finding, the recipient
must submit a remedial action plan, including a list of planned corrective actions and, if
necessary, sufficient reasons and justification for FTA to reconsider any of its findings or
recommendations. The recipient’s plan shall:
(1) List all corrective action(s) accepted by the recipient.
(2) Describe how the corrective actions will be implemented, and provide a timeline for
achieving compliance.
(3) Include a written assurance that the recipient will implement the accepted corrective
action(s) and has the capability to implement the accepted corrective action(s) in the
manner discussed in the plan.
(4) A copy of the board resolution, meeting minutes, or similar documentation with
evidence that the board of directors or appropriate governing entity or official(s) has
approved the remedial action plan.

Chap. VII-2

FTA C 4702.1B

c. Request for Reconsideration. A recipient may request that FTA reconsider its finding. A
request for reconsideration shall provide a justification for the request to reconsider,
including any evidence or information supporting such a request, and include a written
assurance that on the basis of the requested reconsideration, the agency is or otherwise
will come into compliance with DOT’s Title VI regulations. This request shall be
submitted within 30 days of FTA’s notification to the recipient.
d. FTA Review of the Recipient Response. Within 30 days after receiving the recipient’s
response, FTA will review the submitted remedial action plan and any request for
reconsideration and decide what remedial action(s) are necessary and appropriate to bring
the recipient into compliance. If necessary, before making a decision, FTA may conduct a
site visit to substantiate information or statements contained in the recipient’s response.
FTA will issue a decision, including its findings and recommendations, as part of a final
remedial action plan. The final remedial action plan will be sent to the recipient for
review and consent. Consent means the recipient agrees to initiate action(s) specified in
the plan.
e. Conditions for Declining the Remedial Action Plan. The recipient has 15 days from the
date of notification by FTA to agree or disagree with the final remedial action plan. If a
recipient disagrees with this plan, it must submit a written statement of its reasons for
not agreeing to the remedial actions contained in the plan. Under those circumstances,
the recipient will be considered in noncompliance, and FTA will schedule a meeting
with the recipient within 30 days to resolve the disagreements.
3. PROCEEDINGS. When FTA and the recipient cannot agree on a final remedial action plan
and the recipient continues to be in noncompliance with DOT Title VI regulations, in
accordance with 49 CFR Section 21.13, FTA may suspend, terminate, or refuse to grant or
continue Federal financial assistance to the recipient. This will generally occur when all
means of informal resolution have failed to get the recipient to comply with the law. FTA
may refer a matter to DOJ with a recommendation that appropriate proceedings be brought to
enforce any rights of the United States under any law of the United States or any assurance or
other contractual undertaking.
a. Termination of or refusal to grant or to continue Federal financial assistance. In
accordance with 49 CFR Section 21.13(c), FTA will not suspend, terminate, or refuse
to grant or continue Federal financial assistance until:
(1) FTA has notified the applicant or recipient of its failure to comply and has
determined that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means;
(2) FTA has found, after opportunity for a hearing, that the applicant or recipient has
failed to comply with Title VI regulations;
(3) The action has been approved by the Secretary of Transportation; and
(4) 30 days have passed after FTA has filed with the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee of the House of Representatives; and the Banking, Housing and Urban

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. VII-3

Affairs Committee of the Senate, a full written report of the circumstances and the
grounds for such action.
b. Other means authorized by law. In accordance with 49 CFR Section 21.13(d), FTA
will not refer the matter to DOJ or take any other action to effect compliance until:
(1) FTA has determined that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means;
(2) FTA has notified the recipient of its failure to comply and the action FTA intends
to take; and
(3) At least 10 days have passed from the mailing of such notice to the recipient.
During this 10-day period, FTA will make additional efforts to persuade the
recipient to comply with the regulation and to take such corrective action as may
be appropriate.
c. Hearings. Whenever FTA has determined that it is appropriate to terminate or refuse to
grant or continue Federal financial assistance, prior to such action FTA will provide the
applicant or recipient with an opportunity for a hearing, in accordance with 49 CFR
Section 21.15. FTA will provide reasonable notice of the hearing by registered or
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the applicant or recipient. The notice will
advise the applicant or recipient of the action proposed to be taken, the specific provision
under which the proposed action against it is to be taken, and the matters of fact or law
asserted as the basis for this action. The notice will either:
(1) Fix a date not less than 20 days after the date of such notice within which the
applicant or recipient may request of the FTA Administrator that the matter be
scheduled for hearing; or
(2) Advise the applicant or recipient that the matter in question has been scheduled for a
hearing at a stated place and time. The time and place will be reasonable and subject
to change for cause.
The complainant, if any, shall be advised of the time and place of the hearing.
d. Waiver of Hearing. An applicant or recipient may waive a hearing and submit written
information and argument for the record. The failure of an applicant or recipient to
request a hearing or to appear at a hearing for which a date has been set shall be deemed
to be a waiver of the right to a hearing under Section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and 49 CFR Section 21.13(c), and consent to FTA making a decision on the basis of the
available information.
e. Time and Location of Hearing. Hearings will be held at the FTA Headquarters office in
Washington, DC, at a time fixed by the FTA Administrator unless the convenience of the
applicant or recipient or of FTA requires that another place be selected.

Chap. VII-4

FTA C 4702.1B

f. Hearing officer. Hearings will be held before the Secretary of Transportation or before a
hearing examiner appointed in accordance with Section 3105 of title 5, United States
Code.
g. Right to counsel. In all proceedings carried out under the authority of 49 CFR Section
21.15, the applicant or recipient and FTA shall have the right to be represented by
counsel.
h. Procedures, evidence, and record. Pursuant to 49 CFR 21.15(d), the hearing, decision,
and any administrative review thereof shall be conducted in conformity with Sections 554
through 557 of title 5, United States Code, and in accordance with such rules of
procedure as are proper relating to the conduct of the hearing, giving of notices to the
applicant or recipient, taking of testimony, exhibits, arguments and briefs, requests for
findings, and other related matters. FTA and the applicant or recipient shall be entitled to
introduce all relevant evidence on the issues as stated in the notice for hearing or as
determined by the officer conducting the hearing at the outset of or during the hearing.
4. JUDICIAL REVIEW. When FTA issues a final order after a hearing on the record, such final
action is subject to judicial review.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. VIII-1
CHAPTER VIII
COMPLIANCE REVIEWS

1. INTRODUCTION. This chapter describes the review process FTA will follow when
determining whether a recipient is compliant or noncompliant with DOT Title VI regulations,
subsequent to the award of Federal financial assistance, and describes the information and
actions expected from recipients that are subject to these reviews.
2. COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES. Title 49 CFR Section 21.11(a) requires FTA to conduct
compliance reviews of its recipients. These reviews are separate from and may be in addition
to a Triennial Review, State Management Review, or Planning Certification Review and will
be conducted either as a desk audit or an on-site visit. The review may cover all or a portion
of the recipient’s compliance with Title VI. Such reviews are conducted at the discretion of
FTA, and the scope of a review is defined on a case-by-case basis.
3. CRITERIA. The following list of factors will contribute to the selection of recipients for
compliance reviews:
a. Lawsuits, complaints, or investigations conducted by organizations other than FTA
alleging the recipient is noncompliant with DOT Title VI regulations;
b. Alleged noncompliance brought to the attention of FTA by other Federal, State, or local
agencies;
c. A recipient submitting an incomplete or insufficient Title VI Program; and
d. Title VI findings or recommendations on prior Triennial, State Management, or Planning
Certification Reviews that have not been sufficiently resolved or implemented, or repeat
findings in any FTA review concerning Title VI.
4. SCOPE. In general, compliance reviews will assess the following information:
a. The recipient’s documented efforts to meet the requirements under Chapter III and the
program-specific sections of this Circular.
b. Other information that is necessary and appropriate to make a determination that the
recipient is in compliance with Title VI.
5. DETERMINATIONS. After reviewing the recipient’s or subrecipient’s efforts to meet the
general reporting and program-specific reporting sections of the Circular, FTA will issue a
compliance report that includes findings of no deficiency, deficiency, or noncompliance.
a. Findings of no deficiency are determinations that no deficiency was found in review of
the recipient’s Title VI Program or after the results of an investigation or compliance
review. Agencies are not expected to take any corrective action in response to findings of
no deficiency except with regard to advisory comments. Advisory comments are
recommendations that the recipient undertake activities in a manner more consistent with

Chap. VIII-2

FTA C 4702.1B

the guidance provided in the pertaining section of the Circular. FTA expects recipients to
notify FTA as to whether the recipient will take action in response to the advisory
comments.
b. Findings of deficiency are determinations that the recipient has not complied with one or
more of the pertinent provisions of this circular. Recipients are expected to take
corrective actions in response to findings of deficiency and the compliance review will
provide specific instructions to the recipient on how the corrective action shall be taken.
c. Findings of noncompliance are determinations that the recipient has engaged in activities
that have had the purpose or effect of denying persons the benefits of, excluding them
from participation in, or subjecting persons to discrimination on the basis of race, color,
or national origin under the recipient’s program or activity; upon such determination,
FTA will consider the recipient to be noncompliant with Title VI. If noncompliance
cannot be corrected informally, the recipient may be subject to remedial action or
proceedings under Chapter VII of this Circular and the DOT Title VI regulations at 49
CFR Sections 21.13, 21.15, and 21.17.
6. RESULTS OF COMPLIANCE REVIEW ACTIVITIES. FTA will summarize the results of
the review in a draft compliance report, which will include findings of no deficiency,
findings of deficiency, and advisory comments, as appropriate. If findings of deficiency
remain in the final compliance report, the recipient will be required to take corrective action,
develop a timeline for compliance, and report on its progress to FTA on, at minimum, a
quarterly basis. Once FTA determines that the recipient has satisfactorily responded to the
review’s findings, it will inform the recipient that the review process has ended and release it
from further progress reporting in response to the review. FTA may follow up on a
compliance review with additional reviews as necessary.
7. EFFECTING COMPLIANCE. Consistent with the provisions of 49 CFR Sections 21.13,
21.15, and 21.17, and as explained in Chapter VII of this Circular, if a recipient fails to take
appropriate corrective action in response to the findings of deficiency in the report, FTA may
initiate proceedings that could result in action taken by the U.S. DOT to suspend, terminate,
refuse to grant or continue Federal financial assistance to a recipient, or may make a referral
to the Department of Justice (DOJ) with a recommendation that appropriate proceedings be
brought to enforce any rights of the United States under any law of the United States or any
assurance or other contractual undertaking.

