Proposed Major Service Adjustment Plan April 2018 Service Changes

DC Circulator Proposed Major Service Adjustment Plan April 2018 Service Changes

Table of Contents

1.0 Summary of Proposed Major Service Adjustment ...... 4

1.1. Major Service Changes ...... 4

1.1.1. Major Service Change Definitions ...... 4

1.1.2. Proposed Major Service Changes ...... 4

1.2. Other Service Changes ...... 5

2.0 Proposed Timeline for Implementation of Proposed Major Service Adjustment ...... 7

3.0 Proposed Major Service Adjustment Title VI Service Equity Analysis ...... 8

3.1. Introduction ...... 8

3.1.1. Title VI Policies ...... 8

3.1.1.1. FTA Requirements ...... 8

3.1.1.1.1. Service Equity Analysis Overview ...... 9

3.1.1.2. Relevant DDOT Title VI Policies ...... 10

3.1.1.2.1. Disparate Impact and Disproportionate Burden ...... 10

3.1.2. Methodology ...... 11

3.1.3. Data ...... 13

3.2. Summary of Major Service Changes ...... 14

3.2.1. Potomac Avenue Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row (PS) ...... 14

3.2.2. Union Station – Navy Yard Metro (US-NY) ...... 18

3.2.3. Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US) ...... 21

3.3. Disparate Impact and Disproportionate Burden Analysis ...... 24

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3.3.1. Minority and Low-Income Populations in DC Circulator Service Area ...... 24

3.3.2. Package Analysis ...... 24

3.3.3. Summary ...... 27

4.0 Necessity of Major Service Adjustments and Alternatives Examined ...... 28

4.1. Potomac Avenue Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row (PS) ...... 28

4.2. Union Station – Navy Yard Metro (US-NY) ...... 28

4.3. Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US) ...... 29 List of Tables

Table 1 | Proposed Timeline for Implementation of Proposed Major Service Changes ...... 7 Table 2 | Major Service Changes Summary ...... 14 Table 3 | Major Service Change Segments on Potomac Avenue Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row Route ...... 15 Table 4 | Major Service Change Segments on Union Station – Navy Yard Metro Route ...... 18 Table 5 | Major Service Change Segments on Georgetown – Union Station Route ...... 21 Table 6 | DC Circulator Disparate Impact Thresholds ...... 24 Table 7 | DC Circulator Disproportionate Burden Thresholds ...... 24 Table 8 | Disparate Impact - Summary of Adverse Changes ...... 25 Table 9 | Disparate Impact - Summary of Beneficial Changes ...... 25 Table 10 | Disproportionate Burden - Summary of Adverse Changes ...... 26 Table 11 | Disproportionate Burden - Summary of Beneficial Changes ...... 26

List of Figures

Figure 1 | Proposed PS Alignment Changes - Minority Block Groups ...... 16 Figure 2 | Proposed PS Alignment Changes - Low Income Block Groups ...... 17 Figure 3 | Proposed US-NY Alignment Changes - Minority Block Groups ...... 19 Figure 4 | Proposed US-NY Alignment Changes – Low-Income Block Groups ...... 20 Figure 5 | Proposed GT-US Weekend Span Changes – Minority Block Groups ...... 22 Figure 6 | Proposed GT-US Weekend Span Changes – Low-Income Block Groups ...... 23

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1.0 Summary of Proposed Major Service Adjustment

1.1. Major Service Changes

1.1.1. Major Service Change Definitions District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Rule 18-1503: Fare Adjustments, Service Adjustments, and Public Participation requires DDOT to prepare a Major Service Adjustment Plan that includes a summary of the proposed major service adjustment, a proposed timeline implementation of the major service adjustment, an equity analysis illustrating any disparate impact or disproportionate burden of the proposed major service adjustment on populations protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (consistent with FTA Circular 4702.1B), and an explanation of the necessity of the proposed major service adjustment.

DDOT’s 2016-2018 Title VI Program established criteria for DDOT’s Major Service Change, Disparate Impact, and Disproportionate Burden policies. DDOT defines a major service change as:

• Changing frequency of the buses/streetcars (how often they arrive) on a route by more than 5 minutes. • Altering the geographic alignment of more than 25 percent of a bus or streetcar route’s miles. • Change a route’s span of service by more than three hours in a day. • Creation or elimination of a route or line. • Elimination of a bus stop or streetcar stop along a portion of a route or line that would force a 0.5 mile or more increase in walking to access the same route or line.

