Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Research Report P A R T I
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7 Laws and Requirements Federal, state, and local law places requirements on public agencies providing public transportation and constrains the actions of those agencies. Requirements and limitations pertain to equity and inclusion in • Employment, • Contracting, • Service provision, and • Other aspects of operations.
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8 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry receiving federal funds [e.g., see regulations at 49 CFR Section 21.5(c)
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Laws and Requirements 9 Requirements FTA recipients must have a DBE program if they receive planning, capital, or operating assistance from FTA and award prime contracts using more than $250,000 in FTA funds in a federal fiscal year. (This total does not include transit vehicle purchases with FTA funds.)
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10 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry Environmental justice regulations pertain to actions that will have a disproportionately high and adverse effect on minority populations or low-income populations. The definition of "minority persons" in FTA Circular C 4703.1 (FTA 2012a)
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Laws and Requirements 11 Regulations in Section (3)
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12 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry FTA Circular C 4703.1 describes how environmental justice should be addressed in all NEPA decision-making for projects involving federal funding (FTA 2012a)
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Laws and Requirements 13 FTA Circular C 4710.1 (FTA 2015) also provides information specific to • New construction of transportation facilities and alterations of existing facilities; • Design of new, used, and remanufactured transit vehicles; • Service provision on fixed routes (such as priority seating and stop announcements)
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14 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry much more easily defended. The public entity generally need only show that it has a "rational basis" for such a program, depending upon its components and how it is implemented.
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15 Literature on Diversity and Inclusion Internal and external members of the public transportation industry have conducted considerable research that examines equity, diversity, and inclusion issues pertaining to workforce, procurement, hiring and retention, and other aspects of transit operations, including environmental justice, fare setting, and transit network design. This chapter reviews key literature that guided the objectives and questions of this research.
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16 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry This synthesis report includes a review of various definitions of diversity utilized by scholars as well as private and public agencies. Many definitions of diversity include a broad range of group or individual differences and differences in identity and "otherness." Some include different dimensions of diversity, with the "primary characteristics" including age, gender, race/ethnicity, physical and mental ability, and sexual orientation, while the "secondary characteristics" include aspects that may change, such as education, income, religious beliefs, and work experience.
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Literature on Diversity and Inclusion 17 More broadly, however, some transit agencies responded that they measured the success of initiatives by the number of employees trained in diversity awareness, the number of women and minorities promoted, the number of participants in a particular cultural event, or the number of networking channels available for the promotion of internal staff. Managing Diversity Included in the survey were questions relating to managerial methods of diversity within the transit agency.
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18 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry On a related note, some referenced informal rules, socialization protocols, and expected managerial style as things that acted as barriers to diversity initiatives. When asked about any personal barriers that limited the success of diversity programs, respondents cited mode of communication, along with age, race, perceived personal style, perceived socioeconomic status, perceived level of education, and perceived potential for leadership.
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Literature on Diversity and Inclusion 19 Procurement TRB studies have also examined the federal DBE Program and other means of ensuring equity in procurement. These studies have focused on state DOTs and airports.
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20 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry Other research has focused on the causal relationships that trace why low-income individuals and people of color are disproportionately exposed to pollution. In addition, gentrification prompted by transit system improvements can lead to displacement and further inequity (Banzhaf et al.
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Literature on Diversity and Inclusion 21 • "Modal equity" includes the travel time between the origin and destination of each mode, where modes are divided into passenger car and transit, and the travel time of each mode is the total travel time from the origin to the destination. Modal equity is achieved when the difference between transit travel time and passenger cars travel time is negligible because of the transit network (Kim et al.
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22 Results of Interviews and Case Studies The research team conducted in-depth interviews with 37 transit agency leaders, human resources professionals and others with diversity and inclusion responsibilities from 12 of the 13 transit agencies included in the 2003 TCRP study (Simpson 2003)
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Results of Interviews and Case Studies 23 Agency Location Participated in 2003 Study Participated in 2021 Study Alameda–Contra Costa Transit District CA ü ü Bay Area Rapid Transit CA ü ü Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MA ü Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority OH ü ü Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority FL ü ü Houston Metro TX ü ü Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority CA ü ü Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NYC Transit NY ü ü Pierce Transit WA ü ü Port Authority of Allegheny County PA ü ü Trinity Metro TX ü ü Valley Metro Transit System AZ ü ü Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority DC ü ü Note: Via Transportation, New York, New York, was also invited to participate in the 2021 research project but chose not to. Table 3-1.
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24 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry a culture in which everyone is appreciated for who they are and encouraged to bring "their whole selves" to work. This is seen as a "less exclusionary" approach that includes all employees, which may contribute to long-term success.
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Pre-recruitment Recruitment Accountability Training Retention of diverse talent Cultural norming Additional efforts Is the agency going above and beyond?
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26 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry 4. Some transit agencies have enacted their own contracting equity programs for nonfederally-funded contracts.
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27 Definitions of Diversity and Inclusion It is difficult to assess or strive for diversity and inclusion without sound definitions for both terms. This chapter presents transit-specific definitions of diversity and inclusion developed by using information from the in-depth interviews, the case studies, review of transit agency regulations, and examinations of relevant existing research.
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28 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry such as national origin, language, race, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, and family structures. The concept also encompasses differences among people concerning where they are from and where they have lived and their differences of thought and life experiences" (OPM 2011, p. 5)
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Definitions of Diversity and Inclusion 29 With consideration of research information and additional research, the research team defines diversity in transit as a workforce, collection of vendors, and served groups with unique characteristics, thoughts and experiences who reflect their communities. Characteristics, thoughts, and experiences include categories dictated by law as well as family structure, life experience, communication style, and learning style.
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30 Summary of Gaps and Constraints Affecting Implementation of Diversity and Inclusion The effective implementation of public-sector diversity and inclusion efforts can be affected by many forces, from public-sector hiring rules to workforce and vendor availability. There can also be gaps in what is typically included in these efforts.
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Summary of Gaps and Constraints Affecting Implementation of Diversity and Inclusion 31 Effectiveness of Diversity and Inclusion Training A number of agency leaders reported that they had employee training on diversity, equity, and inclusion, but that it was implemented at their organization in an irregular manner. There were two primary reasons: • Funding: Transit agency training continues to be affected by the Great Recession of 2008, when funding to public transit was reduced.
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32 Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry of diversity and inclusion to leadership, and training on equitable behavior can be miscommunicated and/or misinterpreted in obscured channels, which can hurt agency efforts. Barriers to participation extend to vendors and contractors.
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Summary of Gaps and Constraints Affecting Implementation of Diversity and Inclusion 33 Employee and Vendor Cynicism Interviewees reported worry over "skeptical observers": those who do not believe diversity and inclusion initiatives are created or instituted in good faith. This culture of mistrust in organizational intentions is common and has been found to occur in organizations that enact initiatives defensively after a legal action is made (Newkirk 2019)
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