Transportation & Workforce: Why Transit Matters to Local Businesses

Transportation may not be the first thing businesses think about when discussing workforce challenges, but maybe it should be.

In this episode of Chamber Amplified, Doug Jenkins talks with Kendra Lenz of Rowmark about how access to reliable transportation directly impacts hiring, retention, attendance, and workforce development in Hancock County.

They discuss:

• Why transportation is becoming a bigger workforce issue
• How Tall Timbers businesses are partnering with HATS
• The real cost of absenteeism tied to transportation gaps
• Why vehicle affordability is part of the challenge
• How local support for transit leverages federal funding
• What the proposed microtransit plan could mean for employers

With over 87,000 rides provided in 2025 and more than 4,200 ride requests turned away due to capacity limits, the need for reliable workforce transportation is clear.

If you care about hiring, retention, and keeping Hancock County’s economy strong, this is a conversation worth hearing.

Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Transcript

Setting The Stakes For Transit

Doug Jenkins 0:05

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Chamber Amplified, brought to you by the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. I'm your host, Doug Jenkins. Each week on the podcast, we're talking about the things that matter most to local businesses and organizations, could be workforce development, leadership development, marketing, IT issues, just really the everyday realities of running something that serves our community. On today's episode, we're talking about transportation and its impact on the workforce. So let me ask you this: what if the biggest hiring barrier isn't necessarily pay, but getting to work? So, according to local stats, 50% of Hats rides over the last year were for people going to and from work. In 2025 alone, Hats, in fact, had to turn away 4,200 ride requests due to capacity. Now, that's not all work. That could be for medical, that could be for rides to go to the grocery store, things like that, but that's a lot of rejected riders. And there's a ripple effect. Companies in Tall Timbers are literally pooling money so that they can support transit and get employees to work. Reliable transportation directly impacts their retention, attendance, and labor pool size. We're going to break that all down. My guest today is Kendra Lenz of Roark. We're going to talk about what they're seeing at Roamark, as well as at many other employers, as they try and help their employees out and see how a proposed microtransit system might help out in that regard as well. If you're enjoying the podcast, don't forget to leave us a rating or review and share it with others. We're also on YouTube now, so if you really want to share the message, that's just a real easy way to do it. Now, let's get into it. Let's first talk about how uh you came into the conversation. Obviously, Roamark and you and Eric uh are big proponents of making sure there's some transit to get people to work.

Kendra Lenz 1:49

Yes. You know, trans transportation may not be the first thing that businesses think about when they're discussing workforce challenges, but I'm I'm here to say it maybe it should be. Um, you know, at Rowmark, we recognize that you know access to reliable transportation directly impacts hiring, retaining employees, and you know, employees with attendance. Um, you know, after we did a survey in July of 25 in the Tall Timbers Industrial Park where we're located, and it was very clear that this is a broader economic issue. So, you know, it nearly every single company in the park either is currently using or has in the past used uh utilized Hats transportation services.

Doug Jenkins 2:31

And I have to imagine that's something that trickles down. It's not just the companies out at Tall Timbers, it's gotta be up and down Main Street, Tiffin Avenue, Trenton Avenue. If you have workers who struggle to find transportation, you're gonna have that higher absentee rate. You're gonna have a much higher turnover rate.

Partnering With HATS Beats DIY Shuttles

Kendra Lenz 2:47

Yeah, we even um, you know, I kind of toyed around with the idea of even hiring a part-time driver just because, you know, I figured that it would, you know, we, you know, would have somebody on staff that would be able to go and pick people up and bring them to and from work. Um, but once we evaluated, you know, our insurance, the liability, scheduling, the vehicle costs, all of the logistics, you know, it was just smarter and more effective option to utilize hats. Um, you know, they've already got that infrastructure, infrastructure in place, you know, they've already got insurance, they've got trained drivers. Um, so I mean, it just it just didn't make sense.

Doug Jenkins 3:23

Let's talk about hats and and your relationship with them. Obviously, like you said, they're they're able to bring people out to work for you. Uh, I I know that uh you're a big supporter of the program. How are your employees using hats right now to get to and from work?