1.1.2. Proposed Major Service Changes DDOT has proposed major service changes to three DC Circulator routes.

• Potomac Ave Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row (PS) would no longer serve the Potomac Avenue Metrorail station or Skyland Town Center. Instead, the route would connect Union Station and Congress Heights Metrorail station via Barracks Row and Downtown Anacostia. Additionally, the route would have permanent Saturday service from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM and new Sunday service from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM. More information and maps can be seen in Section 3.2.1.

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• Union Station – Navy Yard Metro (US-NY) would no longer serve Union Station. Instead, the route would connect the Eastern Market Metrorail station and L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station via Barracks Row, M Street SE/SW, and the Waterfront Metrorail station. Additionally, the route would have permanent Saturday service from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM and new Sunday service from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM. More information and maps can be seen in Section 3.2.2. • Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US) previously ran late-night service only between Wisconsin Avenue and the McPherson Square Metrorail station. During WMATA’s SafeTrack Metrorail maintenance surges in October 2016, DDOT temporarily extended late-night service on GT-US to cover the entire route. Under the proposed change, the route segment from McPherson Square to Union Station would permanently run late-night service from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM on Friday and Saturday. More information and maps can be seen in Section 3.2.3.

1.2. Other Service Changes DDOT has also proposed other service changes which do not meet DDOT’s definition of a major service change. These service changes are not part of the following plan and analysis, which only reflect proposed major service changes. DDOT will hold a separate comment period for these service changes, listed below, after January 2018.

• Woodley Park – Adams Morgan – McPherson Square Metro (WP-AM) changed its service start time from 7:00 AM to 6:00 AM during the October 2016 SafeTrack Metrorail maintenance surges. DDOT proposes to make this change permanent. • Dupont Circle – Georgetown – Rosslyn (RS-DP) changed its service start time from 7:00 AM to 6:00 AM during the October 2016 SafeTrack Metrorail maintenance surges. It also changed its service end time from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM during the same time period. DDOT proposes to make this change permanent. • Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US) changed its service start time from 7:00 AM to 6:00 AM during the October 2016 SafeTrack Metrorail maintenance surges. It also changed its service end time from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM during the same time period. These changes affected the entire route. DDOT proposes to make these changes permanent. • Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US) stop consolidation will make the route more efficient. DDOT proposes to remove the following eastbound GT-US stops: • New York Avenue at 9th Street NW • K Street at 11th Street NW

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• Pennsylvania Avenue at 21st Street NW • Pennsylvania Avenue at 28th Street NW • M Street at Thomas Jefferson Street NW • Wisconsin Avenue at P Street NW

DDOT proposes to remove the following westbound GT-US stops:

• New York Avenue at 9th Street NW • 21st Street at K Street NW • Wisconsin Avenue at P Street NW

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2.0 Proposed Timeline for Implementation of Proposed Major Service Adjustment

Table 1 presents the timeline for the implementation of the proposed major service changes, including the public comment period and opportunities available for public comment.

Table 1 | Proposed Timeline for Implementation of Proposed Major Service Changes

Milestone Date Notes

Notice of Proposed Major Service December 16, 2017 Changes Published in the D.C. Register

Notice of Proposed Major Service December 16, 2017 Changes placed on DC Circulator Buses

Comments will be accepted via a December 16, 2017 comment form on the webpage, via Public Comment Period – January 19, 2018 phone call, or via paper form available on all DC Circulator buses

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, The Miracle Public Hearing on Proposed Changes January 4, 2018 Theatre, 535 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003

Implementation Plan Published on DC

Circulator Website

Notice of Final Rulemaking Amending DC Circulator’s service published in D.C. Register

Notice of Service Changes Posted on all DC Circulator buses and the DC Circulator website

Service Change Implemented April 2018

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3.0 Proposed Major Service Adjustment Title VI Service Equity Analysis

3.1. Introduction District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Rule 18-1503: Fare Adjustments, Service Adjustments, and Public Participation requires DDOT to prepare a Major Service Adjustment Plan that includes a summary of the proposed major service changes, timeline for their implementation, an equity analysis illustrating any disparate impact of the proposed major service adjustment on populations protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,1 and an explanation of the necessity of the proposed major service adjustment.

