Loudoun County was considering moving its fixed route bus services to fare free and hired Foursquare ITP to perform a Title VI review of this proposal to determine if there would be any equity issues with offering the service for free. Before making the decision to go fare free, the county wanted to ensure that there were no disproportionate burdens that would be experienced by minority populations and that no disparate impacts would be realized for low-income populations.
Utilizing the county’s Title VI service equity analysis process—developed by Foursquare ITP in their most recent Title VI program updated—we found that offering free transit across the county would not disproportionately impact minority or low-income residents.
Armed with Foursquare ITP’s analysis, the county board approved making fixed route buses to fare free in order to leverage the relatively new Metrorail service in the county.
Solutions and Outcomes
- Confirmed that no disproportionate burden or disparate impacts would be realized by minority or low-income populations.
- County bus services will be made fare-free.