Press Advisory
For more information contact John Dodds 215-557-0822, (cell) 267-975-4706
Innovative Reverse Commute Program Growing
New way to connect inner city workers with suburban jobs
What: Commuter Options Report to the Community
When: Friday, February 23 10:30 AM
Where: Broad and Brown Sts., People for People Offices
Who: Representative Chaka Fattah, PUPCO staff, Commuters, Employers
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project’s Commuter Options program has seen excellent growth in its first year of operation. From a start in March of 2006 Commuter Options now has 20 mini vans taking Philadelphia workers to jobs in the suburbs. The program was started with a grant from the US Department of Transportation’s Job Access and Reverse Commute program secured by Congressman Chaka Fattah.
On Friday February 23 at 10:30 AM PUP will report to the community on its first year of operation. “We see Commuter Options as a flexible, cost efficient way to get people to and from work in decent paying jobs,” said PUP Director John Dodds. “We have waited for years for good jobs to come back to Philadelphia, but the reality is that those jobs are currently found in the suburbs and our people have a very hard time getting to them.”
Congressman Fattah said, "Commuter Options is providing just the kind of opportunities for good jobs that I think is important for Philadelphia's citizens and for our region. I am proud of my role in creating and funding Commuter Options as a national model for reverse commuting. I want to thank the Philadelphia Unemployment Project for its excellent work, and I look forward to Year Two when PUP intends to double the scale of this innovative program."
The uniqueness of Commuter Options is that it provides workers at suburban companies with late model minivans to drive themselves and a group of co-workers to the job as in any other car pool situation. The driver keeps the van full time and is able to utilize it for modest personal use after working hours. The program allows inner city workers to access jobs not reachable by public transportation or only reachable by very difficult mass transit commutes. It also allows existing workers to leave their cars at home and ride with the van pool. Long drives to work are hard on older cars of the Commuter Options riders who usually made modest salaries, although nearly always higher than is available in the city. PUPCO pays for fuel, insurance and maintenance and the commuters pay a daily $5 or $6 round trip fare. Employers are asked to contribute to the cost also.
“Before Commuter Options I'd have to leave my house at quarter to 4, take 3 different pieces of transportation and not get to work till 6:30, sometimes 7:00,” says Karen Robinson, who is one of the drivers. “Now getting to work is a dream.” Karen drives herself and three coworkers to their jobs at Quest Diagnostics everyday in Trooper, where they start work at 6AM. They make between $13 and $17 per hour.
"Everybody likes the cost ($30 a week); It's the best deal in town,” says Joe Carnevale who drives one of three vans going to Synthes, a medical manufacturing company in East Goshen, PA. "It’s almost impossible to use public transportation to get to work."
The service is gaining recognition from employers who value the service for their employees. "The van service gave us more leverage when recruiting applicants whowould not otherwise consider taking a position with us,"said Beverly Curtis, Development Specialist for Strategic Recovery Solutions in Horsham.
The official unemployment rate for Philadelphia in December 2006 was 5.8%, while the Philadelphia/Camden/Wilmington region’s rate for 3.9% and Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate for 4.1%. MontgomeryCounty had 3.1% unemployed and DelawareCounty 3.7% in December 2006.
The report to the community will take place outside of the offices of the People for People welfare to work program, which has utilized Commuter Options vans to get people coming off of welfare to jobs at Brooks Pharmaceuticals in BucksCounty paying $9.50 per hour. People for People is located at Broad and Brown Sts.