Proposed service changes on three DC Circulator routes meet the definition of a “Major Service Change” as defined in DDOT’s 2016-2018 Title VI Program, developed under the guidance of FTA C 4702.1B, “Title VI Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients.”

3.1.1. Title VI Policies

3.1.1.1. FTA Requirements This analysis was conducted in accordance with FTA Circular 4702.1B, Title VI Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients. The Circular requires, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) undertake an evaluation of any proposed major service change to determine whether it has a discriminatory impact on Title VI protected minority populations or on low-income populations. Any transit operator with at least 50 vehicles in peak service is required to conduct a service equity analysis.

The FTA Circular states that the analysis should include:

• A statement of the agency’s “disparate impact” and “disproportionate burden” policies and how the public was engaged in developing the policies.

1 District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, Rule 18-503; Fare Adjustments, Service Adjustments, and Public Participation. Accessed at http://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/RuleHome.aspx?RuleNumber=18-1503

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• A clear explanation of how the proposed service changes meets or exceed the operator’s Major Service Change Policy. Changes that exceed the major service change policy must be analyzed for disparate impact and disproportionate burden. • A description of the public engagement process for setting the major service change policy, Disparate Impact policy, and Disproportionate Burden policy. • Inclusion of a copy of DDOT’s Administrator’s approval (in the final document submitted to FTA) demonstrating consideration, awareness, and approval of the major service change policy. • An analysis that takes into effect any adverse effects related to a major service change, and demonstration that DDOT has analyzed service between the existing and proposed service, and has considered the degree of adverse effects when planning service changes. • Description of data and methodology used in service equity analysis. • Overlay maps and tables showing how the proposed service changes would impact minority and low-income populations. • If a disparate impact is found, DDOT will clearly demonstrate substantial legitimate justification for the proposed service change and analysis of alternatives for disparate impacts or that they have sought to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the impacts of a finding of disproportionate burden. 3.1.1.1.1. Service Equity Analysis Overview

Transit providers with 50 or more vehicles in peak service must consider the equity impacts of proposed major service changes, as well proposed fare changes. They do this by conducting service equity analyses and fare equity analyses before service or fare changes can be implemented. Service equity analyses and fare equity analyses measure the distribution of adverse and beneficial impacts of proposed service and fare changes. They do this by comparing major service change and fare change impacts on minority and low-income populations against impacts on non-minority and non-low-income populations. To make these comparisons, transit providers must develop policies that define and address:

• Minority Populations (Disparate Impact): Transit providers must develop a disparate impact policy that describes how the provider compares service and fare change impacts on minority populations, compared to non-minority populations. This policy is included in the transit provider’s Title VI Program. • Low-Income Populations (Disproportionate Burden): Transit providers must also develop a disproportionate burden policy to describe how they determine when adverse effects of service and fare changes disproportionately impact low-income populations. This policy is included in the transit provider’s Title VI Program.

Only major service changes require a service equity analysis. Transit providers must develop thresholds to help them identify whether a service change is a “major service change.” For example, a transit provider

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might specify that only services changes that alter more than 25 percent of a bus route’s geographic alignment, eliminate a route, or change the span of service by three or more hours in a day, qualify as a major service change. This definition of what constitutes a major service change is included in the transit provider’s Title VI Program.

Once a major service change is identified, a transit provider must conduct a disparate impact and disproportionate burden analysis to compare the adverse or beneficial impacts of the major service change on minority and low-income populations against impacts on non-minority and non-low-income populations. This is done by applying the transit provider’s disparate impact (minority) and disproportionate burden (low-income) policies. A transit provider’s disparate impact definition (included in their Title VI Program) might state that a disparate impact occurs “when the percentage of minority riders bearing adverse effects due to a major service change is 15 percent or greater than the percentage of non-minority riders.” Under this definition, if a transit provider’s disparate impact definition threshold is 15 percent, and their systemwide ridership is 30 percent minority – but the provider wants to eliminate a local bus route with 50 percent minority ridership, causing an adverse effect – they would find a disparate impact, because the distribution of adverse effects is above the 15 percent threshold set in the transit provider’s disparate impact policy. The same process applies for a transit provider’s disproportionate burden policy and process.

