Baltimore City Wire

Baltimore City – MD issued the following announcement on April 6.

Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the launch of Baltimore City’s innovative transportation program, “Let’s Ride to Work.”

The Program is a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED) and Lyft, Inc. Its main goal is to support newly employed Baltimore City residents by providing free rides to and from work for their first four weeks of employment. This initiative is part of Baltimore City’s COVID-19 employment recovery strategy, and funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Public transportation is very limited in certain parts of Baltimore City, and a well-known barrier for employment as residents struggle with the ability to get to and from work daily. Lack of transportation limits job opportunities for residents. In keeping with its mission of delivering economic justice to Baltimore City residents, MOED is investing $267,000 to fund up to 40 free rides per eligible resident for the first four weeks of employment by which time the resident will have likely received their first paycheck. The rides will be provided by the popular mobility service provider, Lyft. City residents qualified for the “Let’s Ride to Work” Program must be referred by a partner organization, be newly employed working at least 32 hours per week, have transportation needs and be negatively impacted by COVID-19. With the allocated funding, MOED expects to help over 300 working city residents.

“We have numerous residents who are looking for meaningful employment, but are held back by limited transit options,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "This program will provide stability to residents by helping them get to and from work during their initial pay period. I want to thank Lyft for helping make this possible."

“Our residents shouldn’t have to turn down employment opportunities because they lack transportation – especially not while they are trying to recover from the pandemic. You shouldn’t have to worry about what it’s going to cost you to get to work before you even get your first paycheck,” said MOED’s Director Jason Perkins-Cohen.

“We are excited to collaborate with the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development to help Baltimore residents get to work,” said Paul Davis, Director of Transit and Government Partnerships at Lyft. “Access to reliable transportation is critical to finding and keeping a job, and this partnership will give residents a flexible on-demand transportation option for their commute to work.”

The program launched this month and already enrolled its first participant – Skye Weaver. Mr. Weaver was involved with the criminal justice system and, following his release, attended a job fair hosted by MOED. He was soon placed in a job with a construction company and offered free rides through the program.

“Receiving these rides is mind blowing," said Mr. Weaver. "I got a new job and I’m going to be able to save money with these free rides. This is not only a big deal for me, [but] it’s going to be a big deal for so many people especially those just coming home who don’t really have anything,” he shared enthusiastically."

Original source can be found here.

Source: Baltimore City – MD