Charlotte residents who struggle to afford transportation now have another way to get to new jobs.
Rideshare company Lyft just launched its Jobs Access Program in 35 American cities, including Charlotte. The initiative aims to help people trying to escape poverty avoid lengthy commutes that can hinder new employment.
Lyft is teaming up with two nonprofits in Charlotte, Generation and Year Up, to give new employees free rides during the first three weeks of a new job.
The idea is that after three weeks, a new employee has likely gotten a paycheck and can pay for their own transportation.
Generation offers free job and skills training in Charlotte, including administrative medical assistant and customer care agent training. Year Up, meanwhile, tries to close opportunity gaps for young people through careers and higher education.
Lyft says people without reliable transportation face significant hurdles lifting themselves out of poverty because of difficulty getting rides to and from job-training programs, job interviews and their initial weeks of work.
“We know that for the unemployed, reliable transportation to a job interview or to the first few weeks of work can make a world of difference,” Lyft's general manager for Charlotte, Lauren Pelletier, said in a prepared statement announcing the initiative.
