If you believe you have been discriminated against by a public transit provider, you may file an administrative complaint with the FTA Office of Civil Rights. FTA processes complaints under the following programs:
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): prohibits discrimination based on disability
- Title VI: prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin
- Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO): prohibits discrimination toward an employee or job applicant based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability. FTA investigates systemic charges of discrimination involving a transit agency’s employment policies and practices. All individual complaints of discrimination must go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
- Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE): requires FTA funding recipients to comply with the DBE regulations (49 CFR Part 26).
Who May File a Complaint
If you believe a public transit provider has failed to comply with any of the above requirements, you may file an administrative complaint with the FTA Office of Civil Rights. Complaints should be filed within 180 days of the alleged violation.
How to File
File a complaint by completing the FTA complaint form (PDF). The complaint form must be signed and mailed to:
Federal Transit Administration
Office of Civil Rights
Attention: Complaint Team
East Building, 5th Floor – TCR
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
With your form, please attach on separate sheet(s):
- A summary of your allegations and any supporting documentation.
- Sufficient details for an investigator to understand why you believe a public transit provider has violated your rights, with specifics such as dates and times of incidents.
- Any related correspondence from the transit provider.
What to Expect from FTA’s Complaint Process
FTA strives to process complaints promptly. At the conclusion of our investigation, you will receive a letter outlining our findings. We do not represent individual complainants; our role is to ensure FTA funding recipients are in compliance with Title VI, EEO, DBE and ADA requirements. In the FTA complaint investigation process, we analyze allegations for possible deficiencies by the transit provider. If deficiencies are identified, we work with the transit provider to correct the deficiencies within a predetermined timeframe.
Filing a Local Complaint
We encourage, though do not require, individuals to first file a complaint directly with their transit provider to give it an opportunity to resolve the situation. FTA grantees are required under the ADA, Title VI, and EEO to have local complaint procedures.