FTA C 4702.1B

Chap. IX-1
CHAPTER IX
COMPLAINTS

1. INTRODUCTION. This chapter describes how FTA will respond to complaints filed with
FTA alleging that an FTA recipient has violated the DOT Title VI regulations. FTA will
promptly investigate all complaints in accordance with 49 CFR Section 21.11. FTA may
delay its investigation if the complainant and the party complained against agree to postpone
the investigation pending settlement negotiations.
2. RIGHT TO FILE A COMPLAINT. Any person who believes himself, herself, or any
specific class of persons to be subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color, or
national origin may by himself or by a representative file a written complaint with FTA. A
complaint must be filed no later than 180 days after the date of the alleged discrimination,
unless the time for filing is extended by FTA.
3. COMPLAINT ACCEPTANCE. Once a complaint has been accepted by FTA for
investigation, FTA will notify the recipient that it is the subject of a Title VI complaint and
ask the recipient to respond in writing to the complainant’s allegations. If the complainant
agrees to release the complaint to the recipient, FTA will provide the agency with the
complaint, which may have personal information redacted at the request of the complainant.
If the complainant does not agree to release the complaint to the recipient, FTA may choose
to close the complaint.
4. INVESTIGATIONS. FTA will make a prompt investigation whenever a compliance review,
report, complaint, or any other information indicates a possible failure to comply with DOT’s
Title VI regulations. The investigation will include, where appropriate, a review of the
pertinent practices and policies of the recipient, the circumstances under which the possible
noncompliance with DOT’s Title VI regulations occurred, and other factors relevant to a
determination as to whether the recipient has failed to comply with DOT’s Title VI
regulations.
5. LETTERS OF FINDING. After FTA has concluded the investigation, FTA’s Office of Civil
Rights will transmit to the complainant and the recipient one of the following letters based on
its findings:
a. A letter of finding indicating FTA did not find a violation of DOT’s Title VI regulations.
This letter will include an explanation of why FTA did not find a violation. If applicable,
the letter may include a list of procedural violations or concerns, which will put the
recipient on notice that certain practices are questionable and that without corrective
steps, a future violation finding is possible.
b. A letter of finding indicating the recipient is in violation of DOT’s Title VI regulations.
The letter will include each violation referenced to the applicable regulation, a brief
description of proposed remedies, notice of the time limit on coming into compliance, the
consequences of failure to achieve voluntary compliance, and an offer of assistance to the
recipient in devising a remedial plan for compliance, if appropriate.

Chap. IX-2

FTA C 4702.1B

6. ADMINISTRATIVE CLOSURE. FTA will administratively close Title VI complaints before
a resolution is reached where (1) the complainant decides to withdraw the case; (2) the
complainant is not responsive to FTA’s requests for information or to sign a consent release
form; (3) FTA has conducted or plans to conduct a related compliance review of the agency
against which the complaint is lodged; (4) litigation has been filed raising similar allegations
involved in the complaint; (5) the complaint was not filed within 180 days of the alleged
discrimination; (6) the complaint does not indicate a possible violation of 49 CFR part 21; (7)
the complaint is so weak, insubstantial, or lacking in detail that FTA determines it is without
merit, or so replete with incoherent or unreadable statements that it, as a whole, cannot be
considered to be grounded in fact; (8) the complaint has been investigated by another agency
and the resolution of the complaint meets DOT regulatory standards; (9) the complaint
allegations are foreclosed by previous decisions of the Federal courts, the Secretary, DOT
policy determinations, or the U.S. DOT’s Office of Civil Rights; (10) FTA obtains credible
information that the allegations raised by the complaint have been resolved; (11) the
complaint is a continuation of a pattern of previously filed complaints involving the same or
similar allegations against the same recipient or other recipients that have been found
factually or legally insubstantial by FTA; (12) the same complaint allegations have been filed
with another Federal, state, or local agency, and FTA anticipates that the recipient will
provide the complainant with a comparable resolution process under comparable legal
standards; or (13) the death of the complainant or injured party makes it impossible to
investigate the allegations fully.

INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL APPENDICES
The following Appendices A through M provide sample checklists, templates, standards,
policies, tables and maps for FTA recipients to consult when preparing their Title VI Programs.
FTA is issuing these appendices in order to provide technical assistance and guidance and
thereby increase the level of clarity, organization, and uniformity across Title VI Programs. The
samples are provided as guidance; recipients may revise as appropriate for their purposes.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. A-1
APPENDIX A
TITLE VI PROGRAM CHECKLIST

Every three years, on a date determined by FTA, each recipient is required to submit the
following information to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as part of their Title VI
Program. Subrecipients shall submit the information below to their primary recipient (the
entity from whom the subrecipient receives funds directly), on a schedule to be determined by
the primary recipient.
General Requirements (Chapter III)
All recipients must submit:
 Title VI Notice to the Public, including a list of locations where the notice is posted
 Title VI Complaint Procedures (i.e., instructions to the public regarding how to file a
Title VI discrimination complaint)
 Title VI Complaint Form
 List of transit-related Title VI investigations, complaints, and lawsuits
 Public Participation Plan, including information about outreach methods to engage
minority and limited English proficient populations (LEP), as well as a summary of
outreach efforts made since the last Title VI Program submission
 Language Assistance Plan for providing language assistance to persons with limited
English proficiency (LEP), based on the DOT LEP Guidance
 A table depicting the membership of non-elected committees and councils, the
membership of which is selected by the recipient, broken down by race, and a
description of the process the agency uses to encourage the participation of minorities
on such committees
 Primary recipients shall include a description of how the agency monitors its
subrecipients for compliance with Title VI, and a schedule of subrecipient Title VI
Program submissions
 A Title VI equity analysis if the recipient has constructed a facility, such as a vehicle
storage facility, maintenance facility, operation center, etc.
 A copy of board meeting minutes, resolution, or other appropriate documentation
showing the board of directors or appropriate governing entity or official(s)
responsible for policy decisions reviewed and approved the Title VI Program. For
State DOT’s, the appropriate governing entity is the State’s Secretary of
Transportation or equivalent. The approval must occur prior to submission to FTA.
 Additional information as specified in chapters IV, V, and VI, depending on whether
the recipient is a transit provider, a State, or a planning entity (see below)
Requirements of Transit Providers (Chapter IV)
All Fixed Route Transit Providers must submit:
 All requirements set out in Chapter III (General Requirements)
 Service standards

App. A-2

FTA C 4702.1B

o Vehicle load for each mode
o Vehicle headway for each mode
o On time performance for each mode
o Service availability for each mode
 Service policies
o Transit Amenities for each mode
o Vehicle Assignment for each mode
Transit Providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located in
an Urbanized Area (UZA) of 200,000 or more people must submit:
 Demographic and service profile maps and charts
 Demographic ridership and travel patterns, collected by surveys
 Results of their monitoring program and report, including evidence that the board or
other governing entity or official(s) considered, was aware of the results, and
approved the analysis
 A description of the public engagement process for setting the “major service change
policy,” disparate impact policy, and disproportionate burden policy
 Results of service and/or fare equity analyses conducted since the last Title VI
Program submission, including evidence that the board or other governing entity or
official(s) considered, was aware of, and approved the results of the analysis
Requirements of States (Chapter V)
States must submit:
 All requirements set out in Chapter III (General Requirements)
 The requirements set out in Chapter IV (Transit Provider) if the State is a provider of
fixed route public transportation
 Demographic profile of the State
 Demographic maps that show the impacts of the distribution of State and Federal
funds in the aggregate for public transportation projects
 Analysis of the State’s transportation system investments that identifies and addresses
any disparate impacts
 A description of the Statewide planning process that identifies the transportation
needs of minority populations
 Description of the procedures the agency uses to ensure nondiscriminatory passthrough of FTA financial assistance
 Description of the procedures the agency uses to provide assistance to potential
subrecipients, including efforts to assist applicants that would serve predominantly
minority populations
Requirements of MPOs (Chapter VI)
Metropolitan Planning Organizations and other planning entities must submit:
 All requirements set out in Chapter III (General Requirements)

FTA C 4702.1B

App. A-3

 The requirements set out in Chapter IV (Transit Provider) if the MPO is a provider of
fixed route public transportation
 Demographic profile of the metropolitan area
 A description of the procedures by which the mobility needs of minority populations
are identified and considered within the planning process
 Demographic maps that show the impacts of the distribution of State and Federal
funds in the aggregate for public transportation projects
 Analysis of the MPO’s transportation system investments that identifies and
addresses any disparate impacts
 Description of the procedures the agency uses to ensure nondiscriminatory passthrough of FTA financial assistance (if requested)
 Description of the procedures the agency uses to provide assistance to potential
subrecipients in a nondiscriminatory manner (if requested)

FTA C 4702.1B

App. B-1
APPENDIX B

TITLE VI NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC (GENERAL REQUIREMENT)
Background
A Title VI Notice to the Public must be displayed to inform a recipient’s customers of their
rights under Title VI. At a minimum, recipients must post the notice on the agency’s website and
in public areas of the agency’s office(s), including the reception desk, meeting rooms, etc. Many
agencies display their Title VI Notices in transit facilities (e.g., headquarters, transit shelters and
stations, etc.), and on transit vehicles (e.g., buses, rail cars, etc.). The Title VI Notice is a vital
document. If any of the Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations in your service area meet
the Safe Harbor threshold (see Chapter III), then the Notice should be provided in English and in
any other language(s) spoken by LEP populations that meet the Safe Harbor Threshold. At a
minimum, this statement in the Notice—“If information is needed in another language, then
contact [phone number]”—should be stated in English and in any other language(s) spoken by
LEP populations that meet the Safe Harbor threshold.
The sample below is provided for the purposes of guidance only.
SAMPLE Title VI Notification to the Public

Notifying the Public of Rights Under Title VI

THE CITY OF USA
•

•

•

•

The City of USA operates its programs and services without regard to
race, color, and national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act. Any person who believes she or he has been aggrieved by
any unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI may file a complaint
with the City of USA.
For more information on the City of USA’s civil rights program, and the
procedures to file a complaint, contact 800-555-1212, (TTY 800-5551111); email [email protected]; or visit our administrative
office at 1234 Center Street, City of USA, State 11111. For more
information, visit www.city.ca.us
A complainant may file a complaint directly with the Federal Transit
Administration by filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights,
Attention: Title VI Program Coordinator, East Building, 5th Floor-TCR,
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590
If information is needed in another language, contact 800-555-1212.
•

MAKE SURE THE SENTENCE ABOVE IS ALSO PROVIDED IN ANY LANGUAGE(S)
SPOKEN BY LEP POPULATIONS THAT MEET THE SAFE HARBOR THRESHOLD

