Nick Miccarelli Calls for Greater Coordination Between Employers and Community Transit Providers

RIDLEY PARK, Pa. – September 24, 2026 – Employers looking for workers often focus on recruiting, skills, wages, and retention. Nick Miccarelli, CEO of DELGO Community Transit, says another practical issue deserves a place in that conversation: whether employees can reliably get to work.

Transportation can be an overlooked barrier between available workers and available jobs. A position may offer competitive pay and match a candidate’s skills, but the opportunity becomes much harder to pursue when the employee lacks reliable transportation or when available transit options don’t align with workplace schedules.

“Sometimes the worker and the job are both there, but the connection between them isn’t,” said Miccarelli. “An employer might need someone at 6:00 in the morning, while the transportation options available to that person don’t line up with that shift. That’s the kind of practical gap we should be talking about.”

Miccarelli believes employers, community transit organizations, municipalities, and workforce development groups can make progress by sharing more information about where transportation barriers exist.

Transportation Can Affect Who Is Able to Work

For workers with access to a dependable personal vehicle, commuting may be little more than a routine part of the day. For those without one, a job’s location and schedule can determine whether accepting the position is realistic.

The issue can be particularly important for hourly workers, people entering or returning to the workforce, individuals with disabilities, and households with limited access to vehicles.

National research illustrates how transportation difficulties can spill into other areas of daily life. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Transport & Health, using data from the 2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, found that approximately 21% of U.S. adults without access to a vehicle or public transportation reported missing necessary activities because of transportation problems. Those activities included work, medical appointments, meetings, and obtaining necessities.

Miccarelli says workforce discussions can benefit from treating transportation as part of the employment equation rather than a completely separate issue.

“If an employee is capable, willing to work, and otherwise a good fit, transportation shouldn’t automatically be the thing that takes that opportunity away,” Miccarelli said. “We may not be able to solve every transportation challenge, but we can do a better job identifying where those challenges are happening.”

Employers Can Help Identify Transportation Gaps

Miccarelli is encouraging employers to communicate with local transportation and workforce organizations about their actual operating needs.

That can include sharing when major shifts begin and end, where large numbers of employees travel, whether transportation problems contribute to absenteeism, and whether certain locations are particularly difficult for workers to reach.

A manufacturing facility with an early morning shift, for example, may face very different transportation challenges than a retail center operating primarily during daytime and evening hours. Hospitals, warehouses, restaurants, industrial facilities, and other employers with nontraditional schedules may encounter yet another set of issues.

“Transportation planning works better when we understand how people are actually moving,” Miccarelli explained. “If a large employer has 100 people arriving at one time and another 100 leaving shortly afterward, that information matters. The same is true if an employer repeatedly hears from applicants that getting to the location is difficult.”

Employers do not need to become transportation experts. Miccarelli says simply sharing those patterns can give community organizations valuable information.

Communication Should Work in Both Directions

Better coordination also requires transportation providers and municipalities to communicate what is possible, what services already exist, and where limitations remain.

Miccarelli cautions against assuming that every transportation problem can be solved by adding a new route or vehicle. Funding, staffing, geography, demand, and operating costs all affect what a community transit organization can realistically provide.

That makes early communication particularly important.

“The answer isn’t always going to be, ‘We can add a service tomorrow,'” Miccarelli said. “Sometimes the solution might involve adjusting schedules, improving awareness of an existing option, coordinating with another organization, or identifying enough shared demand to justify a different approach. You don’t know until the right people are talking to each other.”

Municipalities and workforce development organizations can help facilitate those conversations by bringing together employers, transportation providers, community organizations, and residents.

Workforce Development Does Not End With Hiring

Miccarelli also believes communities should consider transportation when investing in workforce development.

Training programs can prepare someone for a new career. Employers can create openings. Workforce organizations can connect candidates with those opportunities. But if transportation prevents a worker from consistently reaching the workplace, an important piece of the system remains missing.

This is especially relevant when employment growth occurs in areas that were not originally designed around workers arriving without personal vehicles.

“Creating a job and making that job realistically accessible are two different things,” Miccarelli said. “If we’re serious about workforce development, we should be willing to look at the whole journey between someone wanting to work and being able to show up consistently.”

Miccarelli recommends that communities periodically examine where employment is growing, where workers live, what hours major employers operate, and where existing transportation options do not match those patterns.

He also encourages employers to ask employees directly about commuting difficulties rather than relying solely on assumptions. Patterns in lateness, turnover, or declined job offers may reveal transportation challenges that are otherwise easy to miss.

Building Stronger Connections Between Workers and Opportunity

For Miccarelli, greater coordination does not require every organization to take responsibility for every transportation problem. Instead, it requires recognizing that employment and transportation frequently intersect.

Employers understand their workforce needs. Transit organizations understand transportation operations. Municipalities understand local development and infrastructure. Workforce groups understand the barriers job seekers encounter. Bringing those perspectives together can make it easier to identify practical problems before they become persistent ones.

“Community transit is ultimately about connecting people with the places that matter in their lives,” Miccarelli said. “For a lot of people, one of the most important destinations is work. When employers and transportation organizations communicate, we have a better chance of understanding where the gaps are and finding practical ways to close them.”

As communities continue working to attract employers, develop talent, and strengthen local economies, Miccarelli believes transportation deserves to be part of the workforce conversation from the beginning.

About Nick Miccarelli

Nick Miccarelli is the CEO of DELGO Community Transit and a business leader, military veteran, and former Pennsylvania state representative. He leads DELGO Community Transit’s organizational strategy and operations, emphasizing reliable service, accountability, efficiency, and community partnerships. Miccarelli has served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard for more than 25 years and previously represented Pennsylvania’s 162nd Legislative District. His experience across transportation, public service, military service, and organizational leadership informs his practical approach to strengthening services and creating lasting value for local communities.

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City: Ridley Park
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