How Employees Use HATS Daily

Kendra Lenz 3:36

So usually uh, well, right now we have about two employees that are using it on a very regular basis. They schedule their pickup time. Um, sometimes they are coming to work, you know, a half hour, 45 minutes before they their their actual shift uh schedule, um, just because you know they're at the mercy of when they can be picked up. Um, but they don't want to miss work. So it's not that they're not willing to uh utilize hats, it's or you know, you using hats, but they want to make sure that they are at work.

Doug Jenkins 4:09

When you look at the proposed microtransit plan for Findlay and Hancock County, what are the things that stand out to you that are uh appealing from the business business community side?

Kendra Lenz 4:19

Uh well, again, like I said, it helps with retention. Um, you know, you're you're it opens up that job pool. Um, you know, if you, you know, when we um bring in, you know, employees or candidates, uh we ask, you know, do you have reliable transportation? And sometimes they do not. And so I think it opens up that labor pool um a little bit more so that way you have more people to choose from.

Microtransit’s Promise For Employers

Doug Jenkins 4:43

Let's talk about the downstream effects of that. So people don't have that reliable transportation. Obviously, it's a problem for you for a business. You've got to make sure all the lines are running and everything. But that's a real limiting capacity for them to find good jobs. I mean, there are plenty of good jobs out in tall timbers and all across Findlay, but if you can't get to them, your access to making your life better is is really hampered.

Subsidizing Rides To Build Stability

Kendra Lenz 5:05

Yeah, it definitely is a holdback. Um, you know, especially where we're located. We're on the north end of Findlay. So we're, you know, a lot of folks, you know, live right downtown. And so it is a little bit of a commute. So they're relying on either co-workers or friends or family members to pick them up and take them to and from work. Um, what we started to do is, you know, we just left, you know, left, let it out to be that they get a 60 or 90-day um uh supplemented transportation. So we are actually picking up the cost for 60 to 90 days. So depending on, you know, their situation, just so they can um start saving up money to be a little bit more self-sufficient. Um, and then you know, they may pick up some of that cost, or we may share that just because we want them to have something invested in transportation as far as you know getting themselves to and from work.

Coordinating Stops Across Tall Timbers

Doug Jenkins 5:56

I think that's a really good point, and and I'd love to hear that it's not you just saying, hey, we need this plan. You are actively investing in your employees being able to use the plan so that they can get moving in in that positive direction. I think that's something that uh I I know that the all the tall timbers businesses tend to work together on these types of things. So I'm sure that's something that may have been shared out there, but that's a great template, I think, for other businesses in the community as well if they can do it.

Post‑COVID Costs And Car Access

Kendra Lenz 6:22

Yeah, so Chuck Bills uh from Ohio Logistics and I have had several conversations with uh James Baker, Crystal Weitz, and uh Josh Anderson from the uh community commission. And, you know, just trying to figure out you know what we can do in the park, whether it's like different bus stops and where those bus stops might be located. And then they might have to walk a little bit um to the businesses, but um, you know, it would be you know more available and it would make things uh run a little bit more efficiently, um having those planned bus stops and times.

Doug Jenkins 6:57

Is this a in your time in HR and looking at this, is this a bigger issue now than it was maybe, oh I don't want to say five or six years ago, because five or six years ago there were some some fairly significant issues not related to transportation at all, but let's say pre-COVID, is this a bigger issue now?

Kendra Lenz 7:15

I definitely think so. And I think it's only getting getting, I would say, worse that people do not have an you know transportation, whether it's because they can't afford a vehicle or they don't have a driver's license, uh, but they want to work. And so we we have, you know, a lot of our businesses in the park are hiring and we have plenty of jobs. We just we just need them to get a little bit north uh of Findlay to uh to you know take on some of these positions.

Capacity Limits And Turned‑Away Riders

Doug Jenkins 7:42

Yeah, that's a good point about affording a car because you know there will be people say, well, you know, why can't they just get a car? Well, the that we talked about it at Fresh Brood uh in February, what the average price of a car is now, even a used car. Uh I don't remember what I paid for my first used car, my Hyundai Scoop, 91 Hyundai Scoop, shadow missed the blue bullet. Uh, but uh I I know it was not what used cars are going for now. There's no way as a high school student I could have afforded that. Uh and you know, there's that price has really gone out of control, and that's a big, big contributing factor to all of this.

