Metro’s Civil Rights Review Oddyssey

A few months ago I spotted on the bus a new take one multilingual brochure titled "Metro Notice of Civil Rights". Informational placards with the same information also popped up on Metrorail equipment. I recognized this as the latest component of the actions Metro has undertaken to satisfy the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regarding its obligations under what is known as Title VI when making changes to service or fares.

I have written previously some of these actions which included placing stickers on vehicles and making presentations on plans for corrective action seeking input from the Service Councils. Subsequently Metro has been engaged in a giant exercise of outreach and preparing lengthy reports documenting its compliance with Title VI.

Evidently all this activity has bore fruit with the news that the FTA has declared Metro is now in compliance with Title VI.

This doesn't mean Metro can rest on its laurels. In fact the current round of service council meetings will receive presentations on two civil rights topics: Title VI Public Participation Plan and planned actions to deal with growing Americans with Disabilities (ADA) ridership.

Kudos to Daniel Levy, Metro's Civil Rights Program Compliance Director, and his staff for successfully navigating what was likely a rather daunting set of challenges in answering the concerns of the FTA. And obviously will keep at it going forward.