Employment Transportation

Eligibility Overview

Employment transportation assistance is available for:

• People in Clark county who have low income, including seniors and people with disabilities.
• Trips to employment sites, job training, job searches, job interviews, childcare, and other work-related activities.

How to get transportation

• Step 1: Meet with your referring agency, such as WorkSource, Goodwill Job Connections, SafeChoice, Lifeline Connections or Employers Overload to get a referral for the Employment Transportation program. Your referral agency will send it in for you.
• Step 2: Employment Transportation will review your eligibility and needs, and arrange for the lowest-cost transportation that's best suited to your abilities.

Contact your referring agency each month you need transportation. Take your job search log and income information back to the agency who referred you, and they will re-evaluate your eligibility.

Bike to Work

Individuals interested in this program are screened through one of our employment partner agencies. The Bike to Work Program offers qualified individuals the following:

• Bicycle
• Helmet
• Bike lock
• Bike accessories
• A five-hour bicycle training and safety course, which includes:
  • Basic bike laws and good biking manners
  • Route finding/map reading
  • Basic bike usage and maintenance
  • Group bike ride

Some participants may be eligible for bus passes to combine with the use of their bike to get to their employment-related destinations.

Funding

Employment Transportation programs are funded through the Washington State Department of Transportation Consolidated Grants Program.

Featured/Success Story

During COVID we were able to use Employment Transportation funds to help the community get basic necessities. Here is an excerpt from someone we helped.

A HUGE thank you for extending COVID transportation assistance to Cowlitz County residents. I use food stamps and Medicaid, but have had no personal transportation since February. No grocery stores in this area take food stamps online for delivery, only pick-up (and only Walmart). I also am not able to get my prescriptions delivered (Walmart) via mail or to the house without this service, or get to medical appointments without Medicaid transportation. This puts my family and me at risk. We have limited cash; I’m partially disabled and my mom is retired. Using money for cab fare is counterproductive. I recently received a letter from DSHS about our food benefits. We had funds that accumulated because I couldn’t get to the store to use them (until recently) since mid-February. My elderly mother bought the family groceries for weeks with her cash (delivery). The CAP bus stop is two miles down a steep hill. I could not find any alternate transportation services.