Replication Data for: Measuring equity in public transit service: LA Metro and the Post-Decree Era

In 1994, the Labor/Community Strategy Center and other Los Angeles County community organizations and local residents brought a Title VI civil rights class action against the County's Metropolitan Transit Authority (LA Metro), charging the agency with unlawfully discriminating against inner-city and transit-dependent bus riders in its allocation of public transportation resources. The landmark suit led to a consent decree in 1996. The coalition of transit justice advocates utilized the legal system over several years to challenge agency policies with the goal of having LA Metro treat its transit-dependent low-income bus riders of color equitably. This white paper examines the research question: to what extent do the arguments made in the legal case that led to the 1996 consent decree continue to remain in the post-decree era (2010-2020)? Using a mixed-method approach that draws on legal research, semi-structured interviews, and quantitative indicators, we conclude that many arguments made in the case that led to the consent decree remain salient concerns for advancing transit justice in Los Angeles. We recommend transit agencies work to recognize and address the persistence of systemic racial disparities in transit planning and service.

1994年，劳工与社区战略中心（Labor/Community Strategy Center）联合洛杉矶县其他社区组织及当地居民，依据《第六章民权法案》(Title VI civil rights)对该县大都会交通局(LA Metro)提起民权集体诉讼，指控该机构在公共交通资源分配过程中，对内城区依赖公共交通的公交乘客实施了非法歧视。这起里程碑式诉讼最终于1996年促成了和解令(consent decree)。交通正义倡导者联盟历经数年借助法律体系对该机构的各项政策发起挑战，旨在让LA Metro公平对待依赖公共交通的低收入少数族裔公交乘客。

本白皮书聚焦如下研究问题：促成1996年和解令的法律诉讼中提出的各项主张，在后和解时代（2010年至2020年）仍在多大程度上持续存在？本研究采用整合法律研究、半结构化访谈与量化指标的混合研究方法(mixed-method approach)，最终得出结论：促成该和解令的诉讼中提出的诸多主张，仍是当前洛杉矶推进交通正义的核心关切。据此，本研究建议各交通机构正视并解决交通规划与服务中长期存在的系统性种族不平等问题。