3.1.1.2. Relevant DDOT Title VI Policies DDOT’s 2016-2018 Title VI Program established criteria for the Major Service Change, Disparate Impact, and Disproportionate Burden policies. DDOT defines a major service change as:

3.1.1.2.1. Disparate Impact and Disproportionate Burden

Disparate Impact (DI) refers to a facially neutral policy or practice that disproportionately affects members of a group identified by race, color, or national origin. DDOT defines a disparate impact as occurring when the percentage of minority riders bearing adverse effects due to a major service change DC Circulator Major Service Adjustment Plan 10 April 2018 Service Changes December 2017

is 15 percent or greater than the percentage of non-minority riders. DDOT reviews Disparate Impacts on a cumulative basis.

A Disproportionate Burden (DB) refers to a neutral policy or practice that disproportionately affects low- income populations more than non-low-income populations. DDOT defines a disproportionate burden as occurring when the percentage of low-income riders bearing adverse effects due to a proposed major service change is 15 percent or greater than the percentage of non-low-income riders. DDOT reviews Disproportionate Burdens on a cumulative basis.

DDOT engaged the public in developing definitions for the major service change, disparate impact, and disproportionate burden policies in October and November, 2015. DDOT offered four opportunities for the public to comment on draft policies:

• DDOT website: A handout with the draft policies was posted on DDOT’s website, and members of the public could respond with comments or questions to an email address on the site. • DC Circulator Semi-Annual Open House: A public information board with the draft policies, and dedicated staff person to explain the board and answer questions, were available at the DC Circulator Semi-Annual Open House at Thomson Elementary School on October 6th, 2015 for public questions and comments. • DC Circulator Annual Anacostia Neighborhood Meeting: A public information board with the draft policies, and dedicated staff person to explain the board and answer questions, were available at the DC Circulator Anacostia Neighborhood Meeting at the Anacostia Neighborhood Library on November 4th, 2015, for public questions and comments. • Survey: As a parallel to its larger on-board DC Circulator rider survey, DDOT administered a survey both on its website and at public events that included questions about draft policies. The survey was administered from October 6th and November 13th, 2015.

3.1.2. Methodology DDOT used the following service equity analysis procedures to determine if any of the proposed major service changes create a disproportionate burden or a disparate impact.

1. Determine Major Service Changes: All proposed changes were examined to see if they met DDOT’s definitions of a major service change. 2. Determine Major Service Change Segments: Each route with a major service change was broken into segments to assess how the major service changes affected it. The segments were chosen based on the type of major service change. Once the routes were divided into segments, each segment was then categorized by its service change type, i.e. new service, increase in span, discontinuation of service, and whether the service change was adverse or beneficial for the

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population currently served by the route. An adverse change has a negative effect on riders, and a beneficial change has positive impacts on riders. 3. Determine Impacted Populations: The overall population and the total number of households served were determined for each route segment (identified in Step 2). The total minority population and the total number of low-income households were also determined for each segment. For this analysis, a route’s service area was defined as a one-quarter mile buffer around the route’s current or proposed stops. 4. Determine Cumulative Impacted Populations for Adverse and Beneficial Changes: The total impacted populations, including minority populations and low-income households, were aggregated for adverse changes, and then for beneficial change. 5. Determine DC Circulator Service Area Demographics: The percent of minority population and the percent of low-income households served by the overall DC Circulator system was determined using the same method as individual routes’ service areas. For this analysis, the DC Circulator service area was defined as a one-quarter mile buffer around the network’s current bus stops. 6. Determine Disparate Impact and Disproportionate Burden Thresholds: DDOT’s disparate impact and disproportionate burden definitions were applied to the DC Circulator service area demographics to determine the thresholds for disparate impact and disproportionate burden: a. Disparate Impact Threshold (adverse changes): DC Circulator Service Area’s Percent of Population which is Minority, plus 15 percent. b. Disparate Impact Threshold (beneficial changes): DC Circulator Service Area’s Percent of Population which is Minority, minus 15 percent. c. Disproportionate Burden Threshold (adverse changes): DC Circulator Service Area’s Percent of Households which earn less than $50,000/year, plus 15 percent. d. Disproportionate Burden Threshold (beneficial changes): DC Circulator Service Area’s Percent of Households which earn less than $50,000/year, minus 15 percent. 7. Apply Thresholds to Major Service Changes: Finally, for the adverse and for the beneficial changes separately, the aggregated percent of impacted minority populations and the aggregated percent of impacted low-income households was compared to the appropriate Disparate Impact and Disproportionate Burden thresholds to determine if a Disparate Impact or Disproportionate Burden occurred.

