As a recipient of Federal transit funding, MET Transit is required to have a Title VI Program in place with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).  Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states: "No person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal assistance based on race, color, or national origin."  In addition to the requirement to submit an updated Title VI Program every three years, on August 28, 2012, the FTA published a notice in the Federal Register announcing changes to the Title VI Circular.  One of the new requirements of the Circular is that the MET's Title VI Program, including any updates to the program, must now be approved by the City Council. Updates to the Title VI Program include new contact information, an update to the foreign language interpreter list, an updated inventory of the locations of the MET's bus shelters and bus benches, and an update in the ridership information/data.

City Council may:

• Approve the updated Title VI Program; or
• Disapprove the updated Title VI Program and jeopardize receiving any further FTA grant funding.

As a recipient of Federal transit funding, MET must have a Title VI Program in place.  Failure to submit an updated Program may jeopardize or delay the award of the annual $1.8 million FTA operating grant, as well as any capital grants.

Staff recommends that the City Council approve the updated Title VI Program.