Carl Anthony

Carl Anthony
1217 Carleton Street
Berkeley, CA 94702

James Fang, President, and BART Board Members

Bay Area Rapid Transit District
300 Lakeside Drive, P.O. Box 12688
Oakland, California 94604-2688

Re: Oakland Airport Connector Civil Rights Compliance

Dear Chair Fang and Board members:

Earlier this week, your staff told two reporters that next week they will be asking you to approve a new
funding plan for the Oakland Airport Connector project. The Board should not approve a new funding
plan until the required Title VI civil rights analysis of the fare and service changes has been completed, and
approved by the Federal Transit Administration.

In February, BART achieved the dubious distinction of becoming the only stimulus applicant to be denied
funding on civil rights grounds. At the time, BART’s staff and Board declared their commitment to
becoming the “gold standard” for civil rights, and recommitted the agency to completing not only the
necessary analysis of the Oakland Airport Connector project, but the entire corrective action plan that FTA
found necessary as a result of agency-wide civil rights non-compliance.

By asking the BART Board to approve a funding plan for a project that has not yet completed an approved
fare equity analysis, staff is signaling that this project will be pursued without regard to its civil rights
impacts and compliance. Your approval of a project funding plan before the Title VI impacts are known
would be a declaration that BART does not care about results of the pending analysis.

I respectfully ask that the BART Board hold true to its promise of rising to the “gold standard” on civil
rights by holding off on any decisions about this project until FTA has approved the required civil rights
analysis for the project.

Respectfully,

1217 Carleton Street • Berkeley, CA 94702 • CarlCAnthony@gmail.com • Phone: 510-590-0400