Sometimes where an employee works isn't the issue, but rather how they're getting there.
In 2019, nearly two-thirds of working Americans said their commute caused them stress, according to the State of the American Commute Report conducted by Scoop, a carpooling platform. Sixty-two percent of workers reported not applying to jobs based on how the location would impact their commute, and 30% even considered quitting their jobs based on their daily commute.
"The commute is yours to figure out alone," says Ryan McManus, founder and CEO of SHARE Mobility, a startup that provides transportation solutions for companies. "Companies can't ask if someone owns a car, because that's considered financial information, so they've shied away from trying to offer help in that area."
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SHARE Mobility estimates that around 80% of companies have refrained from offering any kind of transportation benefit, even those that operate outside of the reach of public transportation. For employees who live outside of major cities with robust bus or subway systems, or who don't have access to a reimbursement or pre-taxed benefits, commuting to work can be a significant obstacle — and an expensive one, too.
The average household spends approximately 9% of its income on transportation, according to the Federal Transportation Administration. But for hourly or low income workers, the cost is steeper: this demographic is spending nearly 37% of their household income on their commute alone.
"Before they even have the job, it limits their earning potential," McManus says. "If they can't drive to a job that pays a few dollars per hour and is located outside the bus line, they end up spending a large percentage of that income on transportation."
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When McManus started SHARE Mobility, he wanted to solve that problem. The venture doesn't function like a typical ride-share system like Uber or Lyft, where the employee would still have to pay out of pocket and eventually get reimbursed. Instead, it's an employer-facing solution that can be integrated into their HR and payroll systems. SHARE will identify all of the employees currently spending large portions of their income on commuting and then create a daily route they can cover with a bus or caravan, depending on the number of employees who need a ride to work.
Employees then just have to show up daily to their pickup location, along with two or three other coworkers, much like the school bus model. The solution is two-fold: it gets employees to work and it educates companies on the commuting problem that exists in today's job landscape.
"Today, companies will ask 'do you have reliable transportation?' That can be a discrimination mechanism and it definitely is a barrier to employment for some," McManus says. "We help companies include mobility information in the new hire package so that when individuals are taking a new job, they're able to make a decision about how they're going to commute before they go buying a car or figuring it out on their own."
Not only will this help companies reduce their overall turnover rate, it's also a critical part of equitable hiring. Transportation equity varies greatly between racial minorities, according to McManus.
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"Transportation inequality is not equal across all demographics," he says. "When you look at car ownership rates by different demographics, you'll see that [inaccessibility] can be two or three times as high in minority or immigrant and refugee households. There are people who are ready to work, but don't have access to drivers' licenses."
SHARE Mobility also partners with refugee and immigrant nonprofits that have access to those communities in order to connect them to the network of rides the platform offers. This creates opportunities for employees who would have otherwise turned down a job opportunity due to lack of transportation, and fills an empty position at a company in the midst of The Great Resignation.
"Transportation is proving to be the best way for these companies to fill jobs," McManus says. "It's a benefit that employees are able to depend on and eventually something that employers are going to recognize as critical as a health insurance benefit."
