Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 18, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: SERVICE POLICIES AND STANDARDS COMPLIANCE REVIEW FOR TITLE VI PROGRAM UPDATE
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
ADOPT Service Policies and Standards Compliance Review for Title VI Program Update (Attachment A).
Issue
ISSUE
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires the Metro Board of Directors to review and approve the service policies and standards compliance monitoring results for Metro bus and rail services every three years as part of the Title VI Program Update.
Background
BACKGROUND
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) prohibits discrimination in programs that receive federal funding. Section 601 states, "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
On October 1, 2012, the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) required transportation agencies to comply with Title VI by adopting policies in accordance with FTA Circular 4702.1B "Title VI Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients. This requires transportation agencies to monitor the performance of their transit system relative to their system-wide service standards and service policies, and include the results in the Title VI Program update, which is due every three years. These service standards should be followed for the three-year period until the next program update.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Metro's Board of Directors last approved the monitoring results from the Title VI Program Update in September 2022. Since then, there have been minimal changes to Metro's Service Policies and Standards, as reflected in the 2025 Transit Service Policy that was adopted in July 2025. The Transit Service Policies and Standards provide guidance for the provision of bus and rail services. The following Metro service standards and policies were reviewed for compliance:
1. Service Availability
2. Classification of Services
3. Headway Standards
4. Loading Standards
5. On-Time Performance Standards
6. Stop Spacing Standards
7. Passenger Amenities Standards
8. Vehicle Assignment Standards
In general, most service standards were in compliance:
* Service availability, rail load standards, passenger amenity standards, and vehicle assignment standards had no issues.
* Bus load factors for the period checked showed five weekday, two Saturday and one Sunday line that slightly exceeded load standard. These issues have been addressed including through running all service more reliably and adjusting trip times or in some cases adding extra trips added where demand remained high in a given time period. The period measured is the busiest during the year.
* Stop spacing standards when strictly measured show 29 of 104 local lines non-compliant with wider than targeted average stop spacing. However, all of these cases of wider stop spacing are acceptable based on allowed exceptions described in the policy such as areas where stops cannot be provided and are not warranted for open space areas, freeway segments, and bridges. Most stops are closer than the maximum spacing in the standard with the cases allowed in the exceptions creating a slightly wider than standard average spacing on those lines. However, the average systemwide stop spacing of 0.24 miles for local lines is within the standard of 0.25 miles.
* Headway standards, for 19 weekday lines and one weekend line were resulting from the exact timing of each trip in the transition into or out of peak period. These will be addressed with individual schedules reviews and as further improvements are made consistent with Metro's NextGen Bus Plan. The vast majority of the time periods reviewed had the target frequency of service met.
However, bus on-time performance, while still in need of overall improvements, saw improved weekday and Saturday results since the last review in 2022 to over 76% weekday and 74% Saturday, though Sunday declined to 74%. Metro Transit Service Delivery is proactively focusing on new efforts to improve bus on-time performance, including additional support for operators with lower on-time performance, as well as additional monitoring for more consistent on-time terminal and yard departures. Most recent data from June 2025 has shown OTP above 80%. New bus lanes and other bus speed and reliability enhancements are also being implemented through the NextGen Bus Plan project to help improve bus service reliability. In addition, bus line schedules are continually reviewed and adjusted to reflect changing run time needs.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Service standards include items such as loading standards, on-time performance standards, and passenger amenity standards, which all support a safer operation of Metro transit services.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Failure to approve the Service Policies and Standards Compliance Review could result in an incomplete Title VI Program Update, which could potentially result in the loss of federal funding.
Impact to Budget
Adoption of the Title VI Equity Policies has no direct impact on Metro's expenditures or revenues. Approval is consistent with the implementation of the service included in the adopted FY2026 Budget.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Title VI sets the minimum federal requirements to prevent discrimination or benefits from being denied to federally protected groups, as noted above. The monitoring of transit service for Title VI purposes meets the federal requirements, as it ensures that Metro's Service Policies and Standards are applied consistently throughout the system. The monitoring also provides a means to measure and adjust for impacts and benefits to protected groups, which supports Metro's goal to ensure that impacts on marginalized groups are considered in transportation decisions and service delivery.
Though some progress has been made on weekdays and Saturdays, the bus on-time performance still is being campaigned and recent data shows results above 80% OTP towards the 85.0% standard. Further efforts are continuing to be made by Transit Service Delivery to enhance bus on-time performance, as outlined in the discussion section above. This standard is particularly important for those who rely on Metro buses for access to jobs, education, and services.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled_Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro's significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro's Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California's statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
As part of these ongoing efforts, this item is expected to contribute to further reductions in VMT. While this item does not directly encourage taking transit, sharing a ride, or using active transportation, it is a vital part of Metro operations, as it monitors transit services for Title VI purposes to meet federal requirements. Because the Metro Board has adopted an agency-wide VMT Reduction Target, and this item supports the overall function of the agency, this item is consistent with the goals of reducing VMT.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans' Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The recommendation supports strategic plan goal #5: Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The alternative is to not include the Board-approved Service Policies and Standards Compliance Review. Failure to include Board-approved Service Policies and Standards Compliance Review may result in FTA not concurring with Metro's Title VI Program Update. This alternative is not recommended as it could result in the suspension of federal grants due to non-compliance with civil rights requirements.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, Metro's Title VI Program Update will be submitted to FTA by the due date of October 1, 2025.
Attachment
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A - Service Policies and Standards Compliance Review FY23 - FY25
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Stewart Chesler, Transportation Planning Manager, (213) 922-2826
Joe Forgiarini, Senior Executive Officer, Service Development, (213) 418-3400
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, (213) 418-3034
Digitally approved by Stephanie Wiggins, Chief Executive Officer