Promoting Employment In Transit Construction Projects by Members of Minority and Low-Income Communities

This project had a dual aim: understanding the extent to which local low-income and minorities participate in employment generated by transit projects and identifying practices to increase their participation. The authors developed four in-depth case studies of recent light rail projects: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s Vasona Project, Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Green Line, St. Louis Metro’s St. Clair Extension, and Los Angeles Metro’s Gold Line Eastside Extension. They determined that in three out of the four cases, local minority and low-income workers obtained a fair proportion of construction jobs generated. They conclude that a complex interplay of a transit agency’s size and construction activity, demographic profiles and trends within metropolitan areas, contracting methods and the relative integration of regional construction markets, and/or unions influences who gets the jobs in transit construction. The authors identified areas of concern and opportunity for best practices in minority and local hiring in transit projects: contracting mechanisms, outreach to ensure isadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) participation in transit projects, financial assistance for DBE firms, ensuring contractor compliance with DBE programs, and agency leadership. Under these categories, they identified 14 best management practices (BMPs) and prepared a manual for transit agencies. For each of the BMPs, the authors discuss the background for the practice, followed by the rationale for the practice and examples. They also document the research support for the practices.

• Record URL:
  http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0080.pdf
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/29298
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Southern California

  3720 S. Flower St. CUB 301
  Los Angeles, CA  United States  90089

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Giuliano, Genevieve
  • Blanco, Hilda J
  • Bahl, Deepak
• Publication Date: 2013-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 262p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Capital investments; Case studies; Construction projects; Contracting; Employment; Jobs; Light rail transit; Low income groups
• Identifier Terms: Dallas Area Rapid Transit; Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
• Geographic Terms: Dallas (Texas); Los Angeles (California); Saint Louis (Missouri); San Jose (California)
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Construction; Public Transportation; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01563294
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FTA Report No. 0080, CA-26-8004-00
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: May 18 2015 11:02AM