Lyft Is Offering Free and Discounted Rides for Unemployed Looking for Work
Searching for a job is a job in itself.
That work becomes even more challenging when you don’t have reliable or affordable access to transportation. After all, you need a way to get to interviews and training. And those first few weeks on the job create commuting costs before you see a dime from your first paycheck.
In response to that hardship, the ride-hailing company Lyft recently launched its Jobs Access Program, which provides free and discounted rides to and from interviews, job training programs and work sites for the first three weeks of employment until employees get their first paychecks.
The program focuses on helping communities most in need of transportation assistance, such as low-income individuals, veterans and disabled people.
Lyft Jobs Access will carry out this service through partnerships with nine national nonprofit organizations:
- United Way and 211
- The USO
- Goodwill
- National Down Syndrome Society
- Year Up
- Generation
- #cut50 (Dream Corps)
- The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
- Upwardly Global
Lyft spokesperson Miguel Bagsit said the partner organizations will, in many cases, offer these discounted rides as a part of existing programs to help people with access to transportation or employment. The nonprofits will determine who qualifies for the rides and will distribute access to the special fares.
“Our partners are using their discretion to support the communities they serve,” Bagsit said.
The Lyft Jobs Access program is in its early stages but is already active in over 30 locations, with the potential to expand to other markets. Currently, Lyft’s Job Access Program is available in:
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Atlanta
- Austin, Texas
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Detroit, MI
- El Paso, Texas
- Honolulu
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Miami
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New Jersey
- New Orleans
- New York City
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Orlando, Florida
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Richmond, Virginia
- San Diego
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Seattle/Tacoma
- St. Louis
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Washington D.C.
Nicole Dow is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
