APPENDIX C

Case Example Discussion Guide

Defining Equity

Project definition - equity in transit:

1. Does this definition align with your how your agency/organization defines equity?
   1. Yes
   2. No
      1. If no: How does your agency/organization define it or what would you add/change?
         1. Has this definition been formally adopted by the governing body or similarly “embraced” officially?
            1. Yes
            2. No

Institutional structure and governance of the transit agencies in the region

1. Please briefly describe how your agency/organization is governed (e.g., a board of directors).
2. How is the responsibility for service equity assigned/distributed between decision makers and staff?
3. What elements of collaboration are leveraged? How do you partner inside and outside to work on equity?
4. Do you have any oversight bodies (e.g., a Transit Advisory Panel)? What is their relationship with day-to-day service and with equity initiatives?

Current and Potential Non-Traditional Performance Indicators

1. Please provide your agency’s/organization’s goals and describe how equity is incorporated in those goals.
   1. How were the goals established?
   2. What role, beyond mandated requirements, did stakeholders and governing agencies play in establishing the goals?
2. Please describe your agency’s/organization’s non-traditional performance indicators.
   1. How do these indicators help track progress towards equity-focused goals?
   2. What is the process for creating these indicators?
3. Has your agency/organization attempted to reframe any traditional performance measures (e.g., ridership) for use as an equity indicator? If yes: Please describe what was done and how well it worked (good, bad, or otherwise).
4. Does your agency/organization track any of these equity-relevant performance measures? (omit/confirm any that we asked in previous questions)
   1. On-time performance
   2. Fare categories (e.g., discounted fares for people with low incomes)
   3. Use of mobility device (e.g., wheelchairs) or use of wheelchair lift
   4. Trips provided to specific destination types / essential services (e.g., stores, clinics)
   5. Trips requesting passenger assistance
   6. Level of service in areas with sociodemographic indicators

Target Setting and Recent Performance

1. What is your agency’s/organization’s process for establishing equity performance targets?
   1. Is that process different than target setting for traditional/other transit metrics (e.g., on-time performance)?
2. How has your agency/organization performed recently according to these targets?
   1. How often do you revisit these targets? Is there a specified frequency to measure performance or does it happen on an on-going basis?
3. What happens when a target is met? Does the performance measure remain in place as-is, get re-worked to further improve, or get retired? Something else?
   1. What about when a target is not met? Are any potential actions/steps triggered as a result?
4. Is information about equity performance targets and measure results available publicly? If so, how is it made available/disseminated?
   1. Would you be able to provide a copy/copies of recent reports?

Engagement and Responsiveness

1. Has your agency/organization implemented any changes (service, infrastructure/vehicles, or organizational/administrative) in an effort to improve equity and the experience of its customers in the last five years?
   1. Please describe the changes made.