Kendra Lenz 8:20

Yeah, and you know, in talking with uh James, um, you know, I I found out that 50% of the hats rides are for people going to and from work. So, I mean, that's their largest group of people that are utilizing their services. And in 2025, they had they provided 87, over 87,000 rides just in 2025. And they did also share the other statistic that, you know, 4,200 um people that they had to turn away because of their capacity limitations. So they don't have enough vehicles or enough um, you know, drivers to get people to and from work.

Health Access And Attendance Ripple Effects

Doug Jenkins 8:56

I think the other side of ripple effect of this is not only do people not have that reliable way to get to work, they don't have a reliable way to get to doctor's appointments either. And that causes a ripple effect if you have employees who aren't healthy or they can't find reliable transportation, they may have to take time off of work just to get to that doctor's appointment, where if they had better reliable transportation, they would one be able to get there more often, and two, maybe be able to schedule around the workday. So that would be, I think, a huge benefit for you as well.

Pooling Funds To Unlock Federal Dollars

Kendra Lenz 9:27

Yeah, some of the um uh companies, a few of the companies in the park, we're kind of pulling our money together. Um, and we are going to support um hats so that way we have a a dedicated resource or dedicated van that will be coming into our area to bring um you know people to and from work. Um, I last year I think it was about $264,000 in local support, leveraged nearly $800,000 in federal funding funding. So every local dollar is essentially multiplied.

Doug Jenkins 9:59

So if uh obviously you have worked pretty close with hats, if people want to learn more about the proposed microtransit system or just about how hats work, or if they just want to have a conversation about what the lack or access to transportation means to the workforce, where are some good places to start?

A Call For Business Collaboration

Kendra Lenz 10:17

So um I would just call the hats number. Um uh Crystal White's is a great resource, James Baker, um, Josh Anderson, all three of them. Um, you know, they they're very responsive. Um we have employees that you know reach out, they can text and schedule their rides, um, but they are very easy to get a hold of and and super responsive. And they want to they want to provide opportunities for you know people in the community to come into tall timbers and other locations um so that way they have you know a place to work.

Doug Jenkins 10:49

Hey Kendra, I know you were super prepared for this interview and you had your notes down and everything. So I want to give you the opportunity. If I didn't get to anything on your notes, let's get those out because I want to make sure that we get all the information out uh that that you want to have out there for sure.

Kendra Lenz 11:03

Yeah, yeah, sure. So I would just say, you know, at the end of the day, this is about keeping Hancock County moving forward. You know, when transportation is reliable, when employees can get to work, uh, when businesses can stay fully staffed. They have, you know, we all have a lot of open positions. Um, you know, our local economy remains strong. So we have, you know, we already have several companies in the park that are committed to supporting Hats. Um, you know, and we're hoping that other businesses will also join us. But investing locally in transit isn't just supporting a service, it's strengthening our workforce and our community.

Doug Jenkins 11:36

I think that's well said. I appreciate you coming on to talk about that today.

Kendra Lenz 11:40

Absolutely. Thanks, Doug.

Doug Jenkins 11:43

A couple of key points to talk about as we wrap up today's edition of the podcast. Reliable transit improves attendance, retention, and access to health care around the community. But businesses alone can't solve this, certainly. They're part of the solution. You've heard uh some of the talk that Kendra and I just had, but collaboration with the community is going to matter in this regard. And local investment leverages federal funding. Those local dollars end up multiplying the impact. Investing in transit, it equals investing in workforce stability and economic strength. At least it's something to think about. Well, that'll do it for another edition of Chamber Amplified. This is a free podcast available to the community, made possible by the investment and by our members at the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. If you're looking at ways to get your business involved in the community, oftentimes the chamber is the best way to start. And if you'd like to learn more about that, just send me an email, D Jenkins at Finlay Hancock Chamber.com, and we can talk about how an investment in the chamber not only helps your business, but the business community as a whole. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time on Chamber Amplified from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.