In Wisconsin, the federal Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program is jointly administered by the state departments of transportation and workforce development as the Wisconsin Employment Transportation Assistance Program (WETAP). The primary program goal is to locally assess the transportation needs of low-income workers and then plan and fund programs to help alleviate transportation-related barriers to employment or better employment.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, transportation barriers can include:
- Lack of a dependable vehicle
- Lack of local jobs
- Lack of bus service in the area
- Childcare transportation problems
JARC/WETAP funding solutions have included:
- Extended bus routes and/or hours
- Childcare transportation
- Vehicle repair or purchase programs
- Taxi programs to cover emergency needs when normal transportation is unavailable
- Vanpools to employment
Proposed improvements to the JARC program
A recent University of Illinois-Chicago study found that JARC was effective—the societal benefits from this program are $1.65 per dollar spent, with lifetime benefits to low income participants of $15 per dollar spent due to their ability to find and retain better paying jobs. But the study and other transportation officials have also made suggestions to make the program even more effective. The Feingold proposal builds on these proposals by:
- Allowing states to seek an increase in the federal cost share up to
80% for operating expenses—the burden of finding the current 50%
state and local match has meant that funds are sometimes not fully utilized
despite there being need.
- Ramping up funding for JARC by $100 million over the next five years.
- Encouraging combined applications for multiple federal transit programs.
Currently there are separate programs for the elderly, low-income and
the disabled; there may be ways to fund comprehensive projects to more
effectively meet all of these needs.
- Improving flexibility and streamline reporting and paperwork requirements
while retaining accountability—with many projects going to small
non-profits that have little experience with federal reporting and certification
requirements, the paperwork burden can be daunting. The legislation
would provide the Department of Transportation (DOT) with discretion
to waive requirements if doing so would better facilitate program goals;
it would also encourage an examination of whether alternative evaluation
techniques could streamline the process while still meeting program
goals.
- Establishing a pilot program to evaluate possible improvements such
as:
- Improving education and employment-related transportation for eligible teens and young adults.
- Funding comprehensive projects that integrate transportation needs across traditional boundaries.
- Expanding on and improving the existing technical assistance network.
Offset:
The legislation is offset by rescinding highway and bridge earmarks that have had no funds spent from them a decade after enactment.