Travelers Aid Society of Pittsburgh with
Family Services of W PA Employment
Gasoline Assistance Program

Description:   This investment will support the provision of 12 months of gasoline assistance to 80 low income working parents per year who have already received a loan to purchase a vehicle through the FSWP’s Ways to Work program.  This further investment will make it possible to significantly increase the percentage of those individuals able to maintain employment from 70% (as demonstrated under the existing program) to 90%. 

The Program Serves a Population with Great Needs:   Eligible participants are Ways to Work clients who have secured a loan for the purchase or repair of a car in order to access work, childcare, and job training opportunities.  Participants must be employed a minimum of 20 hours per week for at least 3 months and be the involved parent of a child under 18 or in school.  Many are single mothers and former offenders who have been referred by the Department of Public Welfare.   

The Program Achieves Measurable Results:   A 2006 study of Travelers Aid’s programs by Hide Yamatani, Ph.D, from the University of Pittsburgh revealed a return of $5.64 in increased wages for clients for every dollar invested, and an annual income gain of $1,031 for job-retention program participants over non-participants.  In the Ways to Work program 70% of individuals maintain or improve employment, individual credit scores increase by an average of 40 points, and average take home pay increases of 41%. 

The Program Applies a Sound Approach:  The Ways to Work program allows low-income families to maintain or advance their employment status through credit counseling, financial literacy training, and loan facilitation.  Access to a reliable car and gas money provides the option to work non-traditional hours and access employment sites not located on traditional transit lines.  As an added budgeting incentive, participants will make monthly co-pays for gasoline cards during the final 6 months of the program that will be returned at the end of the program in the form of additional gasoline cards. 

Alignment with Preferred Outcomes and Likelihood of Community Change:

• 90% of individuals assisted will remain employed after 12 months
• An additional 15% reduction in the number of missed days of work

Community Outcomes:  Currently, human services transportation funding is allocated in silos from various state and local sources with little coordination. Such systems are susceptible to duplications and gaps in service.  Travelers Aid is working actively with the PA legislature to include language in the next transit bill to replicate models similar to theirs throughout the Commonwealth.  Travelers Aid is also working with Giant Eagle and will begin using “Get Go” gas cards and marketing this program to Giant Eagle employees, many of whom rely on public transportation and work schedules beyond the traditional 9-5 work week.