This week, rideshare company Lyft rolled out its jobs access program across the country. 35 cities, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, will gain access to the new program, designed to address short-term transportation gaps related employment and job training.

The program is part of a $50 million annual commitment Lyft announced in May. Dedicated to improving cities where it operates, the money is meant for transportation infrastructure, donated transportation, and sustainability initiatives. According to Lyft, it will announce its North Texas partner in the coming weeks.

“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,” Regional Director for Lyft Texas Aaron Fox told Dallas Innovates. “We’re proud to work with national and local partners to work towards a future where Dallas residents can successfully make their way through the employment pipeline.”

In the jobs access program announcement, Lyft cited its own research that found 44 percent of rides originate or end in low income areas. And, its passengers save 178 million hours compared to alternate transportation modes.

The new program’s focus is on three areas: rides to and from job training programs, rides to and from job interviews, and rides to and from the first three weeks of employment to get new employees through their first paychecks.

“United Way believes that people of all ages and abilities should have an opportunity to improve their economic status through employment,” said Alicia Lara in a Lyft blog post. Lara is the SVP of Impact at United Way Worldwide, a national partner of the program. “When we work with corporate partners like Lyft in pursuit of this goal, the entire community benefits and together, we can affect sweeping change that benefits us all.”

Along with United Way, other national partners of the program include Goodwill, the USO, National Down Syndrome Society, Year Up, Generation, #cut50, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and Upwardly Global.

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