Fredericksburg Transit Awarded $346K To Help Residents In Need

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The Virginia Transit Association awarded Fredericksburg Regional Transit a $346,000 grant to help fund the agency's Transit Supporting Working Families program.

The program provides transit passes to eligible residents to assist them in getting a job or maintaining employment as well as to attend classes or receive vocational training. The program will run through June 2021.

The purpose of the project is to advance the goals of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program through transit service, the city said.

“The ability to provide transit passes to participants significantly reduces a barrier to employment and provides the ability for those in the program to fulfill basic household needs without having to bear the burden of a transit fare,” Jamie Jackson, director of Fredericksburg Regional Transit, or FRED, said Thursday in a statement.

FRED Transit, in partnership with the city of Fredericksburg, Stafford County, Spotsylvania County and other community partners, will work with eligible residents in order to provide them with free FRED transit passes for work, education, and trade school trips to program participants.

Participants can also be eligible based on income — those who earn up to 200 percent of the poverty level who have a dependent child and receive SNAP or Medicaid. FRED will offer transit passes that assist participants in their trip-making options, reducing the impact on limited financial resources, mitigating at least one barrier to employment, and providing reliable transportation.

For more information, contact FRED Transit or the departments of Social Services in the city of Fredericksburg, Stafford County, or Spotsylvania County.