REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GREGORY A. BARFIELD, Assistant City Manager
Interim Director
Department of Transportation
BY: CAROLINA ILIC, Planning Manager
Department of Transportation, Planning Division
JEFF LONG, Senior Transit Planner
Department of Transportation, Planning Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve two Title VI Fare Equity Analyses for the Department of Transportation/Fresno Area Express (FAX), including (1) an updated analysis of the new fare structure enacted in September 2021 which now contains a determination on free fares for veterans and active-duty military, and (2) an analysis of temporary free fares for Reduced Fare riders.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, staff recommends that Council approve:
(1) the Title VI Fare Equity Analysis: New Fare Structure, and (2) the Title VI Fare Equity Analysis: Free Fares for Reduced Fare Riders, funded by Kaiser Permanente Fresno until Funds are Expended.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Whenever FAX proposes changes to its fare or fare media, FAX is required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to prepare a Title VI Fare Equity Analysis. The purpose of the Title VI analysis is to evaluate how the fare changes impact low-income and minority populations and identify strategies to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any disproportionate burdens, disparate impacts, or any potentially negative outcomes.
In September 2021, FAX implemented a fare change, reducing the cost of a base fare from $1.25 to $1.00. FAX also decreased fares for seniors 65 and older, disabled, and Medicare cardholders on both fixed route service and paratransit. In addition, children under 12 as well as veterans and active-duty military members with proper ID were designated to ride for free. The original Title VI Fare Equity Analysis, approved by the City Council on October 14, 2021, found that there were no disparate impacts or disproportionate burdens, except possibly for the free fares for veterans/military members, which could potentially cause a disparate impact or disproportionate burden, which would require additional data to be collected through the 2022 FAX Passenger Satisfaction Survey. The updated Title VI Fare Equity Analysis finds that, per correspondence with the FTA, equity analyses are not required for veterans and active duty-military. In summary, none of the fare changes implemented in September 2021 result in a disparate impact or disproportionate burden, and mitigation measures do not need to be considered for these changes.
In 2022, the City of Fresno received a $500,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Fresno for public transit. In spring 2022, the Fresno City Council approved a resolution directing FAX to temporarily subsidize bus fares on fixed route transit for seniors 65 and older, Medicare card holders, and persons with disability placards. The subsidies went into effect on July 1, 2022 and will continue until the grant funds have been expended, resulting in a pilot program of free fares for Reduced Fare program passengers. The Title VI Fare Equity Analysis concludes that the pilot fare program does not result in a disparate impact or disproportionate burden, and mitigation measures do not need to be considered for these changes.
BACKGROUND
Background And Results
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the FTA requires all transit agencies that receive federal funding to monitor the performance of their systems, ensuring services are made available and/or distributed equitably. One component of ensuring compliance is performing an equity analysis for all fare changes, regardless of whether the fares are increasing or decreasing, to determine any potential impacts on minority (race, color, or national origin) and low-income populations.
As defined in the FAX 2019 Title VI Program adopted by the Council on October 24, 2019, a disparate impact exists if a fare change requires a minority population to bear adverse effects by 20 percent or more than the adverse effects borne by the general population, and a disproportionate burden exists if a fare change requires a low-income population to bear adverse effects by 20 percent or more than the adverse effects borne by the general population.
New Fare Structure
On September 1, 2021, FAX reduced fares across all fare types. As explained in the October 14, 2021, City Council report, the previous and new prices, as well as percent changes, are detailed below.
Fixed-Route Buses
|
Fare |
Previous Price |
New Price |
Percent Change |
|
Base Fare |
$1.25 |
$1.00 |
-20% |
|
Reduced Fare* |
$0.60 |
$0.50 |
-17% |
|
Children Under 6 |
Free |
Free |
0% |
|
Children 7-12 |
$1.25 |
Free |
-100% |
|
Military and Veterans, with valid ID |
$1.25 |
Free |
-100% |
|
10 Ride Card |
$11.25 |
$9.00 |
-20% |
|
10 Ride Card - Reduced Fare* |
$6.00 |
$4.50 |
-25% |
|
31-Day Pass |
$48.00 |
$36.00 |
-25% |
|
31-Day Pass - Reduced Fare* |
$24.00 |
$18.00 |
-25% |
Handy Ride
|
Fare |
Previous Price |
New Price |
Percent Change |
|
Base Fare (single ride) |
$1.50 |
$1.25 |
-17% |
|
Monthly Pass |
$48.00 |
$36.00 |
-25% |
* Reduced fare: Available to seniors 65 and older with a valid ID, Medicare cardholders, and persons with disabilities with a valid ID.
Collectively, FAX reduced fares by 17 to 25 percent across all fare types on both fixed route and Handy Ride services, as well as expanded its existing set of free fares. The fare changes brought base and reduced fares better in line, so that all reduced fare prices, regardless of pass type, are half the cost of the equivalent base fare, and established new categories for free rides, including for children between 7 and 12 years old and for veterans and active-duty members of the military. While this may not seem like an equity concern, a fare equity analysis was necessary to ensure that the benefits of the fare reduction were not going disproportionally to non-minority and non-low-income communities.
The original Title VI Fare Equity Analysis determined that due to the consistency of fare reductions across all fare types and due to the relatively similar rates at which low-income and non-low-income and minority and non-minority individuals use different fare types, there was no disparate impact or disproportionate burden on fixed route service due to the fare reduction. There was also no disparate impact or disproportionate burden found for Handy Ride services, for similar reasons.
