Workforce Innovation Grant from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Department of Workforce Development Will Expand FlexRide Milwaukee to Connect More Workers With Jobs in South, West Suburbs
A greater than $4 million grant from the State of Wisconsin will assist MobiliSE join employees within the City of Milwaukee with jobs within the south and west suburbs – together with working dad and mom who’re battling rising little one care and transportation prices.
Gov. Tony Evers introduced the Workforce Innovation Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and Department of Workforce Development at a information convention on Wednesday.
The grant will fund the growth of FlexRide Milwaukee, an on-demand rideshare service at present connecting Milwaukee employees with jobs past the attain of bus strains within the Menomonee Falls and Butler space. The further funds will maintain the service and develop it to different elements of the area beginning in 2023. The grant can even fund longdistance shuttles to choose job websites outdoors of growth communities.
The grant locations a give attention to working dad and mom, positioning high-quality little one care facilities alongside Milwaukee County Transit System bus routes in Milwaukee as “mobility hubs.”
Participants who use FlexRide from a “mobility hub” will obtain value help for little one care and rideshare vouchers for emergency rides throughout the workday. Rideshare companies can even be supplied for employees needing transportation outdoors bus service hours and out of doors FlexRide service areas.
A nonprofit transportation administration affiliation (TMA) will administer the applications with native, state and federal funds, as effectively different personal sources. It might be organized by MobiliSE with a board of administrators of enterprise, group and workforce growth leaders from throughout the area. A contracted supplier will function the service.
“We are grateful for Gov. Evers and the State of Wisconsin stepping up to help get more people to work by reducing the twin barriers to employment: lack of affordable access to transportation and child care,” MobiliSE Executive Director Dave Steele mentioned. “We are thankful for the work of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, UW-Milwaukee and other project partners in launching the FlexRide pilot. We look forward to building on that foundation.”
Added Steele: “This is the next stop on the road to fulfilling the vision of MobiliSE – a stronger Southeastern Wisconsin through better connectivity, whether you have a car or not. We’re not there yet, but this grant will make a real difference.”
Said MobiliSE Board Chair and former Wauwatosa Mayor Kathy Ehley: “MobiliSE has united leaders across Southeastern Wisconsin around last-mile solutions like this for years – and now we are bringing one to life as the first truly regional approach to innovative workforce transportation. Still, we know the majority of jobs in Southeastern Wisconsin remain out of reach for unemployed or underemployed individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic and rising gas and car prices have exacerbated this problem. This grant funding will help close that gap.”
Added MobiliSE Vice Chair and group volunteer Samantha Maldonado: “This grant will help deliver more equitable access to employment opportunities, education and resources for working mothers – and many others – across the region, reducing the time and cost of child care and of getting to work.”
The announcement comes three months after the official launch of the FlexRide Milwaukee pilot, funded by a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to UWMilwaukee and SEWRPC. Riders can use an app to request rides to jobs or job interviews from two massive neighborhood zones on the north and northwest sides of Milwaukee. Drivers usually choose up riders from the closest avenue nook and take them to any office within the Menomonee Falls and Butler space. Depending on the zone, the fee is both free or $1.50 for a one-way journey.
FlexRide ridership has elevated steadily since its launch, gaining momentum in latest weeks. Since early May, weekly ridership has grown 170%, to roughly 130 rides taken every week. The grant is predicted to fund up to 750 riders and not less than 100 taking part companies and little one care suppliers at any given time by means of 2024. Thousands of riders may in the end be served throughout the life of the grant.
“The FlexRide Milwaukee pilot has been a unique opportunity to figure out how microtransit could help connect residents to jobs beyond the reach of our region’s transit services,” mentioned SEWRPC Executive Director Kevin Muhs. “This grant from the state will help the FlexRide partnership to expand services and help solve a long-standing problem facing the region.”
MobiliSE will coordinate all grant actions, convening companions, monitoring outcomes and reporting. Project companions embrace SEWRPC, Employ Milwaukee and the WaukeshaOzaukee-Washington Workforce Development Board.
Said Employ Milwaukee President and CEO Chytania Brown: “Transportation is one of the most significant barriers to employment for thousands of people in Milwaukee. This grant will reduce that barrier and help connect people to jobs. We’re excited as an organization to promote this expanded service.”
Efforts to develop FlexRide Milwaukee come following a research accomplished this spring exploring the problems of “last-mile” connections between Milwaukee employees and suburban employers. MobiliSE and SEWRPC – in partnership with the WEDC, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, Mandel Group, the City of Franklin, GRAEF, and M7 – led the research, which was carried out by HNTB.
Said Steele: “We hope this is just the start. From expanded bus rapid transit to taking a seat at the table on the I-94 East-West reconstruction project, MobiliSE will continue to bring leaders together to advocate for enhanced multimodal transportation and reduced transportation inequities across the region.”
For More Information contact
Dave Steele MobiliSE Executive Director 414-531-5627 | dave.steele@mobilisewi.org
Erik Brooks MobiliSE Communications 414-651-1105 | ebrooks@carlcollective.com