Caltrain Seeks Feedback On Minority And Low-Income Policies

By

February 7, 2013

Caltrain is asking the public for feedback on the levels of fare and service changes that would trigger analysis of impacts to minority and low-income populations. 

Prior to fare or major service changes, Caltrain engages the public through public meetings held throughout the railroad’s service area.

In response to new Federal Transit Administration requirements, Caltrain is seeking to adopt a formal policy defining when to analyze impacts and when those impacts are significant.

The new requirements are that all transit agencies have a board-adopted Title VI policy.  Title VI, of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protects all people from discrimination, stating:

“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 proposed policy sets analysis criteria for two areas: major service changes and unfair or disproportionate impacts to minority and low-income populations.  When a fare change or major service change is proposed, Caltrain would conduct analysis based on whether the proposal meets the criteria spelled out below. 

Caltrain is recommending analysis be required for all fare changes and changes that reduce or add total passenger service by 25 percent or more per day or that reduce or add stops at a specific station by 50 percent per day. The disparate, or unfair, impacts and disproportional burden thresholds are proposed to be triggered whenever the cumulative impact of a change affects minority or low-income populations the agency serves by 10 percent more than other parts of the community.  

Caltrain will be hosting public meetings at several locations along the rail corridor to receive feedback on the proposal before asking the board to adopt the policies at its April meeting.

Public meetings include:
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Gilroy Senior Center, Meeting Room
7371 Hanna St., Gilroy

Thursday, Feb. 21, 10:45 to 11:30 a.m.
Second floor auditorium
Caltrain Administrative Offices
1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Bayview Opera House
4705 Third St., San Francisco

Wednesday, Feb. 27, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Mountain View City Hall
Plaza Conference Room
500 Castro St., Mountain View

Caltrain is accepting public comment on these proposals at the meetings or by:

• E-mail to TitleVI@caltrain.com
• U.S. Postal Service: Caltrain
        C/o Operations Planning
        P.O. Box 3006
        San Carlos, CA 94070-1306
• Phone: 1.800.660.4287 (TTY: 650.508.6448 for hearing impaired)

The deadline for public comment is Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m.  To view the draft policies, visit www.caltrain.com/TitleVI.

Hearing impaired and non-English speaking attendees may arrange for sign language or foreign language translation by calling 650.508.6370 at least 72 hours prior to the meetings.  For a chinese language translation of this information, click HERE.

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About Caltrain:   Owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Caltrain provides commuter rail service from San Francisco to San Jose, with limited commute service to Gilroy. Caltrain has enjoyed 28 consecutive months of ridership increases, surpassing more than 50,000 average weekday riders earlier this year. While the Joint Powers Board assumed operating responsibilities for the service in 1992, the railroad will celebrate 150 years of continuous passenger service in 2014. Planning for the next 150 years of Peninsula rail service, Caltrain is on pace to electrify the corridor by 2019, reducing diesel emissions by 90 percent and adding more service to more stations. 

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