Public participation is a key component to the regional transportation planning process. The GBNRTC encourages public participation at all of its meetings and solicits input in all areas of transportation planning by proving a forum for plans and ideas as well as decisions about major capital investments. 

The GBNRTC has a formal policy that guides the public participation process, which was approved in January 2007. The Public Involvement Plan (PIP) provides guidelines for public involvement activities to be conducted by the GBNRTC and contains the policies and procedures for actively engaging the public in the transportation planning process.

GBNRTC Public Participation Plan 2009

GBNRTC's Title VI Policy

The Greater Bufffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC) assures that no person shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, or gender, as provided in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes be excluded from participation in, or be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which GBNRTC receives Federal financial assistance.

Further, GBNRTC incorporates the principles of environmental justice into its policies, planning and project development activities. The fundamental principles of environmental justice are:

• To avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects, including social and economic effects, on minority populations and low-income populations.
• To ensure the full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decision-making process.
• To prevent the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits by minority and low-income populations.