Public transit plays a critical role in increasing mobility and access to opportunities, in addition to providing safe and equitable access to public spaces and streets. As a public transit agency, key community member, and large employer in Utah, UTA is in a position to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in our community and within our organization.
We stand in solidarity with communities across the country taking steps to create a more just world for all. We do not tolerate acts of racism and injustice in our community, on our public transit system, nor within our agency. We acknowledge that racism exists and are committed to investing time and resources to create greater opportunity for people of color. We will advance solutions to racial ills by initiating change through broader engagement, equitable representation, and deeper connection across social, cultural, and racial lines.
Signing the Utah Compact on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion provides the foundation for advancing transit equity in our region, as well as developing robust and inclusive engagement processes that provide communities with more equitable opportunities to participate in decisions essential to their mobility. Joining this compact also provides Utah Transit Authority the opportunity to acknowledge the importance of creating a society in which race and ethnicity do not determine or limit value, opportunity, and life outcomes.
By signing the compact, we pledge our commitment to the following five key anti-racist principles and actions:
1. Acknowledgement and action – We acknowledge that racism exists, and our actions make a difference. We call out racism wherever we see it and take purposeful steps to stop it.
2. Investment – We invest our time and resources to create greater opportunity for people of color. Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities requires our significant effort and investment.
3. Public policies and listening – We advance solutions to racial ills by listening and creating policies that provide equal opportunity and access to education, employment, housing, and healthcare.
4. Engagement – We engage to effect change. Broader engagement, equitable representation, and deeper connection across social, cultural, and racial lines will uphold the principle – “nothing about us, without us.”
5. Movement, not a moment – Utahns unite behind a common goal to create equal opportunity. We affirm our commitment will not just be a passing moment, but a legacy movement of social, racial and economic justice.
We recognize that we must do everything we can to ensure our work fosters a more just future for all. This includes examining our policies, practices, and decisions with a renewed vision of equity, access, and opportunity.
Additionally, pledging support of the compact is an important part of Utah Transit Authority’s larger commitment to creating a more inclusive community and workplace. More specifically, it aligns with our recent organizational restructure and the development of the Office of Planning and Engagement. This office is deeply committed to creating equitable access to opportunities through public transit. Within the agency, Utah Transit Authority will advance workplace inclusivity through Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) efforts and a continued focus on building a culture of inclusion and belonging.
The Utah Transit Authority is proud to join other Utahns in uniting behind a common goal to create equal opportunity and social, racial, and economic justice.
