Bike Distribution Program

On Friday, November 20, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony to kick off the partnership between Richmond’s Center for Workforce Innovation and Capital One. This partnership was developed in order to improve workforce development efforts in the greater Richmond area.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones along with Jamison Manion, Programs Administrator for Workforce Development from the Richmond Center for Workforce Innovation, Lane Hopkins, Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President from Human Resources at Capital One, and Michael Gilbert, a representative from RideRichmond, spoke about the Bike Distribution Program that will give a bicycle to individuals who complete the Center’s Workforce Pipeline training program. This will allow them greater access to transportation in the greater Richmond area.

Many jobs lie outside the reach of Richmond residents who are strictly dependent upon GRTC bus lines. This lack of transportation greatly contributes to the unemployment rate among the city’s lower-income population. The Workforce Pipeline program in conjunction with the Bike Distribution Program improves the mobility of engaged workforce participants to attend training and get to work. Riding a bike extends their opportunities to easily reach 1000 more employers and compete for 18,000 more jobs that lie within a short ride from the end of the bus line.