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3.1.3. Data For this analysis, the primary data source was the American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates from 2011-2015, measured at the Census Block Group level. DDOT information and geographic data was also used in order to determine the service areas for the entire DC Circulator system as well as the service areas of the current route alignments that have proposed changes.

For the disparate impact analysis, Table B03002, “Hispanic or Latino Origin by Race,” was used. To determine the percentage of the population that is minority for the DC Circulator service area, total population estimates and minority population estimates (aggregate of all non-white alone categories) for Census Block Groups were used along with bus stop point data and route line data within Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Using GIS, a one-quarter mile buffer was placed around each DC Circulator bus stop and the resulting area was considered the DC Circulator service area. Census block groups contained, either partially or wholly, within the DC Circulator service area were used as part of the calculation for the total population and total minority population served by the network. Similarly, for each route with proposed changes, the same method was used to determine the service area, using the proposed bus stops for each route. The corresponding total population and minority population figures were then calculated.

For the disproportionate burden analysis, Table B19001, “Household Income in the Past 12 Months,” and DDOT bus stop point and route line data within GIS were the data sources used to conduct the analysis. Using the same set of Census Block Groups for the service areas determined in the DI analysis, total number of households and the total number of low-income households were determined.2 Similarly, for each route with proposed changes, the same method was used as in the DI analysis to determine the service area and calculate the corresponding total number of households and the total number of low-income households.

2 For DC Circulator service and fare equity analyses, “Low-Income” is defined as 50 percent of area median income. 50 percent of HUD FY2017 AMI for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria HUD Metro Area is $49,650. For data analysis purposes, a break point of $50,000 was used in this analysis. DC Circulator Major Service Adjustment Plan 13 April 2018 Service Changes December 2017

3.2. Summary of Major Service Changes Table 2 summarizes the type of service change for each of the routes undergoing major service changes in the proposed April 2018 service change package. More detailed descriptions of the service changes follow.

Table 2 | Major Service Changes Summary

Route (Current) Major Service Change Type New Route Name

• Altering geographic alignment of more than 25 percent of a Union Station – Potomac Avenue Metro – route’s miles Congress Heights Metro Skyland via Barracks Row (PS) • Span increases of more than (US-CH) three hours in a day

• Altering geographic alignment of more than 25 percent of a Union Station – Navy Yard Eastern Market Metro – route’s miles Metro (US-NY) L’Enfant Plaza (EM-LP) • Span increases of more than three hours in a day

Georgetown – Union Station • Span increases of more than Not applicable (GT-US) three hours in a day

DDOT plans to implement several other service changes in April 2018 that do not meet DDOT’s major service change definition. For this reason, these changes are not included in the service equity analysis. More information on these changes can be found in Section 1.0.

3.2.1. Potomac Avenue Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row (PS) As seen in Table 3, Potomac Avenue Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row (PS) will experience three types of major service changes: 1) two segments will lose service, 2) two segments will gain new service, and 3) two segments will see a span increase of over three hours in a day. One segment will be discontinued (Segment #3) and one segment (Segment #5) will be introduced, but neither of these segments have stops and therefore will not affect riders. The segments can be seen in the maps Figure 1 and Figure 2.

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Table 3 | Major Service Change Segments on Potomac Avenue Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row Route

Segment Proposed Major Service # Segment Name Description Change

From Alabama Ave SE 1 Good Hope Road Service Discontinued To MLK Jr Ave SE

From Good Hope Rd SE Span Increase to extend Saturday year-round service 2 MLK Jr Avenue To Anacostia Metro (MLK Jr Ave & and introduce Sunday Howard Rd SE) service, 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM From Howard Rd SE Discontinued (no stops on 3 I-295 To 11th Street SE this segment)

From I-295 Span Increase to extend 11th Street Bridge to Saturday year-round service 4 th Eastern Market To Eastern Market Metro (8 St & and introduce Sunday Pennsylvania Ave SE) service, 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM From Good Hope Rd SE New service (no stops on 5 11th Street SE To I-295 this segment) From Potomac Avenue Metro (Potomac Ave & Pennsylvania Ave 6 Pennsylvania Ave SE SE) Service Discontinued To Eastern Market Metro (8th St & Pennsylvania Ave SE) From Congress Heights Metro th 7 Stanton Road SE (Alabama Ave & 13 St SE) New Service To Sheridan Rd & MLK Jr Ave SE From Eastern Market Metro (8th 8 8th Street NE/SE St & Pennsylvania Ave SE) New Service To Union Station

