City of Pittsburgh Launches Guaranteed Basic Mobility Research Pilot Program
PITTSBURGH — The City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) is excited to launch a first-of-its-kind Guaranteed Basic Mobility (GBM) pilot program. The objective of the GBM pilot is to help alleviate the strain of transportation costs and potentially increase access to employment options, with the ultimate goal of improving the financial quality of life for the participants.
Providing affordable and reliable transportation is considered one of the main factors that enables upward socioeconomic mobility. DOMI is working in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University and the Manchester Citizens Corporation to identify 50 eligible participants who will receive free access to the full array of Move PGH’s shared mobility and transportation options. Those offerings include public transit, Spin scooters, POGOH bikes, and Zipcar. Other participants will receive monetary compensation for participating in the research project.
The yearlong pilot will evaluate GBM’s potential to improve economic, health, and social outcomes when financial barriers to transportation are removed; possibly improving access to jobs, education, healthcare, social services, and recreational activities. “Having access to affordable and reliable transportation is critical in helping families across our city find a pathway to prosperity,” said Mayor Ed Gainey. “This pilot program will help us more fully understand just how much of an impact transportation has on the lives and wellbeing of people in Pittsburgh.”
The pilot will focus on the Manchester and Chateau neighborhoods—areas noted in the Manchester Neighborhood Plan as having a median income 14% below that of the city as a whole—with recruiting and ongoing support of participants provided by the Manchester Citizens Corporation.
In order to qualify, participants must be receiving some form of government-funded social assistance, lack regular access to a personal car, and currently be seeking a job—or interested in finding a different job or working more hours.
The Guaranteed Basic Mobility pilot is generously funded by a $200,000 grant awarded from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and Spin has committed an additional $50,000 for the project.
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