FTA C 4702.1B

App. C-1
APPENDIX C

TITLE VI COMPLAINT PROCEDURE (GENERAL REQUIREMENT)
Background
Recipients’ Title VI Programs must include a copy of the agency’s Title VI complaint procedure.
The complaint procedure and complaint form shall be available on the recipient’s website. The
Title VI Complaint Procedure is a vital document. If any of the Limited English Proficient
(LEP) populations in your service area meet the Safe Harbor threshold (see Chapter III), then the
complaint procedure should be provided in English and in any other language(s) spoken by LEP
populations that meet the Safe Harbor Threshold. At a minimum, the complaint procedure
should include a notice—“If information is needed in another language, then contact [phone
number]”—should be stated in English and in any other language(s) spoken by LEP populations
that meet the Safe Harbor threshold.
The sample below is provided for the purposes of guidance only.
SAMPLE Title VI Complaint Procedure
Any person who believes she or he has been discriminated against on the basis of race, color, or
national origin by the City of USA Transit Authority (hereinafter referred to as “the Authority”)
may file a Title VI complaint by completing and submitting the agency’s Title VI Complaint
Form. The City of USA Transit Authority investigates complaints received no more than 180
days after the alleged incident. The Authority will process complaints that are complete.
Once the complaint is received, the Authority will review it to determine if our office has
jurisdiction. The complainant will receive an acknowledgement letter informing her/him whether
the complaint will be investigated by our office.
The Authority has XX days to investigate the complaint. If more information is needed to resolve
the case, the Authority may contact the complainant. The complainant has XX business days
from the date of the letter to send requested information to the investigator assigned to the case.
If the investigator is not contacted by the complainant or does not receive the additional
information within XX business days, the Authority can administratively close the case. A case
can be administratively closed also if the complainant no longer wishes to pursue their case.
After the investigator reviews the complaint, she/he will issue one of two letters to the
complainant: a closure letter or a letter of finding (LOF). A closure letter summarizes the
allegations and states that there was not a Title VI violation and that the case will be closed. An
LOF summarizes the allegations and the interviews regarding the alleged incident, and explains
whether any disciplinary action, additional training of the staff member, or other action will
occur. If the complainant wishes to appeal the decision, she/he has XX days after the date of the
letter or the LOF to do so.
A person may also file a complaint directly with the Federal Transit Administration, at FTA
Office of Civil Rights, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. D-1
APPENDIX D

SAMPLE TITLE VI COMPLAINT FORM (GENERAL REQUIREMENT)
Background
Recipients must create and make available a Title VI Complaint Form for use by customers who
wish to file a Title VI complaint. The complaint form shall be available on the recipient’s
website. A recipient’s Title VI Complaint Form shall specify the three classes protected by Title
VI—race, color, and national origin—and allow the complainant to select one or more of those
protected classes as the basis/bases for discrimination. The Title VI Complaint Form is a vital
document. If any of the Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations in your service area meet
the Safe Harbor threshold (see Chapter III), then the procedure should be provided in English
and in any other language(s) spoken by LEP populations that meet the Safe Harbor Threshold.
The sample below is provided for the purposes of guidance only.
Section I:
Name:
Address:
Telephone (Home):

Telephone (Work):

Electronic Mail Address:
Accessible Format
Requirements?
Section II:

Large Print
TDD

Audio Tape
Other

Are you filing this complaint on your own behalf?

Yes*

No

Yes

No

*If you answered "yes" to this question, go to Section III.
If not, please supply the name and relationship of the person
for whom you are complaining:
Please explain why you have filed for a third party:
Please confirm that you have obtained the permission of the
aggrieved party if you are filing on behalf of a third party.

Section III:
I believe the discrimination I experienced was based on (check all that apply):
[ ] Race

[ ] Color

[ ] National Origin

Date of Alleged Discrimination (Month, Day, Year):

__________

Explain as clearly as possible what happened and why you believe you were discriminated
against. Describe all persons who were involved. Include the name and contact information of
the person(s) who discriminated against you (if known) as well as names and contact information

App. D-2

FTA C 4702.1B

of any witnesses. If more space is needed, please use the back of this form.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Section IV
Have you previously filed a Title VI complaint with this
agency?

Yes

No

Section V
Have you filed this complaint with any other Federal, State, or local agency, or with any Federal
or State court?
[ ] Yes

[ ] No

If yes, check all that apply:
[ ] Federal Agency:
[ ] Federal Court

[ ] State Agency

[ ] State Court

[ ] Local Agency

Please provide information about a contact person at the agency/court where the complaint was
filed.
Name:
Title:
Agency:
Address:
Telephone:
Section VI
Name of agency complaint is against:
Contact person:
Title:
Telephone number:
You may attach any written materials or other information that you think is relevant to your
complaint.
Signature and date required below

Signature

_____________________________________ ________________________
Date

Please submit this form in person at the address below, or mail this form to:
City of USA Title VI Coordinator
1234 Center Street
City of USA, State 11111

FTA C 4702.1B

App. E-1
APPENDIX E

LIST OF TRANSIT-RELATED TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLAINTS, AND
LAWSUITS (GENERAL REQUIREMENT)
Background
All recipients shall prepare and maintain a list of any of the following that allege discrimination
on the basis of race, color, or national origin:




Active investigations conducted by FTA and entities other than FTA;
Lawsuits; and
Complaints naming the recipient.

This list shall include the date that the transit-related Title VI investigation, lawsuit, or complaint
was filed; a summary of the allegation(s); the status of the investigation, lawsuit, or complaint;
and actions taken by the recipient in response, or final findings related to the investigation,
lawsuit, or complaint. This list shall be included in the Title VI Program submitted to FTA every
three years.
The sample below is provided for the purposes of guidance only.
SAMPLE List of Investigations, Lawsuits and Complaints

Investigations 
1. 
2. 
Lawsuits 
1. 
2. 
Complaints 
1. 
2. 

Date 
(Month, Day, 
Year) 

Summary 
(include basis of 
complaint: race, 
color, or national 
origin) 

Status 

Action(s) Taken 

FTA C 4702.1B

App. F-1
APPENDIX F

TABLE DEPICTING MINORITY REPRESENTATION ON COMMITTEES AND
COUNCILS SELECTED BY THE RECIPIENT (GENERAL REQUIREMENT)
Background
Recipients that have transit-related, non-elected planning boards, advisory councils or
committees, or similar bodies, the membership of which is selected by the recipient, must
provide a table depicting the membership of those committees broken down by race, and a
description of efforts made to encourage the participation of minorities on such committees.
The sample below is provided for the purposes of guidance only.
SAMPLE Table Depicting Membership of Committees, Councils, Broken Down by Race
Body 
Population 

Access 
Committee 
Citizens 
Advisory 
Council 
Bicycle 
Pedestrian 
Committee 

Caucasian 

Latino 

African 
American 

Asian 
American 

Native 
American 

46% 

28% 

14% 

8% 

4% 

60% 

23% 

10% 

7% 

0% 

40% 

25% 

20% 

10% 

5% 

45% 

30% 

15% 

5% 

5% 

FTA C 4702.1B

App. G-1
APPENDIX G

SERVICE STANDARDS (REQUIREMENT FOR ALL FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT
PROVIDERS)
Background
FTA requires all fixed route transit providers of public transportation to develop quantitative
standards for the following indicators. Individual public transportation providers will set these
standards; therefore, these standards will apply to each individual agency rather than across the
entire transit industry.






Vehicle load for each mode: Generally expressed as the ratio of passengers to the number
of seats on a vehicle, relative to the vehicle’s maximum load point. For example, on a 40seat bus, a vehicle load of 1.3 means all seats are filled and there are approximately 12
standees. Transit providers can specify vehicle loads for peak vs. off-peak times, and for
different modes of transit.
Vehicle headways for each mode: The amount of time between two vehicles traveling in
the same direction on a given line or combination of lines.
On-time performance for each mode: A measure of runs completed as scheduled.
Service availability for each mode: A general measure of the distribution of routes within
an agency’s service area.

The samples below are provided for the purposes of guidance only.
SAMPLE Standards
SAMPLE Vehicle Load Standards
1. Expressed in writing
The average of all loads during the peak operating period should not exceed vehicles’ achievable
capacities, which are 30 passengers for a 15’ mini-bus, 51 passengers for low-floor 40-foot
buses, 60 passengers for standard 40-foot buses, and 133 passengers on a light rail car.
2. Expressed in tabular format
Vehicle Type

15′ Mini-Bus
40′ Low Floor Bus
40′ Standard Bus
Light Rail Vehicle

Average Passenger Capacities
Maximum
Load
Seated Standing Total
Factor
28
2
30
1.1
39
12
51
1.3
43
17
60
1.4
64
69
133
2.1

App. G-2

FTA C 4702.1B

SAMPLE Vehicle Headway Standards
1. Expressed in writing
Service operates on regional trunk lines every 15 minutes or better from early morning to late in
the evening, seven days a week. On weekdays, 15 minute or better service should begin no later
than 6:00 a.m. and continue until 10:30 p.m. On weekends, 15 minute or better service should
begin by 8:00 a.m. and continue until 10:30 p.m.
Scheduling involves the consideration of a number of factors including: ridership productivity,
transit/pedestrian friendly streets, density of transit-dependent population and activities,
relationship to the Regional Transportation Plan, relationship to major transportation
developments, land use connectivity, and transportation demand management.
2. Expressed in tabular format
POLICY HEADWAYS AND PERIODS OF OPERATION
WEEKDAY

Peak

Base

Evening

Night

Regional Trunk

10

15

15

30

Urban Radial

15

15

30

60

Cross-Town

15

15

30

--

Secondary Radial

30

30

60

--

Feeder

30

30

60

--

Peak Express

30

--

--

--

Employer Feeder

60

--

--

--

* Peak: 7-9 am and 4-6 pm; Base 9am - 4pm; Evening: 6-9:30 pm; Night: 9:30pmMidnight;
“--“ means no service is provided during that time period.

SATURDAY

Day

Evening

Night

Regional Trunk

15

30

30

Urban Radial

30

60

--

Cross-Town

15

30

--

Secondary Radial

60

60

--

Feeder

60

60

--

Peak Express

--

--

--

Employer Feeder

--

--

--

* Day 7am - 6pm; Evening: 6-9:30 pm; Night: 9:30pm – Midnight;
“--“ means no service is provided during that time period.

FTA C 4702.1B

SUNDAY

App. G-3

Day

Evening

Night

Regional Trunk

30

60

--

Urban Radial

30

60

--

Cross-Town

30

--

--

Secondary Radial

--

--

--

Feeder

--

--

--

Peak Express

--

--

--

Employer Feeder

--

--

--

* Day 7am - 6pm; Evening: 6-9:30 pm; Night: 9:30pm-Midnight;
“--“ means no service is provided during that time period.

SAMPLE On-Time Performance Standards
Expressed in writing
 Sample 1:
o Ninety-five (95) percent of the City of USA’s transit vehicles will complete their
established runs no more than 5 minutes early or late in comparison to the established
schedule/published timetables.
 Sample 2:
o A vehicle is considered on time if it departs a scheduled timepoint no more than 1
minute early and no more than 5 minutes late. The City of USA’s on-time
performance objective is 90% or greater. The City of USA continuously monitors ontime performance and system results are published and posted as part of monthly
performance reports covering all aspects of operations.