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Figure 1 | Proposed PS Alignment Changes - Minority Block Groups

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Figure 2 | Proposed PS Alignment Changes - Low Income Block Groups

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3.2.2. Union Station – Navy Yard Metro (US-NY) As seen in Table 4, Union Station – Navy Yard Metro (US-NY) will experience three types of major service changes: 1) two segments will lose service, 2) one segment will gain new service, and 2) one segment will see a span increase of over three hours in a day.

The segments can be seen in the maps Figure 3 and Figure 4.

Table 4 | Major Service Change Segments on Union Station – Navy Yard Metro Route

Segment # Segment Name Description Service Change

9 Capitol Hill and From Union Station Pennsylvania Avenue To Eastern Market Metro (8th St Service Discontinued SE & Pennsylvania Ave SE)

10 th From Eastern Market Metro (8 Span Increase to extend Saturday year-round 8th Street SE/M St & Pennsylvania Ave SE) service and introduce Street SE To Navy Yard Metro (M St & Sunday service, 7:00 AM New Jersey Ave SE) - 9:00 PM 11 M Street SW, From Navy Yard Metro (M and Waterfront, and New Jersey Ave SE) New Service L’Enfant Plaza To L’Enfant Plaza (7th & D St SW) 12 Remove layover stop at 1st & K Layover at 1st & K SE Service Discontinued SE and associated turnaround

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Figure 3 | Proposed US-NY Alignment Changes - Minority Block Groups

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Figure 4 | Proposed US-NY Alignment Changes – Low-Income Block Groups

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3.2.3. Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US)

As seen in Table 5, Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US) will experience one major service change: a span increase from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM (six hours) on Friday and Saturday from McPherson Square to Union Station, on the east end of the route. The remainder of the route already runs until 3:00 AM on Friday and Saturday; this change will create a consistent span for the entire route. The segments can be seen in the maps Figure 5 and Figure 6.

Additional changes to stops and span lengths are scheduled for the same time period, but these changes do not meet the major service changes definition set by DDOT. More information can be found in Section 1.0.

Table 5 | Major Service Change Segments on Georgetown – Union Station Route

Segment # Segment Name Description Service Change

13 From McPherson Square Span Increase to 3:00 McPherson Square to th (K & 14 NW) AM on Friday and Union Station To Union Station Saturday

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Figure 5 | Proposed GT-US Weekend Span Changes – Minority Block Groups

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Figure 6 | Proposed GT-US Weekend Span Changes – Low-Income Block Groups

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3.3. Disparate Impact and Disproportionate Burden Analysis DDOT’s Title VI policies, as reported to the FTA in DDOT’s 2016-2018 Title VI Program, require disparate impacts and disproportionate burdens be reviewed on a cumulative basis – that is, all changes happening at once (called a package of changes) are analyzed together through a package-level analysis. The following analysis is reviews the package of proposed major service changes for April 2018, and Section 3.3.3 summarizes the results of the analysis.

3.3.1. Minority and Low-Income Populations in DC Circulator Service Area To begin the analysis, the percentage of minority and low-income populations served by the DC Circulator must be established. The percentages were determined using ACS 2011-2015 five-year estimates and a 0.25-mile buffer around existing DC Circulator stops, as described in Sections · and 3.1.3. As seen in Table 6 and Table 7, DC Circulator’s service area is 52 percent minority and 31 percent low-income.

DDOT’s Title VI policies use a 15 percent threshold for both disparate impacts and disproportionate burdens. The calculated thresholds are in Table 6 and Table 7.

