Lyft joins national partners to launch Jobs Access program, offering rides to interviews and training sessions

(WXYZ) — Lyft has partnered with several national organizations to help address the transportation gap in the United States.

The Jobs Access Program, which was announced Oct. 17 and is available in more than 35 U.S. cities and in Canada, will help those in need get to job interviews, training sessions and even those first few weeks of a new position.

The initiative aims to offer resources to many Americans without access to reliable transportation, effectively shrinking the transportation gap by offering reliable short-term transportation related to employment access and job training, a press release states.

"For the unemployed, reliable transportation to a job interview or to the first few weeks of work can mean the difference between successful, long-term employment and lost opportunities," Lyft said in a release. "So we’ve partnered with several leading national and local organizations dedicated to workforce development in order to deliver free or discounted rides to people making their way through the employment pipeline."

The new program focuses on assisting in three areas:

• Rides to/from job training programs

• Rides to/from job interviews

• Rides to/from the first three weeks of employment, until individuals receive their first paycheck and begin to pay for their own transportation

For Michigan residents, you can contact the United Way for Southeastern Michigan here, or dial 211 for more information.

Lyft customers can donate by selecting United Way as their partner of choice for Lyft's Round Up & Donate program, and donating the difference between their total ride cost and the next whole dollar to the program.

A full list of participating cities was not immediately made available.