Service Equity Analysis
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ensures that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis 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.” Federal regulations and policies ensure that Title VI is applied to the concept of environmental justice, which seeks to ensure that minority and low-income populations benefit from investments in communities while not bearing disproportionate environmental and health burdens.
In accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Federal Transit administration’s requirements any time major service changes are proposed, SEPTA conducts a Service Equity Analysis to ensure that changes do not unfairly impact minority and low-income populations.
Summary of Service Equity Findings
The FY 2027 Annual Service Plan (ASP) consists of proposals for new routes, route eliminations, route alignment changes, and additions and reductions in service levels, including how frequent the route operates and when service starts and ends within a service day. Each route was evaluated to determine if the proposed service change was considered a major change. Under SEPTA’s Service Standards, a major service change includes:
- Discontinuance of all service on a route on an entire day of the week;
- Decreasing the span of service on a route by one and one-half hours at the beginning or end of a route’s service day;
- Discontinuance of more than 15 percent of the trips over a two-year period on a route’s base routing as defined in the route’s operating tariff, on any day of the week; or
- Discontinuance of more than 15 percent of rail service over a two-year period to a rail station as listed in the route’s operating tariff.
The total revenue hours on any minority or low-income route with a major service change was then compared against the total revenue hours on all non-minority and non-low-income routes in the proposed plan. The FY2027 ASP results in an increase of 660 revenue hours across the bus network. Overall, the proposed plan found that service is reduced slightly on non-minority routes and increased on minority routes. There is a slight increase in service hours added to non-low-income routes when compared to low-income routes.
Summary of Service Reduction by Title VI Classification
| Title VI Classification | Service Reduction (Percent Change in Service Hours) |
|---|---|
| Non-minority Routes | -1.6% |
| Minority Routes | 1.5% |
| Non-low-income Routes | 1.16% |
| Low-income Routes | 0.9% |
Justifications, Alternatives and Mitigations
In total, 19 routes meet the criteria for a service change resulting in either a disparate impact to minority populations or a disproportionate burden to low-income populations. SEPTA evaluated each route and pattern that shows an adverse impact and provided justifications, alternatives within ¼ mile, or provided mitigations where possible. Modifications to service may include the following mitigations:
- Adjusting bus route alignments to provide service for gaps left by other service reductions
- Introducing combined routes to account for a potential impact resulting from a route elimination
- Increasing frequency and/or span on nearby routes to mitigate a service reduction
A full list of route-by-route impacts and justifications and mitigations is available to download (PDF).