Dooley made his announcement at a community forum on farm worker transportation held in Parlier, California. The Job Access and Reverse Commute program was originally created in 1997 to help those people moving from welfare to work secure transportation to jobs in outlying areas that aren't easily accessible by public transit. Dooley expressed his support for this overall increase, and hoped that some of these additional funds would be set aside to specifically address the systemic problems of farm worker transportation in the Central Valley.
Agricultural work is extremely difficult.
He noted the changes in state transportation law advanced by state Assembly members Dean Florez and Sarah Reyes last year after a tragic vehicle accident in Five Points in which 13 farm laborers lost their lives. Dooley said that he hoped to build upon these changes by addressing some of the inherent problems associated with farm worker transportation and explore innovative solutions to address these problems. Dooley noted that the project would help improve the quality of life of Valley farm workers.