SAMPLE Service Availability Standards
Expressed in writing
The City of USA will distribute transit service so that 90% of all residents in the service area are
within a ¼ mile walk of bus service or within a ½ mile walk of rail service.
AND/OR
Local bus stops will be not more than 3 blocks apart. Express bus stops will be one-half to threequarters of a mile apart.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. H-1
APPENDIX H

SERVICE POLICIES (REQUIREMENT FOR ALL FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT
PROVIDERS)
Background
FTA requires that all providers of fixed route public transportation develop qualitative policies
for the following procedures. These policies are to be set by individual transit providers;
therefore, these policies will apply to individual agencies rather than across the entire transit
industry.



Vehicle Assignment
Transit Amenities

The samples below are provided for the purposes of guidance only.
Policies
SAMPLE Vehicle Assignment Policy
Expressed in writing
Vehicles will be assigned to the South, North, and East depots such that the average
age of the fleet serving each depot does not exceed “x” years. Low-floor buses are
deployed on frequent service and other high-ridership lines, so these buses carry a
higher share of ridership than their numerical proportion of the overall bus fleet.
Low-floor buses are also equipped with air conditioning and automated stop
announcement systems.
All rail cars are equipped with air conditioning, and high-floor rail cars are always
paired with a low-floor car to provide accessibility.
Bus assignments take into account the operating characteristics of buses of various
lengths, which are matched to the operating characteristics of the route. Local routes
with lower ridership may be assigned 30-foot buses rather than the 40-foot buses.
Some routes requiring tight turns on narrow streets are operated with 30-foot rather
than 40-foot buses.
SAMPLE Transit Amenities Policy
Expressed in writing
Installation of transit amenities along bus and rail routes are based on the number of passenger
boardings at stops and stations along those routes.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. I-1
APPENDIX I

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE AND TRAVEL PATTERNS (REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSIT
PROVIDERS THAT OPERATE 50 OR MORE FIXED ROUTE VEHICLES IN PEAK SERVICE
AND ARE LOCATED IN URBANIZED AREAS (UZA) OF 200,000 OR MORE PEOPLE, OR
THAT OTHERWISE MEET THE THRESHOLD DEFINED IN CHAPTER IV)

Background
Transit service providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are
located in urbanized areas (UZA) of 200,000 or more people, or that otherwise meet the
threshold defined in Chapter IV, are required to prepare demographic and service profile maps
and charts to determine whether and to what extent transit service is available to minority
populations within the recipient’s service area. Transit providers shall include charts and tables
summarizing data in their Title VI Programs. Transit providers shall not send raw data to FTA
unless requested.
The aforementioned transit providers are also required to prepare data regarding customer
demographics and travel patterns.
The sample below is provided for the purposes of guidance only.
SAMPLE Demographic and Service Profile Maps and Charts

App. I-2

FTA C 4702.1B

Additional guidance
FTA will publish additional guidance, and/or update this appendix, with detailed approaches to
data collection, surveys, and analysis methods.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. J-1
APPENDIX J

REQUIREMENT TO MONITOR TRANSIT SERVICE (REQUIREMENT FOR
TRANSIT PROVIDERS THAT OPERATE 50 OR MORE FIXED ROUTE VEHICLES
IN PEAK SERVICE AND ARE LOCATED IN URBANIZED AREAS (UZA) OF 200,000
OR MORE PEOPLE, OR THAT OTHERWISE MEET THE THRESHOLD DEFINED
IN CHAPTER IV)
Background
FTA requires transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are
located in urbanized areas (UZA) of 200,000 or more people, or that otherwise meet the threshold
defined in Chapter IV, to monitor their service standards and policies. Service standards and policies
provide the framework for monitoring and assessment of service to compare service provided in
areas with a percentage of minority population that exceeds the percentage of minority population in
the service area to service provided in areas with a percentage of minority populations that is below
the percentage of minority population in the service area.
The following tables and maps are provided as examples of how to assess the performance of
service on minority and non-minority routes for each of the transit provider’s service standards
and service policies. Providers of fixed route public transportation should follow these examples
for submitting data in their Title VI Programs. Transit providers should assess transit service and
compare actual/observed service to the established service policies and standards. The standards
and policies that must be monitored are:




Standards
o Vehicle Load for each mode
o Vehicle Headway for each mode
o On-Time Performance for each mode
o Service Accessibility for each mode
Policies
o Vehicle Assignment for each mode
o Distribution of Transit Amenities (Policy and Standards) for each mode

The samples below are provided for the purposes of guidance only.
SAMPLE Methodology
This section describes a sample methodology to determine the minority populations served by
each bus and rail line, and provides a framework for comparisons.
For each individual bus and/or rail line, calculate the percentages of all persons residing in areas
served by the line who are minority persons. Define a unique geographic area of coverage for
each line by including all Census Block Groups within one-quarter mile walking distance of bus
stops and/or within one-half mile walking distance of rail stations served by that line. For each

App. J-2

FTA C 4702.1B

line, calculate the number of minority persons residing in all Block Groups served, and
determine the percentage of minority persons among all persons served by the line.
SAMPLE Monitoring of Service Standards
SAMPLE Vehicle Load Monitoring
Table 1 below shows passenger capacities for buses and light rail cars as the average maximum
number of persons seated and standing during the peak one-hour in the peak direction. Maximum
load factors represent the maximum achievable capacity, and are calculated by dividing the total
seated and standing capacity by the seated capacity of the vehicle.
Table 1. SAMPLE Passenger Capacities
Average Passenger Capacity
Vehicle Type
30’ Bus
40’ Low-Floor
Bus

Seated
28

Standing
2

Total
30

39

12

51

40’ Standard Bus

43

17

60

Light Rail
Vehicle

64

69

133

Load Standard
1.1
1.3
1.4
2.1

Maximum Load Factor
1.5
1.6
1.7
2.5

Assessment: Average weekday loads on each line were determined for the following time
periods and directions of travel:
 AM in peak direction (7-9 a.m.)
 PM in peak direction (4-6 p.m.)
 Midday in both directions (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
Transit providers may create a more sensitive set of analyses by breaking routes into quartiles to
determine the highest concentration or they may simply compare minority routes with nonminority routes. Either way they must compare the minority routes with non-minority routes in
order to monitor the routes compared to the standards and policies.
Table 2 below shows the average vehicle loads by time period for lines in each quartile, for
minority lines, for non-minority lines, and for all lines in the system.
In this example the transit provider uses quartiles to identify all Census Block Groups served by
bus lines within ¼ mile walking distance from bus stops and ½ mile walking distance from rail
stations. The agency calculated the percentage and number of minority and non-minority
populations served by the line. Then, staff ranked all lines by the highest percentage of minority
populations and further subdivided the list into four quartiles; Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4; and Q1 being the
lines with the lowest percentage of minority populations served and Q4 being the lines with the

FTA C 4702.1B

App. J-3

highest percentage of minority populations served. The breakpoint for Q4 and Q3 were
determined by comparing the percent minority with the median percentage of these populations
within the agencies service area.
Table 2. Vehicle Loads for Minority and Non-Minority Lines
Shaded Cells Represent Lines Serving Areas with Minority Populations Above the Service Area Average
AM Peak IB
Lines and System

Midday IB & OB

PM Peak OB

Load/Seats

Avg Load

Load/Seats

Avg Load

Load/Seats

Avg Load

4th Quartile (Minority Population > 29%)

0.62

34

0.55

28

0.65

37

3rd Quartile (Minority Population > 21.6%)

0.60

24

0.54

21

0.62

24

2nd Quartile (Minority Population > 16.6%)

0.59

23

0.49

18

0.59

22

1st Quartile (Minority Population < 16.6%)

0.49

18

0.39

14

0.48

18

Minority Lines (3rd and 4th Quartiles)

0.61

29

0.54

25

0.64

31

Non-Minority Lines (1st and 2nd Quartiles)

0.54

21

0.44

16

0.54

20

System

0.58

25

0.49

21

0.59

26

Currently, no line exceeds the standard.

The average load factors in the AM peak were .61 for minority lines and .54 for non-minority
lines. The average load factors in the PM peak were .64 for minority lines and .54 for nonminority lines. No lines exceeded the vehicle load standard during the peak periods.
Figure 1 below depicts the average loads for minority and non-minority lines for PM peak,
midday, and AM peak as shown in Table 2 above, in comparison to the maximum capacity of 62
passengers for a 40-foot bus.
Figure 1. Vehicle Loads for Minority and Non-Minority Lines by Peak Period

Weekday Loads
Operating
Period

Standard
PM Peak
AM Peak
0

20

40

60

Average Load
Minority Non-minority

SAMPLE Vehicle Headway Monitoring
SAMPLE Assessment: Table 3 below shows the average headway in minutes for minority and
non-minority lines for AM peak, midday, PM peak, evening, and night periods, for weekday,
Saturday, and Sunday, respectively. The average span of service in hours and tenths of hours is
shown for minority and non-minority lines for weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, respectively.

App. J-4

FTA C 4702.1B

Table 3. Weekday, Saturday and Sunday Headways and Span of Service on Weekdays,
Saturdays, and Sundays, for Minority and Non-Minority Lines

WEEKDAY

Lines
Operating

%
Operating Freq Lines Rail Lines
3

Service
Begins

AM Peak
Headway

Midday PM Peak Evening
Night
Headway Headway Headway Headway

Service
Ends

Span
(Hours)

4th Quartile (Minority Population > 29%)

25

100%

5

5:14 a

26

28

27

31

41

9:48 p

16.6

3rd Quartile (Minority Population > 21.6%)

24

100%

6

5:14 a

21

26

22

30

44

10:52 p

17.6

2nd Quartile (Minority Population > 16.6%)

24

100%

3

5:33 a

27

39

27

38

42

8:56 p

15.4

1st Quartile (Minority Population < 16.6%)

24

100%

2

5:45 a

30

38

31

45

53

8:13 p

14.5

Minority Lines (3rd and 4th Quartiles)

49

100%

11

5:14 a

24

27

24

30

43

10:19 p

17.1

Non-Minority Lines (1st and 2nd Quartiles)

48

100%

5

5:39 a

29

38

29

41

47

8:35 p

14.9

System

97

100%

16

5:26 a

26

32

27

34

44

9:29 p

16.0

SATURDAY

Lines
Operating

%
Operating

Freq Lines

Rail Lines
3

Service
Begins

Daytime
Headway

Evening
Night
Headway Headway

Service
Ends

Span
(Hours)

4th Quartile (Minority Population > 29%)

18

72%

5

5:35 a

33

37

36

10:22 p

16.8

3rd Quartile (Minority Population > 21.6%)

19

79%

6

5:52 a

25

38

45

12:00 a

18.1

2nd Quartile (Minority Population > 16.6%)

16

67%

3

6:50 a

43

48

48

8:56 p

14.1

1st Quartile (Minority Population < 16.6%)

11

46%

2

7:50 a

37

45

50

9:11 p

13.3

Minority Lines (3rd and 4th Quartiles)

37

76%

11

5:43 a

29

38

42

11:13 p

17.5

Non-Minority Lines (1st and 2nd Quartiles)

27

56%

5

7:15 a

40

47

49

9:02 p

13.8

System

64

66%

16

6:21 a

34

41

44

10:19 p

16.0

Lines
Operating

%
Operating

Freq Lines

Rail Lines

Service
Begins

Daytime
Headway

Service
Ends

Span
(Hours)

3

SUNDAY

Evening
Night
Headway Headway

4th Quartile (Minority Population > 29%)

17

68%

5

6:08 a

34

39

33

10:38 p

16.5

3rd Quartile (Minority Population > 21.6%)

19

79%

6

6:27 a

32

46

46

11:33 p

17.1

2nd Quartile (Minority Population > 16.6%)

13

54%

3

7:02 a

45

48

48

9:55 p

14.9

1st Quartile (Minority Population < 16.6%)

7

29%

2

7:57 a

34

40

45

8:52 p

12.9

Minority Lines (3rd and 4th Quartiles)

37

76%

11

6:18 a

33

43

42

11:07 p

16.8

Non-Minority Lines (1st and 2nd Quartiles)

27

56%

5

7:21 a

41

46

47

9:33 p

14.2

System

64

66%

16

6:40 a

36

44

44

10:33 p

15.9

Shaded cells represent minority lines.

On weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, eleven (11) minority lines and five (5) non-minority lines
were designated as Frequent Service lines (i.e., Freq Lines). On weekdays, the average AM and
PM peak headway on minority lines was 24 minutes, versus 29 minutes on non-minority lines.
Average headways on minority lines during weekday midday, evening, and night periods were
lower (i.e., provided more frequent service) than on non-minority lines. Minority lines had an
average weekday span of service of 17.1 hours, as compared with a 14.9 span of service on nonminority lines.
On Saturdays and Sundays, average daytime headways on minority lines were 29 and 33
minutes, respectively, versus 40 and 41 minutes, respectively, for non-minority lines. Average
headways on minority lines during Saturday and Sunday evening and night periods were lower
(i.e., provided more frequent service) than on non-minority lines. Minority lines had average
Saturday and Sunday span of service of 17.5 and 16.8 hours, respectively, as compared with a
13.8 and 14.2 span of service on non-minority lines.
Figure 2 below depicts weekday headways for minority and non-minority lines for AM peak,
midday, PM peak, and evening. Saturday and Sunday headways for minority and non-minority
lines are shown for daytime, evening, and night periods. In all days and time periods, average
frequency of service on minority lines exceeded frequency of service on non-minority lines (i.e.,
the average headway in minutes was lower on minority lines).

FTA C 4702.1B

App. J-5

Figure 2. Headways for Minority and Non-Minority Lines on Weekdays, Saturdays, and
Sundays by Time Period

SAMPLE On-Time Performance Monitoring


SAMPLE Figure: Figure 3 below shows that 59.49% of transit vehicles passed time
points on time, 7.22% passed time points early, and 33.3% passed time points late. This

App. J-6

FTA C 4702.1B

information would be compared with the On-Time Performance Standard and analyzed to
determine potential disparate impacts.
Figure 3. Weekday On-Time Performance

Courtesy of ACE Transit



SAMPLE Assessment: The City of USA initiated a random spot check program to assess
a variety of performance measures, including on-time performance. This “Mystery Rider”
program completed a total 77 observations during the past fiscal year. Of the 77 bus trips
observed, approximately five (5) percent were found departing a schedule time point late
(i.e., more than 5 minutes after the departure time in the printed schedule). These routes
on which late departures were observed were:
o B07
o R10
o R24
o B48
Of these four routes, three (B07, R10, and R24) have a greater-than-average proportion of
route miles in minority Census blocks. These findings suggest that additional monitoring
of on-time performance to assess potential disparate impacts is warranted. The City of
USA will initiate additional on-time performance monitoring as part of the “Mystery
Rider” spot check program.

SAMPLE Service Availability Monitoring
SAMPLE Assessment: Table 4 below shows the percentages of minority and non-minority
households served. The percentage of minority households within a ½ mile walk of stops and/or

FTA C 4702.1B

App. J-7

stations was 86.6%. The percentage of non-minority households within a ½ mile walk of stops
and/or stations was 76.8%.
Table 4. Service Availability for Minority and Non-Minority Residents
Households 
Minority 
Non‐Minority 
System 

Within ½ Mile  
86.6% 
76.8% 
78.5% 

More than ½ Mile 
13.4% 
23.2% 
21.5% 

Source: 2000 Census Block Group Data

All residents of Census Block Groups where geographic center of the Block Group is within ½mile walk of a bus stop and/or rail station are considered within ½-mile of service.
SAMPLE Monitoring of Service Policies
SAMPLE Vehicle Assignment Monitoring
SAMPLE Assessment: Table 5 below shows the average age of buses in relation to
minority population served. In this case, all rail lines are minority lines, so rail
vehicle age is excluded from the calculation of average vehicle age. Buses on
minority lines had an average age of 12.1 years, compared to the system bus fleet
average age of 12.7 years.
SAMPLE Table:
Table 5. Vehicle Assignment
Shaded Cells Represent Lines Serving Areas with Minority Percentages Above the Median

Average Vehicle Age
4th Quartile (Minority Population > 29%)
3rd Quartile (Minority Population > 21.6%)
2nd Quartile (Minority Population > 16.6%)
1st Quartile (Minority Population < 16.6%)

Lines
with
Avg Date Avg Low
of
Age of Floor
Purchase Buses Buses
1994.4
13.1
8
1996.3
11.2
9
1994.3
13.2
4
1994.3
13.2
5

Minority Lines (3rd and 4th Quartiles)
Non-Minority Lines (1st and 2nd Quartiles)

1995.4
1994.3

12.1
13.2

17
9

System

1994.8

12.7

26

SAMPLE Transit Amenities Monitoring

App. J-8

FTA C 4702.1B

The overlay map below shows the locations of many of the transit agency’s amenities, including
park and ride facilities, transit centers, pedestrian improvements, and bus shelters, relative to the
locations of bus and rail routes and the locations of minority and non-minority populations. Such
a map is one way to demonstrate how amenities are distributed across the transit system.
Figure 4. Transit Amenities Overlay Map

FTA C 4702.1B

App. K-1
APPENDIX K

SERVICE AND FARE EQUITY ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE CHECKLIST
(REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSIT PROVIDERS THAT OPERATE 50 OR MORE
FIXED ROUTE VEHICLES IN PEAK SERVICE AND ARE LOCATED IN
URBANIZED AREAS (UZA) OF 200,000 OR MORE PEOPLE, OR THAT
OTHERWISE MEET THE THRESHOLD DEFINED IN CHAPTER IV)

Background
Transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located in
urbanized areas (UZA) of 200,000 or more people, or that otherwise meet the threshold defined
in Chapter IV, must conduct a Title VI equity analysis whenever they plan a fare change and/or a
major service change. Equity analyses are required regardless of whether proposed changes
would cause positive or negative impacts to riders. In other words, transit providers must conduct
an equity analysis for all fare changes and for major service reductions and major service
expansions. Financial exigencies and other special circumstances (e.g., economic hardships, size
of transit provider’s service area or staff) do not exempt transit providers from the requirement to
conduct equity analyses.
The checklist below is provided for the purposes of guidance only.
Service and Fare Equity Questionnaire Checklist

(1) Considerations for Service Equity Analysis
A. Major Service Change Policy
 We have briefly and clearly stated our Major Service Change Policy.
 We have briefly and clearly explained how this particular service change meets or
exceeds our Major Service Change Policy.
 Our Major Service Change Policy is presented as a numerical standard, applies to both
service reductions and service increases, and is not set so high as to never require an
analysis.
 We have included a description of the public engagement process for setting the major
service change policy.
 We have included a copy of board meeting minutes or a resolution demonstrating the
board’s or governing entity or official(s)’s consideration, awareness, and approval of the
major service change policy.

App. K-2

FTA C 4702.1B

B. Adverse Effects
 We have defined and analyzed adverse effects related to major service changes, paying
attention to the fact that elimination of a route will likely have a greater adverse effect
that a reduced frequency (headway change) in service. We have analyzed service
between the existing and proposed service, and have considered the degree of the adverse
effects when planning service changes.
C. Disparate Impact Policy
 We have briefly and clearly stated our policy to determine when a “disparate impact”
occurs in the context of major service changes, including both service reductions and/or
expansions. In particular, our agency has established a threshold for determining whether
adverse effects are borne disproportionately by minority populations.
 Our agency applies the disparate impact policy uniformly to all major service changes,
regardless of mode.
 Our policy describes how we engaged the public in developing our policy for measuring
disparate impacts.
 We have included a copy of board meeting minutes or a resolution demonstrating the
board’s or governing entity or official(s)’s consideration, awareness, and approval of the
disparate impact policy.
D. Disproportionate Burden Policy
 We have briefly and clearly stated our policy to determine when a disproportionate
burden occurs in the context of major service changes. In particular, our agency has
established a threshold for determining whether adverse effects are borne
disproportionately by low-income populations.
 Our agency applies the disparate impact policy uniformly to all major service changes,
regardless of mode
 Our policy describes how we engaged the public in developing the disproportionate
burden policy.
 We have included a copy of board meeting minutes or a resolution demonstrating the
board’s or governing entity or official(s)’s consideration, awareness, and approval of the
disproportionate burden policy.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. K-3

E. Analysis Framework
 We have described the dataset(s) used in the analysis and provided the reason for the
dataset(s) selected, as well as the techniques and/or technologies used to collect the data.
 If using general population for the comparison population, we have described the
geographic level (e.g., Census block, Census block group, TAZ, etc.) at which we have
measured minority and low-income concentrations.
 If using ridership as the comparison population, we have described how we determined
the minority and low-income ridership of affected routes and the system as a whole.
F. Assessing Impacts
 We have shown how the proposed major service changes would impact minority and
low-income populations at the geographic level by including the following:
o Overlay maps showing proposed service changes as well as demographic data in
order to study the affected population
o Tables showing impacts associated with each type of route or service change (e.g.,
routing, frequency, span of service, addition or elimination of routes).
 We have used our adverse effects definition and our disparate impact policy and
compared the proportion of minorities adversely affected to the proportion of nonminorities adversely affected.
 We have provided a step-by-step description of the analytical methodology we followed
to determine whether the proposed change(s) would have a disparate impact on minority
populations.
 We have identified whether minority populations will experience disparate impacts.
 If we have determined that a disparate impact exists, we have considered modifying our
proposal to remove these impacts. If we modified our proposal, we have analyzed the
modified proposal to determine whether minority populations will experience disparate
impacts.
 If we have determined that a disparate impact exists and we will make the service
changes despite these impacts, we have also:
o Clearly demonstrated that we have a substantial legitimate justification for the
proposed service changes; and

App. K-4

FTA C 4702.1B
o Clearly demonstrated that we analyzed alternatives to determine whether the
proposed service changes are the least discriminatory alternative.