Table 6 | DC Circulator Disparate Impact Thresholds

Total Total Minority Percentage Minority Adverse Beneficial Population Population Population Threshold (+15%) Threshold (-15%) 216,925 112,788 52% 67% 37%

Table 7 | DC Circulator Disproportionate Burden Thresholds

Total Total Low-Income Percentage Low- Adverse Beneficial Household Households Income Households Threshold (+15%) Threshold (-15%) 102,040 31,234 31% 46% 16%

3.3.2. Package Analysis To determine whether this package of changes complied with DDOT Title VI policies, aggregated percentages of minority and low-income populations were determined for all adverse changes as well as beneficial changes. The three routes associated with the changes were broken up by segment to accurately determine the populations bearing adverse effects or benefiting from the segment-level DC Circulator Major Service Adjustment Plan 24 April 2018 Service Changes December 2017

changes. Table 8 through Table 11 display the results of the grouping of adverse and beneficial changes by route and segment.

This package of changes, for both adverse and beneficial changes, has no disparate impact on minority populations and no disproportionate burden on low-income households.

Table 8 | Disparate Impact - Summary of Adverse Changes

Total Percent Beneficial Total Minority Minority Route Segment # Segment Name Change or Adverse Population Population Population

PS 1 Good Hope Road Discontinued Adverse 21,936 21,421 98%

PS 3 I-295 Discontinued Adverse No stops on this segment PS 6 Pennsylvania Ave SE Discontinued Adverse 13,859 6,942 50% Capitol Hill and US-NY 9 Discontinued Adverse 33,863 11,851 35% Pennsylvania Avenue SE US-NY 12 Layover at 1st & K SE Discontinued Adverse 9,139 4,341 47% Total 78,797 44,555 57% Disparate Impact Threshold for Adverse Changes >67% Meets Disparate Impact Threshold? No

Table 9 | Disparate Impact - Summary of Beneficial Changes

Total Percent Segment Beneficial Total Minority Minority Route # Segment Name Change or Adverse Population Population Population

PS 2 MLK Jr Avenue Span Increase Beneficial 6,506 6,432 99%

11th Street Bridge to PS 4 Span Increase Beneficial 3,846 2,845 74% Eastern Market PS 5 11th Street SE New Service Beneficial No stops on this segment PS 7 Stanton Road SE New Service Beneficial 31,869 31,273 98% PS 8 8th Street NE/SE New Service Beneficial 26,794 7,876 29% US-NY 10 8th Street SE/M Street SE Span Increase Beneficial 22,030 8,638 39% M Street SW, Waterfront, US-NY 11 New Service Beneficial 16,338 8,403 51% and L’Enfant Plaza McPherson Square to GT-US 13 Span Increase Beneficial 34,642 17,839 51% Union Station Total 142,025 83,306 59% Disparate Impact Threshold for Adverse Changes <37% Meets Disparate Impact Threshold? No

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Table 10 | Disproportionate Burden - Summary of Adverse Changes

Beneficial Total Low- Percent Segment or Total Income Low-Income Route # Segment Name Change Adverse Households Households Households

PS 1 Good Hope Road Discontinued Adverse 8,684 5,721 66%

PS 3 I-295 Discontinued Adverse No stops on this segment PS 6 Pennsylvania Ave SE Discontinued Adverse 4,891 1,200 25% Capitol Hill and US-NY 9 Discontinued Adverse 11,101 2,045 18% Pennsylvania Avenue SE US-NY 12 Layover at 1st & K SE Discontinued Adverse 4,499 1,640 36% Total 29,175 10,606 36% Disproportionate Burden Threshold for Adverse Changes >46% Meets Disproportionate Burden Threshold? No

Table 11 | Disproportionate Burden - Summary of Beneficial Changes

Beneficial Total Low- Percent Segment or Total Income Low-Income Route # Segment Name Change Adverse Households Households Households

PS 2 MLK Jr Avenue Span Increase Beneficial 3,239 2,438 75% 11th Street Bridge to PS 4 Span Increase Beneficial 1,585 941 59% Eastern Market PS 5 11th Street SE New Service Beneficial No stops on this segment PS 7 Stanton Road SE New Service Beneficial 11,309 8,032 71% PS 8 8th Street NE/SE New Service Beneficial 8,943 1,864 21% 8th Street SE/M Street US-NY 10 Span Increase Beneficial 10,506 2,917 28% SE M Street SW, US-NY 11 Waterfront, and New Service Beneficial 9,295 3,129 34% L’Enfant Plaza McPherson Square to GT-US 13 Span Increase Beneficial 19,726 6,435 33% Union Station Total 64,603 25,756 40% Disproportionate Burden Threshold for Adverse Changes <16% Meets Disproportionate Burden Threshold? No

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3.3.3. Summary This package of changes, for both adverse and beneficial changes, has no disparate impact on minority populations and no disproportionate burden on low-income households.

