The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced it is seeking public feedback on the data and assessment tools available to assess transportation equity.
USDOT seeks information and recommendations from state, local, tribal and territorial stakeholders; advocacy and not-for-profit institutions working in the transportation sector or the field of equity; academics involved in the study of equity in transportation decision-making; public agencies; and others.
Feedback will be used to inform the department’s approach while expanding the use of data and equity-assessment methods to advance transportation equity goals.
“Access to transportation touches every part of American lives and communities and helps make the American Dream possible,” Dr. Robert Hampshire, USDOT deputy assistant secretary for research and technology and chief science officer, said. “This request for information will help us assess the most robust data sets and methodologies available for us to measure our progress towards making the nation’s transportation systems more equitable.”
The request is in response to an executive order directing the federal government to pursue a comprehensive approach to advance equity. It requires each agency to conduct an equity assessment of certain high-priority, high-impact agency programs, policies, and processes by August 8.
The comment period closes on June 24.