 We have used our adverse effects definition and our disproportionate burden policy and
compared the proportion of low-income persons adversely affected to the proportion of
non-low-income persons adversely affected.
 We have provided a step-by-step description of the analytical methodology we followed
to determine whether the proposed change(s) would have a disproportionate burden on
low-income populations.
 We have identified whether low-income populations will experience disproportionate
burdens.
 If we have determined that a disproportionate burden exists, we have also taken steps to
avoid, minimize, or mitigate impacts where practicable. We have also described
alternatives available to low-income passengers affected by the service changes.
o Note: Alternatives could include the availability of other lines or services,
potentially involving transfers and/or other modes, which connect affected riders
with destinations that they commonly access. Depending on the nature of
impacts, service-related mitigation could include strategies such as alignment or
frequency changes to nearby lines or services to offer more convenient access to
affected areas.
 If we are proposing a service improvement, we have analyzed accrual of benefits for
minority populations as compared to non-minority populations, and low-income
populations as compared to non-low-income populations, using the comparison
population we selected (i.e., ridership or service area).
 If service is proposed to be increased and/or expanded, but minority and/or low-income
populations are not expected to benefit from the expansion as much as non-minority
and/or non-low-income populations, then we have explained how our agency plans to
improve service to the minority and/or low-income populations.
 We have described any plans our agency has developed to restore service as additional
funds become available.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. K-5

Exhibit 1.
SAMPLE reporting of proposed headway change based on ridership.
Impact of Potential Service Adjustments on Minority and Low Income Passengers
Weekly Numbers
Bus Lines
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Ridership Adjusted Lines

Wkly Ons
50,340
56,929
39,479
18,396
52,845
952
4,562
1,781
13,596
19,346
65,337
19,406
21,728
364,697

Under20k
25,081
20,727
15,902
7,309
21,450
446
679
455
4,177
7,186
33,005
7,565
7,379
151,360

Minority
21,602
10,639
7,414
4,509
13,172
248
2,012
414
4,093
4,965
22,653
3,864
4,359
99,943

%<20k
50%
36%
40%
40%
41%
47%
15%
26%
31%
37%
51%
39%
34%
42%

% Min
43%
19%
19%
25%
25%
26%
44%
23%
30%
26%
35%
20%
20%
28%

Total Percent impacted
Ridership All Bus Lines

1,266,568

527,728

381,169

42%

Impacted Ons Under20k
1,453
724
4,623
1,683
2,396
965
688
273
1,572
638
237
111
659
98
280
71
1,161
357
1,014
377
998
402
378
150
931
378
16,390
6,228

Minority
624
864
450
169
392
62
291
65
349
260
187
93
232
4,037

38%

25%

30%

“Impacted Ons” is calculated by taking the number of trips eliminated in a given hour times the
number of passengers per trip during that hour and adding up the number of passengers impacted
in a week.
In the table above, an agency has assessed how proposed reductions in service frequency
(headway changes) would impact minority and low-income passengers on a bus-only system.
Here, the cumulative proposed reduction in service frequency will impact minority and lowincome passengers slightly less than their proportion of ridership of the system.
Notably, assessing the cumulative impacts of the route changes appears to reduce the impacts of
some of the changes, while increasing the impacts of other changes. Transit providers should
consider whether to evaluate changes to routes separately or cumulatively and include this in their
disparate impact policy.
If the cumulative impact analysis showed a different result, i.e., a higher percent of minority or
low-income populations being impacted than their presence in the overall ridership, the transit
provider would likely want to take another look at the routes with high passenger counts and
higher-than-system-average minority and/or low-income passengers in order to adjust the changes
and reduce the adverse effects.

App. K-6

FTA C 4702.1B

Exhibit 2.
SAMPLE GIS map depicting proposed route changes and nearby minority and low-income
concentrations.

Type of Service 
Change 

Minority Proportion of Population 
Census blocks 
along routes 

Average 
population in 
service area 

Low‐Income Proportion of Population 
Census blocks  
along routes 

Average 
population in 
service area 

Changes in 
Routing 

38.9% 

34.3% 

13.7% 

12.2% 

Headway              
Changes 

27.5% 

34.3% 

11.0% 

12.2% 

Route 
discontinuation 

30.6% 

34.3% 

12.8% 

12.2% 

In the table above, the transit provider has analyzed the cumulative impacts of each type of
service change on minority populations and low-income populations in its service area. The
analysis is based on block-level Census demographic data and therefore does not represent
ridership directly.
The changes in routing appear to affect minority populations more adversely than the population
as a whole, and the changes in routing and route discontinuations appear to affect low-income
populations more adversely than the population as a whole. The transit provider’s ultimate
determination of disparate impact on minority riders or disproportionate burden on low-income
riders would depend on the disparate impact and disproportionate burden threshold policies
developed by the transit provider through a public participation process.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. K-7

Exhibit 3.
SAMPLE Population Comparison

Table 1 ‐ Regional Population Data 
Total 
Population  Minority 
Percent 
of Service  Population Minority 
Area 
242,916 

50,829 

21% 

Low‐
Percent 
income 
Low‐
Population Income 
43,000 

Table 2 ‐ Affected Census Block Area Population Data 
Total 
Population 
Minority 
Percent 
Route #  Change type  affected 
Population Minority 
Census 
blocks 

18% 

Low‐
Income 
Population 

Percent 
Low‐
Income 

Route 6 

Discontinued 

5870 

800 

14% 

250 

4% 

Route 7 

Discontinued 

9500 

2500 

26% 

2100 

22% 

Total 

15370 

3300 

21% 

2350 

15% 

Here, the transit provider is proposing elimination of two routes, and is using population data, not
ridership data. The affected population is the Census blocks with access to the route, generally
defined as a one-quarter mile walk to a bus stop or a one-half mile walk to a rail station. While the
elimination of Route 7 appears to affect low-income and minority populations more adversely
than the population as a whole, the provider’s ultimate determination of disparate impact on
minority riders or disproportionate burden on low-income riders would depend on the disparate
impact and disproportionate burden threshold policies developed by the transit provider through a
public participation process.
Notably, assessing the cumulative impacts of the two route changes appears to reduce the impacts
of the elimination of Route 7. Transit providers should consider whether to evaluate changes to
routes separately or cumulatively and include this in their disparate impact policy. See the
example on the next page for a different result.

App. K-8

FTA C 4702.1B

Exhibit 4.
SAMPLE Ridership Comparison

Table 3 ‐ Regional Ridership Data 
Total System‐wide 
Riders 

Minority 
Riders 

Percent 
Minority 

Low‐
Income 
Riders 

Percent 
Low‐
Income 

3,224,000 

1,346,000 

42% 

1,235,000 

38% 

Table 4 ‐ Affected Route Ridership Data 
Route No  

Discontinued 
Segment ‐ Ridership 

Minority 
Riders 

% 
Minority 
Riders 

Low‐
Income 
Riders 

% Low‐
Income 
Riders 

Route 1 

20,800 

6,000 

29% 

4,700 

23% 

72,600 

33,400 

46% 

31,200 

43% 

93,400 

39,400 

42% 

35,900 

38% 

Route 2 
Total 

Here, the transit provider is proposing eliminating segments of two different routes (shortlining).
The elimination of a segment of Route 2 appears to affect minority and low-income passengers
more adversely than ridership of the system as a whole; however, the provider’s ultimate
determination of disparate impact on minority passengers or disproportionate burden on lowincome passengers would depend on the disparate impact and disproportionate burden threshold
policies developed by the transit provider through a public participation process.
Here, assessing the cumulative impacts of two shortlined routes appears to increase the adverse
effects of the change to Route 1, and decrease the effects of the change to Route 2. Transit
providers should consider whether to evaluate changes to routes separately or cumulatively and
include this in their disparate impact policy.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. K-9

Exhibit 5.
SAMPLE Impacts to passengers
Type of Service
Change

Service span
(reduction of
entire trips)

Ridership of affected route
Total
Boardings
24

% Minority  % LowIncome
83% 

17%

Ridership of system
% Minority

% Low-Income

73.7%

10%

Here, a transit provider that operates service into the late evening has proposed to discontinue
trips that begin after 10:00 p.m. In this example, the provider’s ridership is the basis of the
analysis, not the population of adjacent Census blocks. The table shows that both minority
populations and low-income populations would bear a disproportionate share of the service
change, when comparing the ridership of the affected route with the ridership of the system as a
whole. However, the ridership that is affected is relatively small, particularly if it is divided over
a number of trips.
As with the other examples, the provider’s ultimate determination of disparate impact on minority
passengers or disproportionate burden on low-income passengers would depend on the disparate
impact and disproportionate burden threshold policies developed by the transit provider through a
public participation process.
When changes are disproportionately borne by minority passengers, and the provider determines
there is a disparate impact based on its policy, the transit provider can make the change as long as
it can clearly demonstrate that it has a substantial legitimate justification for the proposed service
changes; and the transit provider clearly demonstrates that it analyzed alternatives to determine
whether the proposed service changes are the least discriminatory alternative.
If the transit provider determines there is a disproportionate burden on low-income passengers,
the transit provider should review alternatives to see if the impacts on the low-income passengers
can be avoided, minimized, or mitigated.

App. K-10

FTA C 4702.1B

(2) Considerations for a Fare Equity Analysis
 We have briefly and clearly stated our policy to determine when a “disparate impact”
occurs in the contexts of fare changes. In particular, our agency has developed policy
thresholds (in terms of absolute numbers or proportions) for identifying disparate
impacts.
 Our policy specifies how we engaged the public in developing our policy for measuring
disparate impacts.
 We have briefly and clearly stated our disproportionate burden policy, and our policy
describes how we engaged the public in developing the disproportionate burden policy.
 We have analyzed the fare media generated from ridership surveys indicating whether
minority and/or low-income riders are disproportionately more likely to use the mode of
service, payment type, or fare media that would be subject to the fare increase or decrease
(see sample, page K-12).
 We have determined the number and percent of users of each fare media proposed for
increase or decrease.
o Our analysis includes a profile of fare usage by group—minority, low-income, and
overall ridership—as shown below.
o If the proposed changes would only affect certain fare media, the analysis should
address whether focusing changes on those fare media may lead to a disparate impact
or disproportionate burden.
 We have clearly depicted the information in tabular format.
o The table depicts the fare media comparing the existing cost, the percent change, and
the usage of minority groups as compared to overall usage and low-income groups as
compared to overall usage. We have clearly analyzed fare media for minority groups
distinct from low-income.
 We have compared the differences in impacts between minority users and overall users.
 We have compared the differences in impacts between low-income users and overall
users.
 We have analyzed any alternative transit modes, fare payment types, or fare media
available for people affected by the fare change.
o Analysis compared the fares paid by the proposed changes with fares that would be
paid through available alternatives.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. K-11

o Analysis shows whether vendors that distribute/sell the fare media are located in areas
that would be convenient to impacted populations.
 We have identified whether minority populations will experience disparate impacts.
 If we have determined that a disparate impact exists, we have considered modifying our
proposal to remove these impacts. If we modified our proposal, we have analyzed the
modified proposal to determine whether minority populations will experience disparate
impacts.
 If we have determined that a disparate impact exists and we will make the fare changes
despite these impacts, we have also:
o Clearly demonstrated that we have a substantial legitimate justification for the
proposed fare changes; and
o Clearly demonstrated that we analyzed alternatives to determine whether the
proposed fare changes are the least discriminatory alternative.
 If we have documented a disparate impact or a disproportionate burden, we have
explored alternatives and mitigation, including the timing of implementing the fare
increases, providing discounts on passes to social service agencies that serve the
impacted populations, and other alternatives as appropriate.
Charting fare payment by ridership group (as shown on the next page) can be a useful early step
in a fare equity analysis to understand how fare media usage varies between low-income riders,
minority riders, and overall ridership. Comparing fare payment patterns for minority versus nonminority and low-income versus higher-income riders can yield even clearer depictions of
differences that should be considered when developing fare change proposals.

