DETROIT — Detroit officials sat for years on millions in transportation funds intended for a ride service to help low-income residents get to work, the Lansing State Journal reported.

The Detroit Department of Transportation received a total of $17.4 million in federal and state transportation funds in 2004-12 to start the program, called Job Access and Reverse Commute, which provides affordable door-to-door rides to enable car-less city residents to get to work, the Journal said.

The program has been mentioned as one possible solution to the predicament faced by James Robertson, a 56-year-old Detroit man profiled by the Free Press this week who, due to the region's limited bus service, walks about 21 miles a day in his commute to and from a factory job in Rochester Hills, the Journal said.

But not until last summer did DDOT launch the rides program for Detroit residents. Why DDOT didn't set up the program earlier was not immediately clear this week, according to the report.

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