To help commuters reach jobs in the suburbs, Philadelphia Unemployment Project is lobbying Philadelphia’s city council for $750,000 to expand the organization’s Commuter Options program, writes Jane M. Von Bergen for Philly.com.

The Commuter Options program currently provides around 150 city residents with a car pool option to get their jobs in nearby counties.

To help with this, the program receives a grant of $360,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for 13 car pools with each car carrying four to five commuters.

Now PUP wants additional funding to expand the program to 75 car pools for around 300 workers. However, according to SEPTA, this system is based on the perception that it is suburban residents who need to commute to city jobs.

These days it is quite the opposite as city residents are finding jobs in the suburbs, but often lack reliable transportation to get there.

To address this, Francis Kelly, SEPTA’s assistant general manager, said that the transportation company has expanded its suburban options. “Our ridership has increased over the last five years and a lot of it has to do with the reverse commute.”

Read more about the proposed program at Philly.com by clicking here.

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Top photo credit: davidwilson1949 20080602 27 SEPTA Route 100 Bridgeport, Pennsylvania via photopin (license)