Washington County to pilot free microtransit service in South Cooper Mountain area in early 2026

Washington County staff told the Planning Commission on July 15 that the county will launch a 15‑month, no‑fare microtransit pilot in areas of South Cooper Mountain, River Terrace and Progress Ridge starting in early 2026.

Reza Farhuti, transit planner, said the pilot is funded by a statewide Transportation Improvement Fund discretionary grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). He said the ODOT grant award to the county was $595,000 and that the county added matching funds so the total project budget is approximately $735,000.

Farhuti said the service is intended to fill gaps in rapidly growing neighborhoods where TriMet fixed‑route service is not yet available and to provide first/last‑mile connections to TriMet nodes such as Merlo (MAX) Station, Washington Square Transit Center and Tigard Transit Center. The county has procured two accessible vans (up to eight passengers) and is finalizing a software provider. The planned operator is Bridal Connection, a nonprofit that currently operates community connector and door‑to‑door shuttles in the county.

"This would be a shared, public service with an app or phone‑in option and it will be free to the public," Farhuti said. "There will be no eligibility criteria; anyone in the service area can ride."

Farhuti said the pilot aims to launch in January 2026 and run approximately 15 months to gather data on travel patterns and demand. He said the pilot will help staff evaluate where microtransit complements fixed‑route service and whether the model should be expanded to other low‑density areas.

Commissioners asked about service design, outreach and operations. Farhuti said staff are conducting summertime outreach (farmer’s markets, school contacts and neighborhood events) and plan a fall marketing push with postcards and coordination with Beaverton and Tigard partners, school districts and affordable housing property managers. He said the county is exploring options to incorporate the service into regional trip planners so itineraries can include microtransit connections.

On service rules, Farhuti said age and unaccompanied‑minor policies are set by the operator; he said Bridal Connection’s policy would likely permit middle‑school‑age riders and that all high‑school students should be allowed. Commissioners suggested outreach to homeowners associations, chambers of commerce and affordable‑housing providers to reach potential riders.

Farhuti said the county will ask the software provider and operator to collect demographic and trip data to inform evaluation but acknowledged privacy and technical constraints. He said operating hours are still under development; early plans focus on weekdays during daytime and evening hours.

No final adoption or formal vote was taken; the presentation described the pilot design, funding and outreach plans and solicited commission input.