[Md-sligo] ride on public comments

[Reyazuddin, Yasmin]

Montgomery County Department of Transportation

Division of Transit Services 

Title VI

Montgomery County assures that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1987, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity. For more information or to file a complaint, please contact the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights.

________________________________

Ride On 

Review of Title VI Policies

Public Comment Period and Information Sessions

Interested persons are encouraged to participate as Montgomery County - Ride On seeks public comment on its proposed Title VI definitions, service standards and policies. The draft Title VI policies including the definitions of major service changes, disparate impact and disproportionate burden are posted on Ride On's web page at http://www.rideonbus.com <http://www.rideonbus.com/> . 

Written comments will be accepted through September 30, 2014 and should be addressed to: 

Title VI Comments,

Ride On Transit Services

101 Monroe Street, 5th Floor

Rockville, MD 20850.

Alternatively, comments may be emailed to rideon.customerservice at montgomerycountymd.gov <mailto:rideon.customerservice at montgomerycountymd.gov>  or faxed to 240-777-5801.

Interested parties may also attend an information session / open house scheduled for:

Tuesday, September 16, 2014 

Silver Spring Civic Center - 6 PM to 9 PM

One Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Executive Office Building - 6 PM to 9 PM

101 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850

All meeting locations are accessible to persons having disabilities. Any person needing accommodation, such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired, is requested to contact Ride On by September 12, 2014 by phone at 1-240-777-5800, or by mail at Ride On Transit Services, 101 Monroe Street, 5th floor Rockville, MD 20850. 

________________________________

Title VI Draft Policies

Montgomery County

Title VI Policies

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Circular 4702.1B requires grantees that operate more than 50 peak hour vehicles establish Title VI policies providing:

Definitions for Fare Change, Major Service Change, Disparate Impacts, Disproportionate Burdens and Minority Route; 

Service Standards for vehicle load, vehicle headway, on-time performance and service availability; 

Service Policies related to distribution of transit amenities and vehicle assignment; and, 

Approval procedures for Fare Changes and Major Service Changes

These Definitions, Service Standards, Service Policies and Approval Procedures must be approved by the County Council. 

DEFINITIONS

Fare Change - A Fare Change is any change in fare or new fare product regardless of the amount of increase or decrease. Except for the circumstances listed below, a Fare Equity Analysis is required for any Fare Change to evaluate the effects of a Fare Change on low-income and Title VI-protected populations.

Exceptions. 

"Give and Ride" and/or special events where Montgomery County has decided that all passengers ride free.

Temporary fare reductions that are mitigating measures for other actions such as free or reduced fare due to construction activities.

Promotional fare reductions that last less than six months. 

Major Service Change - A Major Service Change is any new route or a reduction or increase in a route's revenue vehicle hours greater than 25% of the prior schedule's revenue vehicle hours. A Service Change Equity Analysis is required for any Major Service Change to evaluate the effects of the proposed service change on low-income and Title VI-protected populations.

Disparate Impact - For Major Service Changes, a disparate impact may exist when the minority population adversely affected by a Major Service Change is twenty percent (20%) more than non-minority population adversely affected by the Major Service Change. For a Fare Change, a disparate impact may exist if the difference between the average fare increase (represented as a % change) for minority populations and the average fare increase (represented as a % change) for non-minority populations is greater than 5% (percentage points). For example, if the average fare increase on minority riders was 10% and the average fare increase on non-minority riders was 4%, the difference is greater than 5% and would be considered disparate. 

Disproportionate Burden - For Major Service Changes, a disproportionate burden may exist when the low income population adversely affected by a Major Service Change is twenty percent (20%) more than non-low income population adversely affected by the Major Service Change. For a Fare Change, a disproportionate burden may exist if the difference between the average fare increase (represented as a % change) for low-income populations and the average fare increase (represented as a % change) for non-low income populations is greater than 5% (percentage points). For example, if the average fare increase on low income riders was 10% and the average fare increase on non-low income riders was 4%, the difference is greater than 5% and would be considered disproportionate. 

Minority Route - A Minority Route is a route that serves an area with a population with a higher percentage of minorities than the Montgomery County average as determined by the most recent and available US Census. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the total population and minority population residing within ¼ of a mile of a bus route are tabulated except for express routes where the service area is 1 mile from the park and ride lot or transfer center. 

SERVICE STANDARDS

Standard

Definition

Calculation

Vehicle Load

Average ratio of passengers per seat per bus during a service hour at the maximum load point

Peak period maximum load factor of 1.2 on regular routes and 1.0 on express routes. Off-peak service maximum load factors of 1.0 on all service types.

Headway

Maximum scheduled time interval between buses

Maximum 30 minutes peak headway during peak and off-peak periods. 

Schedule Adherence

Percent adherence to scheduled service.

Goal 85 % on time performance for delivered trips, difference between scheduled time and actual time arriving at a time point based on a window of no more than 2 minutes early or 7 minutes late.

Service Coverage

Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ) that have 3+ households per acre and/or 4+ jobs per acre are served by Ride On and / or Metro Bus routes. 

Using the most recent data, TAZs meeting the threshold are analyzed for the presence of Ride On and / or Metro Bus service. 

SERVICE POLICIES

Service Policy

Montgomery County Policy

Vehicle Assignment

Vehicles are assigned to routes based on ridership demands, road conditions, service type, and maintenance garage capacity and vehicle technologies (e.g., CNG fueling only provided at EMTOC). 

Distribution of Transit Amenities

Ride On will equitably provide amenities such as shelters and knee walls at bus stops where Ride On has decision-making authority.

APPROVAL PROCEDURES

Fare Change - It is expected that fare changes will be proposed jointly with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). WMATA's Fare Change Equity Analysis will be utilized by Montgomery County in determining potential impacts resulting from a proposed Fare Change. The required public involvement and community outreach will be conducted cooperatively with WMATA. In the event of a Fare Change that only affects Ride On bus services the Division of Transit Services Office of Service Planning will be responsible for completing the Fare Change Equity Analysis and the Division of Transit Services Marketing Office will be responsible for conducting and documenting the public involvement activities. Upon completion of the Fare Change Equity Analysis and the required public involvement, the Montgomery County Council will follow its procedures in reviewing and approving the Fare Change. Additional public meetings may be conducted by the Montgomery County Council.

Major Service Change - The Division of Transit Services Office of Service Planning is responsible for developing service changes and will identify any service change that meets the definition of Major Service Change. For each Major Service Change, the Division of Transit Services Office of Service Planning will complete a Major Service Change Equity Analysis. The Division of Transit Services Marketing Office will conduct and document the public involvement required for Major Service Changes consistent with Ride On's Public Participation Plan. Upon completion of the Major Service Change Equity Analysis and the required public involvement, the Montgomery County Council will follow its procedures in reviewing and approving the Major Service Change. Additional public meetings may be conducted by the Montgomery County Council. 

 

 

Yasmin Reyazuddin 
Aging & Disability Services 
Montgomery County Government 
Department of Health & Human Services 
401 Hungerford Drive (3rd floor) 
Rockville MD 20850 
240-777-0311 (MC311) 
240-777-1556 (personal) 
240-777-1495 (fax) 
office hours 8:30 am 5:00 pm 
Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Braille 

This message may contain protected health information or other information that is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by return mail and destroy any copies of this material. 

Thank you.

 

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