CUMBERLAND, Cobb County — Cobb County and the Cumberland Community Improvement District announced that they have been awarded $6,600,000 by the Federal Transit Administration to launch the Cumberland Autonomous Mobility Network, officials said at a news event.

"have been awarded $6,600,000 by the Federal Transit Administration to launch the Cumberland Autonomous Mobility Network," said Kim Menefee, executive director of the Cumberland Community Improvement District, announcing the award and thanking the FTA and U.S. Department of Transportation for their support.

The award funds a planned multi‑modal backbone called the Cumberland Suite, a roughly three‑mile connected loop designed to integrate sidewalks, bike paths and transit connections. Officials said the autonomous shuttle system will include eight American‑made, ADA‑accessible shuttles serving core destinations across the district.

"The Cumberland autonomous mobility network will consist of 8 shuttles along the core of this district," said Lisa Cupid, chairwoman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners. Cupid and other speakers framed the grant as making Cumberland the first public‑transit autonomous vehicle network in Georgia and, according to Menefee, the only autonomous vehicle project in the country to receive a low‑ or no‑emission vehicle grant award.

Steven Gentry, vice president and controller of Genuine Parts Company and treasurer of the Cumberland CID board, highlighted the CID's long‑term investments in the area: "As Georgia's first CID, we've invested over $180,000,000 in key transportation and infrastructure projects that serve our 31,000 residents, 88,000 employees, and 10,300,000 visitors each year." He and others credited earlier pilots — including the Cumberland Hopper autonomous shuttle pilot — with helping prepare the district for this larger deployment.

Joe Moy, a Cumberland CID board member and former CEO of Beep, described the project as personal: "I actually live 10 minutes down the road here, so this project is personal to me," and said public‑private partnerships at multiple government levels made the award possible.

Officials said the CID provided a $1,100,000 local match to help secure the FTA award. The CID and county said the network is intended to improve first‑ and last‑mile connectivity between employment centers, the Cobb Convention Center, entertainment venues and recreational areas, and to provide mobility options regardless of age, income or ability. Speakers said they expect to launch the system in 2027.

No formal county vote or acceptance ceremony related to the grant was recorded in the event remarks. Project partners named at the event included the Federal Transit Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Cobb County Department of Transportation and the autonomous‑vehicle developer Beep.

The announcement follows several years of local pilot work and planning; officials said the grant elevates Cumberland and Cobb County as a national example for next‑generation mobility. The CID and county will work with federal and private partners on design, procurement and operations in the months ahead.