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Need a ride to work or class?
The Oswego County Departments of Mobility Management and Workforce Development have partnered to introduce an Employment and Education Transportation Assistance (ETA) program to temporarily provide qualifying residents with free round-trip transportation to work, job training or educational classes.
“We’re thrilled to launch the Education and Transportation Assistance Program to help our residents overcome transportation barriers,” said Oswego County Director of Mobility Management Heather Snow. “We’ve seen a high demand for employment-related transportation across all of our programs, so we’re excited to offer a specialized program dedicated to getting our residents to work, educational classes or job training.”
The program is offered to Oswego County residents who earn an hourly wage below $28 and work a minimum 20-hour work week. Residents must be aged 17 or older to utilize the program, or have an adult guardian accompany them if they are younger than 17.
For a six-month period, people who have limited transportation options can use the service to get to places located within the county for employment or educational purposes.
For those who qualify for this new program, Oswego County will provide bus passes to those who live along a viable bus route and gas cards to those who own their own vehicle. For people who don’t have access to public transportation or a vehicle or need transportation outside of bus route hours, a taxi will be sent to their home to take them to work or class.
“While some programs only operate during standard business hours, ETA works with five local taxi providers, ensuring residents will have round-trip transportation to where they need to be regardless of their shift or class time,” said Snow.
Residents needing transportation outside of Oswego County can still use this service. While out of county support is limited, residents can still get rides for employment or educational purposes by connecting to a Centro bus route.
“Although curb-to-curb transportation is only offered within Oswego County, we can still assist residents in getting across county lines,” added Snow. “We will transport the resident to the nearest viable Centro bus stop and provide them with a bus pass to cover the fare. Once their day is over, they will be picked up at the Centro bus stop and transported back to their home.”
Advanced notice of at least three business days is required for each trip.
For more information, call Oswego County Director of Mobility Management Heather Snow at 315-746-4220, Oswego County Mobility Management Coordinator Kristen Fragale at 315-746-4221, or email ETA@oswegocounty.com.