App. K-12

FTA C 4702.1B

SAMPLE Fare Equity Analysis

Count

Cost

Change

Usage by Group

Existing

Proposed

Absolute

Percentage

LowIncome

Minority

Overall

Cash

$1.50

$2.00

$0.50

33.3%

308,287

402,021

451,152

1-Day Pass

$4.50

$5.50

$1.00

22.2%

299,880

290,456

448,907

Fare type

Senior

$0.50

$0.75

$0.25

50.0%

37,536

17,681

46,077

Disability

$0.50

$1.00

$0.50

100.0%

75,440

29,280

38,600

Adult 31-Day Pass

$57.00

$63.00

$6.00

10.5%

132,720

311,225

746,769

Student 31-Day Pass

$30.00

$35.00

$5.00

16.7%

205,708

192,661

323,150

Adult 7-Day Pass

$15.00

$17.00

$2.00

13.3%

105,831

132,135

170,300

10-Ride Card

$13.50

$18.00

$4.50

33.3%

184

780

11,400

1,165,586

1,376,239

2,236,355

Total

% of Total
Fare type
Cash

Cost

Change

Usage by Group

Existing

Proposed

Absolute

Percentage

LowIncome

Minority

Overall

$1.50

$2.00

$0.50

33.3%

26.4%

29.2%

20.2%

1-Day Pass

$4.50

$5.50

$1.00

22.2%

25.7%

21.1%

20.1%

Senior

$0.50

$0.75

$0.25

50.0%

3.2%

1.3%

2.1%

Disability

$0.50

$1.00

$0.50

100.0%

6.5%

2.1%

1.7%

Adult 31-Day Pass

$57.00

$63.00

$6.00

10.5%

11.4%

22.6%

33.4%

Student 31-Day Pass

$30.00

$35.00

$5.00

16.7%

17.6%

14.0%

14.4%

Adult 7-Day Pass

$15.00

$17.00

$2.00

13.3%

9.1%

9.6%

7.6%

Stored Value Card

$13.50

$18.00

$4.50

33.3%

Total

0.0%

0.1%

0.5%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

FTA C 4702.1B

App. K-13

Here, an agency has presented a fare increase proposal and determined fare media usage for lowincome, minority and overall ridership from a rider survey. Although a price increase is proposed
for all fare media, certain media used disproportionately by low-income and/or minority riders
(such as cash fares, one-day passes, and disability fares) are proposed for more substantial price
increases than other media used more commonly by other riders (particularly the adult 31-day
pass). In order to make an appropriate assessment of disparate impact or disproportionate burden,
the transit provider must compare the survey data, and show the number and percent of minority
riders and low-income riders using a particular fare media. While the changes appear to affect
low-income and minority riders more adversely than other riders, the agency’s ultimate
determination of disparate impact on minority riders or disproportionate burden on low-income
riders would depend on the disparate impact and disproportionate burden threshold policies
developed by the transit provider through a public participation process.

App. K-14

FTA C 4702.1B

Disparate Impact Analysis

FTA C 4702.1B

App. L-1
APPENDIX L
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

1. RECIPIENT TYPE. This circular defines many types of recipients of Federal financial
assistance: designated recipients, direct recipients, primary recipients and subrecipients. The
reporting and monitoring requirements vary depending on what role an entity serves. One
entity could be all four types of recipients, and therefore have many different reporting and
monitoring requirements. The following questions are designed to assist recipients in
determining what their responsibilities are:
a. Have you been designated by the Governor of your State or other local officials to
receive and apportion funds from FTA? If yes, you are a designated recipient.
b. Do you apply to FTA for funds for programs you operate/manage? If yes, you are a direct
recipient. You will submit a Title VI Program directly to FTA.
c. Do you pass through funds you receive directly from FTA to subrecipients? If yes, then
you are a primary recipient and you must monitor your subrecipients’ compliance with
Title VI requirements, and collect Title VI Programs from them.
d. Do you receive funds from another FTA recipient, that is, are funds “passed through” to
you from an entity that received those funds from FTA or another recipient? If yes, then
you are a subrecipient. You must submit a Title VI Program to the entity that passed
funds through to you.
e. Do you suballocate funds to recipients that apply directly to FTA for their funds (i.e.,
direct recipients)? If yes, have you signed a supplemental agreement? If yes, you do not
have any responsibility to monitor the Title VI Program of direct recipients, even if you
also “pass through” funds to those recipients (i.e., subrecipients).
f. Do you receive discretionary, specialized funding (e.g., TIGER, Livability Urban
Circulator)? If yes, do you regularly apply for funds from FTA, i.e., are you a traditional
recipient of FTA funds? If you are not a traditional recipient of FTA funds, or are a firsttime applicant for FTA funds, special rules may apply.
On the following pages are flowcharts that demonstrate the reporting requirements of various
types of entities.

App. L-2

FTA C 4702.1B

Scenario One—States, Designated Recipients, MPOs, and Other Entities That
Suballocate FTA Funds

FTA

FTA apportions
funds to entity for
suballocation, no
actual funds to
entity

Designated
Recipient
(MPO, State,
etc.)

FTA

Reporting

$

No
Reporting
Supplemental
Agreement

Direct Recipient
(e.g., transit
agency, regional
transit authority,
city)

Based on long-range planning and
the TIP, the designated recipient
suballocates funds to direct
recipients in a manner that does not
discriminate on the basis of race,
color, or national origin.

Reporting requirements follow the source of Federal funds. In this case, the
designated recipient receives no funding from FTA; it only receives notice of
an apportionment and then suballocates funds to direct recipients; therefore,
the designated recipient has no oversight responsibility for direct recipients
that receive their funding directly from FTA. Direct recipients submit Title VI
reports to FTA.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. L-3

Scenario Two—Designated Recipients That Are Also Direct Recipients

Report

FTA

No
Reporting

FTA

$

Report

Supplemental
Agreement

$

DIRECT
RECIPIENT (e.g.,

DESIGNATED
RECIPIENT IS ALSO A
DIRECT RECIPIENT

transit agency, regional
transit authority, city)

$
SUBRECIPIENT
In this case the designated recipient
allocates funds, as in Scenario One,
but also receives funds directly from
FTA, either to perform service itself
or have subrecipients perform service.
Thus, the recipient is a designated
recipient, a direct recipient, and, if it
has subrecipients, is also a primary
recipient.

A designated recipient that is also a
direct recipient and has one or more
subrecipients is a “primary recipient”
per Title VI regulations and is
required to report to FTA and
monitor subrecipients.

Report

(e.g., non-profit agency)

Subrecipients must report
Title VI compliance to the
designated/direct recipient as
requested by the
designated/direct recipient.

**Title VI regulations define a “primary
recipient” as a recipient that extends
Federal financial assistance to another
recipient.

Reporting requirements follow the source of Federal funds. In this case, the
designated recipient receives funding from FTA; therefore the designated
recipient submits a Title VI Program to FTA and includes a description of
how it monitors subrecipients. The designated recipient does not collect Title
VI Programs from direct recipients to whom it only allocates funds. Direct
recipients submit Title VI Programs to FTA.

App. L-4

FTA C 4702.1B

Scenario Three—Direct Recipients, Including States

FTA
Direct recipient
reports to FTA

$

DIRECT RECIPIENT/
PRIMARY RECIPIENT
(e.g., State, transit authority, city)

Subrecipients report Title
VI compliance to the
direct (“primary”)
recipient as requested by
the primary recipient.

$
If this subrecipient has its own
subrecipients, it becomes a
primary recipient for purposes
of Title VI, and it must collect
Title VI Programs from its
subrecipients and monitor their
compliance.

SUBRECIPIENT/
PRIMARY
RECIPIENT
(e.g., transit agency)

Report

$

SUBRECIPIENT
(e.g., non-profit)

Reporting requirements follow the source of Federal funds. In this case,
the direct (primary) recipient submits a Title VI Program to FTA and
monitors subrecipients at all tiers. 

FTA C 4702.1B

App. L-5

Scenario Four—Designated Recipients That Pass Funds Through to Direct
Recipients That Are Covered by a Supplemental Agreement

FTA

FTA

$
DESIGNATED
RECIPIENT IS
ALSO A DIRECT
RECIPIENT
(e.g., MPO, State)

No
Report

No
Report
Report
Supplemental
Agreement

$

DIRECT RECIPIENT
(e.g., transit agency, section
5307 funds)

Same entity

$
SUBRECIPIENT
(e.g., transit agency,
section 5310 funds)

Direct recipient reports to
FTA. The designated
recipient has no reporting
responsibilities to FTA
related to Title VI for direct
recipients.

A subrecipient that is also a direct recipient is required to have an FTA approved
Title VI Program in place, and the funds the subrecipient receives through the
designated recipient must be utilized in accordance with that Title VI Program.
Since the subrecipient/direct recipient must report compliance to FTA, it is not
required to report to the designated recipient, and the designated recipient,
consistent with the supplemental agreement, is not required to oversee the
subrecipient’s Title VI Program.
NOTE: If the direct recipient relationship with FTA changes, such that the entity
becomes only a subrecipient of the designated recipient, then the subrecipient will
report to the designated recipient, and the designated recipient will report to FTA.
NOTE also that while the designated recipient is not reporting to FTA for the
direct/subrecipient, when the designated recipient is also a direct recipient it will
report directly to FTA, and it may also have other reporting responsibilities, as
when the designated recipient is an MPO or provides transit service itself.

App. L-6

FTA C 4702.1B

Scenario Five—Role of MPOs and States With Regard to Planning Funds
(Other Scenarios May Also Apply)

FTA

Report

$

$

planning money.
The State is also the

SUBRECIPIENT
of the State.

The State is the

DIRECT
RECIPIENT for

MPO receives planning
money from the State,
and is thus a

Report
Report

$

PRIMARY
RECIPIENT and
is responsible for
reporting to FTA
and monitoring Title
VI compliance of the
MPO. The MPO
must submit
compliance reports
to the State as
requested by the
State.

The MPO passes some of
the funds it receives from
the State to local planning
entities. The MPO is now
a SUBRECIPIENT of
the State, and a

PRIMARY
RECIPIENT per Title
VI regulations.