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4.0 Necessity of Major Service Adjustments and Alternatives Examined

4.1. Potomac Avenue Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row (PS) The current PS route has a low number of boardings per hour,3 indicating that the route is not efficiently serving riders. The low boardings per hour is likely due to the overlap with multiple WMATA Metrobus routes (92, V5, W6, and W8) on Good Hope Road, splitting the demand for service rather than acting as a complement. Additionally, the activity centers served by the PS route (Skyland Town Center, Downtown Anacostia, Barracks Row, and Potomac Avenue Metro) do not generate demand for all-day, high-frequency service.

Changes to the PS route were examined to find a route that would better serve riders. In the 2017 Transit Development Plan Update, DDOT twice surveyed current and potential riders about potential route options, with 386 total responses about PS. In each survey, the realignment of PS from Union Station to Congress Heights Metro was the most popular of the options presented for this route.4 The proposed PS realignment will also serve as the only bus route for the majority of the alignment, making the DC Circulator service a complement, and not a competitor, to Metrobus service.

4.2. Union Station – Navy Yard Metro (US-NY) The current US-NY route has a low number of boardings per hour,5 indicating that the route is not efficiently serving riders. The low boardings per hour is likely because the activity centers served by the US-NY route (Capitol Hill, Barracks Rows, and the Washington Navy Yard) do not generate demand for all-day, high-frequency service. Additionally, the DC Circulator trip from Union Station to Navy Yard Metro takes more time than the equivalent trip on Metrorail because of traffic near Capitol Hill, making the US-NY route unattractive to many riders.

3 In 2016, PS had 17 boardings per hour, lower than the service standard of 25 boardings per hour. PS is tied with US-NY for fourth-lowest boardings per hour. 4 The first survey presented four options (Current Route, Union Station to Congress Heights, Union Station to Skyland, or a Write-In option). The second survey asked if they were satisfied with the realignment of Union Station to Congress Heights. 5 In 2016, US-NY had 17 boardings per hour, lower than the service standard of 25 boardings per hour. PS is tied with PS for fourth-lowest boardings per hour.

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Changes to the US-NY route were examined to find a route that would better serve riders. In the 2017 Transit Development Plan Update, DDOT surveyed current and potential riders two times about potential route options, with 1,278 total responses about US-NY. Of the options presented for this route in the first survey, the realignment from Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza via Southwest Waterfront was most popular.6 The popularity of this route is likely due to a strong response from Southwest Waterfront residents, where there has been substantial growth and land use change in the past several years and where residents have requested the return of a DC Circulator route to the area since the suspension of the Southwest to Convention Center route in 2011.

In the second survey, more respondents said that the realignment from Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza via Southwest Waterfront was unsatisfactory; this is likely due to the increase in responses from Capitol Hill employees, who feel they have limited transit options from Union Station to Capitol Hill. To make up for this loss in service, DDOT will work with WMATA to increase peak period trips on Metrobus Route 97, which serves Union Station and employers on Capitol Hill, to continue to serve these riders.

4.3. Georgetown – Union Station (GT-US) In response to SafeTrack, WMATA’s lengthy maintenance plan for Metrorail, from October 2016 – December 2017, DDOT temporarily extended the span of service on three routes, GT-US, Woodley Park – Adams Morgan – McPherson Square Metro (WP-AM) and Dupont Circle – Rosslyn (RS-DP) to accommodate riders affected by SafeTrack “surges,” during which sections of the Metrorail system experienced delays or lack of service. DDOT plans to make these span increases permanent; one of these changes, which extended service until 3:00 AM on the eastern end of GT-US, meets DDOT’s definition of a major service change.

This significant span increase (9:00 PM – 3:00 AM on Friday and Saturday) for the McPherson Square – Union Station segment of the route will improve the availability of the service. Additionally, this change will make the entire GT-US route a uniform span, making service simpler – an essential quality of the DC Circulator brand.

6 The first survey presented four options (Current Route, Union Station to Navy Yard with a realignment on 4th and 6th Streets NE instead of 1st Street NE, Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza, Union Station to Skyland, or a Write-In option). The second survey asked if they were satisfied with the realignment of Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza. DC Circulator Major Service Adjustment Plan 29 April 2018 Service Changes December 2017