LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – For years, we have been told there’s no such thing as a free ride. Turns out, that was premature because the state of Michigan just announced $260,000 in taxpayer-funded cash to help businesses get their employees to work.
The recently announced program, rolled out by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), is called the Reliable Rides Incentive Grant Pilot Program. The pitch: if workers can’t get to work, the state will help employers solve that problem – with money for van rides, bus passes, carpools, and other transportation “solutions” dreamed up in the state’s shiny new 60-page playbook.
The free ride breakdown.
MORE NEWS: Microsoft Seeks to Build Data Center in Lowell Township
LEO plans to hand out grants of up to $20,000 each to 12–20 small or medium-sized manufacturers. The goal? Better retention, better productivity, and fewer excuses involving broken down cars and missed buses.
“This Reliable Rides Incentive Grant funding opportunity is about helping Michiganders overcome transportation challenges so they can build better lives,” said LEO Director Susan Corbin in a recent press release, adding the promise of “stronger families” and “stronger communities.”
Because playbooks fix everything.
The program is built around the Reliable Rides: Connecting Workers to Jobs playbook – a free guide showing employers how to build transportation systems that are already “working across the state and nation” according to LEO.
The playbook outlines many different and creative suggestions on how employers can use the grant money including bus passes, car repair money, car insurance payments, employer-funded mini grants, carpool programs, Uber rides, and more. They also suggest partnering with community organizations, including nonprofits, to help manage transportation solutions – an approach that would reduce the burden on employers’ human resources departments.
Who benefits?
According to MI Auto Workforce Hub, the grants will especially help workers with disabilities and employers struggling to maintain a reliable workforce. Applications are due Feb. 9, with awards announced in March. So yes – in Michigan, there really is such a thing as a free ride. You just need the right paperwork, the right partners, and a very flexible definition of “free” – which in this case means the tax dollars of other Michiganders.