As a subrecipient of the State, the MPO must
submit a Title VI Program to the State. If it has
subrecipients, the MPO must collect Title VI
Programs from those subrecipients and monitor
their compliance. The MPO shall include the
schedule for subrecipient Title VI Program
submission when it sends its own Title VI
Program to the State.

FTA C 4702.1B

App. M-1
APPENDIX M

TITLE VI AND LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
RESOURCES
The following resources should help recipients integrate the guidance and procedures of this
circular into their planning and operations. Recipients seeking additional resources that may
have been published subsequent to the date of this circular may inquire with their local FTA
Regional Office or FTA’s Office of Civil Rights. Technical assistance resources will be
published on the FTA Office of Civil Rights website, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civil_rights.html,
on an ongoing basis.
1. Relevant Websites. Recipients and subrecipients are encouraged to review information on
the following websites:
a. FTA’s Title VI Website. www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/civil_rights_5088.html. This
website provides an overview of FTA’s Title VI activities, including links to recent
compliance reviews of recipients, related websites, policy guidance and procedures, and
instructions on how to file a Title VI complaint.
b. Federal Interagency Working Group on Limited English Proficiency. www.lep.gov
promotes a cooperative understanding of the importance of language access to Federal
programs and Federally-assisted programs. The site acts as a clearinghouse, providing
and linking to information, tools, and technical assistance regarding limited English
proficiency and language services for Federal agencies, recipients of Federal funds, users
of Federal programs and Federally-assisted programs, and other stakeholders.
c. U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. http://www.justice.gov/crt/ The Civil
Rights Division of the Department of Justice, established in 1957, is the program
institution within the Federal government responsible for coordinating the
implementation and enforcement of Federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of race, color, national origin, and other protected classes.
d. Community Impact Assessment Website. http://www.ciatrans.net. The Community
Impact Assessment (CIA) website seeks to inform transportation officials and the general
public about the potential impacts of proposed transportation actions on communities and
their subpopulations.
e. United We Ride. www.unitedweride.gov. United We Ride is an interagency Federal
national initiative that supports States and their localities in developing coordinated
human service delivery systems originating from the Office of Program Management or
the Federal Transit Administration. In addition to State coordination grants, United We
Ride provides State and local agencies a transportation-coordination and planning selfassessment tool, help along the way, technical assistance, and other resources to help
their communities succeed.

App. M-2

FTA C 4702.1B

2. Technical Assistance Products. Recipients and subrecipients are encouraged to review
information on the following technical assistance products. Interested parties can access
these products through the relevant website or by contacting FTA’s Office of Civil Rights.
a. “How to Engage Low-Literacy and Limited English Proficient Populations in
Transportation Decision-making.” http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/lowlim/. This report
documents “best practices” in identifying and engaging low-literacy and limited-Englishproficiency populations in transportation decision-making. These “best practices” were
collected during telephone interviews with individuals in 30 States.
b. “Disaster Response and Recovery Resource for Transit Agencies” http://transitsafety.volpe.dot.gov/Publications/order/singledoc.asp?docid=437. This resource provides
local transit agencies and transportation providers with useful information and best
practices in emergency preparedness and disaster response and recovery, including
information on how to respond to the needs of low-income persons, limited English
proficient persons, persons with disabilities, and older adults.

FTA C 4702.1B

Ref-1
REFERENCES

a. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Section 2000d.
b. Federal Transit Laws, Title 49, United States Code, Chapter 53.
c. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Section 4321 et seq.
d. Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. Section 4601, et seq.
e. U.S. Department of Justice regulations, “Coordination of Enforcement of Nondiscrimination
in Federally-Assisted Programs,” 28 CFR part 42, Subpart F.
f. U.S. DOT regulations, “Nondiscrimination in Federally-Assisted Programs of the
Department of Transportation—Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” 49
CFR part 21.
g. Joint FTA/Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regulations, “Environmental Impact
and Related Procedures,” 23 CFR part 771 and 49 CFR part 622.
h. Joint FTA/FHWA regulations, “Planning Assistance and Standards,” 23 CFR part 450 and 49
CFR part 613.
i. Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority
Populations and Low-Income Populations,” Feb. 11, 1994, 59 FR 7629 (Feb. 16, 1994).
j. Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons With Limited English
Proficiency,” Aug. 11, 2000, 65 FR 50121 (Aug. 16, 2000).
k. U.S. Department of Transportation Order to Address Environmental Justice in Minority
Populations and Low-Income Populations, 62 FR 18377 (Apr. 15, 1997).
l. U.S. DOT Policy Guidance Concerning Recipients’ Responsibilities to Limited English
Proficient (LEP) Persons, 70 FR 74087 (Dec. 14, 2005).
m. FTA Master Agreement, FTA MA (17), Oct. 1, 2010.

FTA C 4702.1B

Index-1
INDEX
SUBJECT AND LOCATION IN CIRCULAR

Subject

Chapter/Page

Additional Resources ........................................................................................................ App. M–1
Disproportionate Burden ................ Chap. I–3, Chap. IV–10−19, App. A−2, App. K–2, App. M–3
Applicant
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–2
Discrimination
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–2
Disparate Impact
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–3
Disparate Treatment
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–3
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Civil Rights Division Web Site................................................................................ See Websites
Environmental Justice .................................... Chap. I–6-8, Chap. III–6, Chap. IV–8, Chap. IV–10
Federal Financial Assistance
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–3
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Compliance Procedures ........................................................................................... Chap. VIII–1
Compliance Review Criteria .................................................................................... Chap. VIII–1
Compliance Review Findings .................................................................................. Chap. VIII–1
Compliance Review Process .................................................................................... Chap. VIII–1
Compliance Review Scope ...................................................................................... Chap. VIII–1
Master Agreement ........................................................................................................ Chap. II–2
Regional Office ..............................................................................................................Chap. I–1
First-Time Applicants
Procedures ................................................................................................................... Chap. III–1
Requirements .............................................................................................................. Chap. III–1
Fixed Guideway
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–3
Routes ......................................................................................................................... Chap. IV–8
Stations........................................................................................................................ Chap. IV–8
General Requirements
Certification and Assurance ........................................................................................ Chap. IV–1
Hearings
Notice ........................................................................................................................ Chap. VII–3
Procedures ................................................................................................................. Chap. VII–3
Waiver ....................................................................................................................... Chap. VII–3
Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) Program ................................... Chap. IV–3, App. L–5
Language Access Requirement
Developing a Language Assistance Plan .................................................................... Chap. III–7
Components of a Language Assistance Plan .............................................................. Chap. III–7

Index 2

FTA C 4702.1B

Limited English Proficient (LEP)
DOT LEP Guidance .................................................................................................... Chap. II–2
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–3
Populations............................................................. Chap. III–6, App. B–1, App. C–1, App. D–1
Website .................................................................................................................... See Websites
Low-Income Person
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–4
Low-Income Population
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–4
Low-Income Riders ............................................................. Chap. IV–16, Chap. IV–18, App. K–2
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
Planning Requirements ............................................................................................... Chap. IV–1
Reporting Requirements ................................................................................................App. A–2
Requirements .............................................................................................................. Chap. VI–1
Minority Persons
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–4
Minority Population
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–4
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ..........................................................................Ref.–1
National Origin
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–5
Noncompliance
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–5
Noncompliant.................................................................. Chap. VII–1, Chap. VIII–1, Chap. VIII–2
Predominantly Minority Area
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–5
Program-Specific Requirements for Urbanized Areas .................................................... Chap. V–3
Demographic Data Collection………………………………………………………..Chap. V–1
Maps and Charts…………………………………………………Chap. IV–2, 8, 11, App. I–1
Rider Survey Information……………………………………………Chap. IV–17, App. K–8
Public Participation Requirement ................................................................................... Chap. III–5
Effective Practices .............................................................................................. Chap. III–6, 7, 8
Recipient
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–5
Secretary ......................................................................................................................... Chap. IV–3
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–5
Service and Fare Changes Requirements
Alternative and Modifications…………………………………………………..Chap. IV–12
Fare Changes ............................................................................................................. Chap. IV–11
Evaluation Procedure……………………………………………………………Chap. IV–10
Route Changes .......................................................................................................... Chap. IV–11
Service and Fare Alternatives Assessment………………………………………Chap. IV–12
Service Area
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–5
Service Standard/Policy
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–5

FTA C 4702.1B

Index-3

State DOT Program-Specific Requirements
Agency Assistance ....................................................................................................... Chap. V–1
Title VI Program Preparation....................................................................................... Chap. V–1
Monitoring Requirements ............................................................................................ Chap. V–2
Planning ....................................................................................................................... Chap. V–2
Program Administration............................................................................................... Chap. V–2
Subrecipient
Definition ..................................................................................................................... Chap. II–6
System-wide Service Policy Requirements ............................................................ Chap. IV–4, 5, 6
System-wide Service Standard Requirements
Transit Amenities ........................................................................................................ Chap. IV–6
System-wide Service Standard Requirements
On-time Performance ......................................................................... Chap. IV–4, 5, 6, App. J–6
Service Area Routes ............................................................................................ Chap. IV–4, 5, 6
Vehicle Headway ............................................................................... Chap. IV–4, 5, 6, App. J–4
Vehicle Load ....................................................................................... Chap. IV–4, 5, 6 App. J–2
Technical Assistance Resources ....................................................................................App. N–1, 2
Low-Literacy and LEP Best Practices ...........................................................................App. N–2
Title VI
Complaint Procedures ............................................................................................. Chap. III–4, 5
Determination of Compliance ....................................................................... Chap. VII–1, 2, 3, 4
FTA's Title VI Website ............................................................................................ See Websites
General Requirements ..........................................................................................Chap. III–1, 2-9
Letters of Finding and Resolution......................................................... Chap. VII–1, Chap. IX–2
Noncompliance Judicial Review................................................................................. Chap. IV–4
Noncompliance Procedures ............................................................................ Chap. IV–1, 2, 3, 4
Noncompliance Proceedings ........................................................................... Chap. IV–1, 2, 3, 4
Objectives .................................................................................................................... Chap. II–1
Program
Definition .......................................................................................................................Chap. I–6
Program Checklist ..........................................................................................................App. A–1
Program Checklist for State DOTs and Other Agencies ...............................................App. A–1
Record Keeping Requirements ..................................................................Chap. III–1, App. L–1
Reporting Requirements ........................................................ Chap. II–1, Chap. III–4, App. L–1
Transit Service Monitoring Requirements ......................................................................... App. L–1
Websites
Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice ...................................................... App. M–1
Community Impact Assessment (CIA) ......................................................................... App. M–1
FHWA/FTA’s Environmental Justice........................................................................... App. M–2
FTA’s Title VI .............................................................................................................. App. M–1
Limited English Proficiency Interagency Working Group ........................................... App. M–1
United We Ride............................................................................................................. App. M–1

Index 2

FTA C 4702.1B