The original analysis also found that the expansion of the free fare policy to active military members and veterans could result in a potential disparate impact and disproportionate burden because American Communities Survey (ACS) data showed that 54.4 percent of veterans were non-minority, versus 31.9 percent of all city residents and 11.2 percent of veterans fell below the federal poverty line, compared to 22.5 percent of all city residents. These differences were greater than the 20 percent threshold included in the FAX 2019 Title VI Program and indicated that there could be a potential disparate impact and/or disproportionate burden in providing free fares to veterans. However, there was not enough specific demographic and economic data collected in the 2018 FAX Passenger Satisfaction Survey on local veterans that ride FAX to confirm this. FAX therefore committed to collecting this data as part of its 2022 passenger satisfaction survey and using the results to determine if the policy would cause a disparate impact or disproportionate burden.
Public Outreach on the New Fare Structure
FAX conducted public outreach throughout the month of August 2021 to inform riders of the fare changes and solicit feedback. A virtual workshop was held on August 25th at 5 pm on the Fresno FAX Facebook and YouTube pages. In addition, FAX held 14 pop-up events geographically dispersed throughout the 7 council districts and at the highest ridership stops in the FAX system to reach the greatest number of passengers. Both the virtual workshop and the series of pop-up events were held in English and Spanish, and a sign-language interpreter provided interpretation at the virtual workshop. In addition to the workshop and pop-up events, FAX undertook an extensive advertising effort in English and Spanish to inform riders about the fare changes as well as to provide the dates, times, and locations of the outreach events.
Results of Fare Equity Analysis for New Fare Structure
The updated Title VI Fare Equity Analysis concludes that the expansion of free fares to veterans and active-duty military is not a Title VI issue. In subsequent correspondence with the FTA, the FTA informed FAX that fare equity analyses are not required for veterans and active duty-military. Demographic data for veterans from the US Census and the 2022 On-Board Survey was included in the Equity Analysis for monitoring purposes. In spring 2022, FAX conducted a survey of riders that included a question on veteran and military status. The findings from the 2022 survey were similar to the findings from the analysis of ACS demographic data referenced above. Veterans that use FAX are much less likely to be a minority; 42.5 percent of veteran riders are non-minority, compared to 25.4 percent of non-veteran riders. There is a similar disparity in income, with 54.5 percent of veteran riders above 150 percent of federal poverty guidelines, compared to just 20.9 percent of riders as a whole.
Per the FTA, extending free fares to veterans and active-duty military members is not considered a Title VI issue, and as such, mitigation measures do not need to be considered. Nonetheless, FAX should continue to conduct outreach to minority and low-income riders to ensure that minority and low-income populations know that these programs are available to them.
Temporary Free Fares For Reduced Fare Riders (Kaiser Grant)
In 2022, the City of Fresno received a $500,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Fresno for public transit. In spring 2022, the Fresno City Council approved a resolution directing FAX to temporarily subsidize bus fares on fixed route transit for seniors 65 and older, Medicare card holders, and persons with disability placards. The subsidies went into effect on July 1, 2022, and will continue until the grant funds have been expended, resulting in a pilot program of free fares for Reduced Fare program passengers. The Title VI Fare Equity Analysis concludes that the pilot fare program does not result in a disparate impact or disproportionate burden, and mitigation measures do not need to be considered for these changes.
Public Outreach on the Free Fares for Reduced Fare Riders
FAX conducted public outreach prior to the implementation of the pilot program, undertaking an extensive advertising effort in English and Spanish. FAX posted information about the fare change on the FAX homepage, directing users to more information on the fares and passes page of the website. A flyer advertising the fare program in both English and Spanish was posted on FAX buses. To ensure the broadest reach, FAX ran ads in The Advocate newspaper in English and the Vida En La Valle newspaper in Spanish on June 29, 2022. FAX also advertised the program at major transit centers and on some highly utilized bus shelters. FAX shared information regarding the fare changes through its newsletter and social media. FAX’s marketing campaign is detailed in Appendix B of the analysis.
Results of Fare Equity Analysis for the Free Fares for Reduced Fare Riders
On July 1, 2022, FAX initiated a pilot program financed by Kaiser Permanente Fresno that allows reduced fare riders - seniors, Medicare cardholders, and persons with disabilities - to ride for free until the funding is expended. Although specific data on these populations was unavailable, no disparate impact or disproportionate burden was found since these populations already receive reduced fares, and no one is excluded from these populations based on race or income. FAX conducted significant public outreach to inform riders of the program, including outreach in Spanish. FAX should continue to conduct outreach, especially in low-income and minority neighborhoods to ensure those that are eligible for the program take advantage of it.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA Guidelines), approving these two Title VI Fare Equity Analyses is not a “project” for the purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable as the adoption of the Title VI Fare Equity Analyses is not an award of a contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no additional cost associated with the approval of these analyses. The preparation of these analyses was financed in part through a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the FTA, and in part through local funds from the Fresno Council of Governments.
Attachments:
FAX Title VI Fare Equity Analysis: New Fare Structure, August 2021; Updated June 2022
FAX Title VI Fare Equity Analysis: Free Fares for Reduced Fare Riders, Funded by Kaiser Permanente Fresno until Funds are Expended, August 2022