Press Releases

For Immediate Release

MTC to Provide $5 Million to Help Low-Income Residents Access Jobs

Workshop Set for August 3, 2000 in Oakland

CONTACTS:

Reka Goode
510.464.7706

Deidre Heitman
510.817.3272

OAKLAND, Calif., July 28, 2000 . . . As part of regional welfare-to-work efforts, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) plans to allocate up to $5 million over the next three years to launch new and expanded transportation projects to help low-income Bay Area residents travel to jobs and necessary support services, such as child-care centers.

MTC is seeking applications from Bay Area counties for transportation projects that could receive up to $750,000 in matching funds through a new Low-Income Flexible Transportation (LIFT) program. A workshop for potential applicants to learn more about the LIFT program will be held on Aug. 3, 2000, at 10:30 a.m., at MTC's offices, 1999 Harrison Street, 17th floor, Oakland. The deadline for project nominations and applications is Sept. 29, 2000.

Examples of eligible LIFT projects include new and expanded public transit services, transportation to child-care centers, the development of child-care facilities at transit hubs, rideshare activities and "guaranteed ride home" programs. Since LIFT projects will be funded with moneys from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program, they must demonstrate that they will result in reduced air emissions.

According to MTC Executive Director Lawrence D. Dahms, "MTC has been working with Bay Area social service agencies, transportation providers and other stakeholders for the past two years to develop plans that would make it easier for welfare recipients and low-income residents to travel to jobs. From these plans, projects have been identified that could eliminate or reduce transportation as a barrier for low-income residents seeking employment.

"MTC now proposes to take advantage of the extensive planning that has been done by asking counties to nominate their highest priority projects, including regional or cross-jurisdictional projects, that could qualify for funding under this program," Dahms said. "The LIFT program will provide grants, matched dollar-for-dollar with local funding, to implement some of these innovative and useful projects."

Projects must be nominated by a county Welfare-to-Work Transportation Advisory Committee and be consistent with the county's welfare-to-work transportation plan. Regional projects also may be nominated that are consistent with the regional welfare-to-work plan. A team of members of the Regional Welfare-to-Work Transportation Working Group and MTC staff will evaluate and rank the applications and make recommendations for funding to the Commission in November 2000.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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