Measuring Equity in Public Transit Service: LA Metro and the Post-Decree Era

USDOT Grant 69A3551747109, Caltrans Task Order TO 054In 1994, the Labor/Community Strategy Center and other Los Angeles County community organizations and local residents brought a Title VI civil rights class action against the County's Metropolitan Transit Authority (LA Metro), charging the agency with unlawfully discriminating against inner-city and transit-dependent bus riders in its allocation of public transportation resources. The landmark suit led to a consent decree in 1996. The coalition of transit justice advocates utilized the legal system over several years to challenge agency policies with the goal of having LA Metro treat its transit-dependent low-income bus riders of color equitably. This white paper examines the research question: to what extent do the arguments made in the legal case that led to the 1996 consent decree continue to remain in the post-decree era (2010-2020)? Using a mixed-method approach that draws on legal research, semi-structured interviews, and quantitative indicators, we conclude that many arguments made in the case that led to the consent decree remain salient concerns for advancing transit justice in Los Angeles. We recommend transit agencies work to recognize and address the persistence of systemic racial disparities in transit planning and service