Buckeye council approves transit master plan update, greenlights microtransit pilot

The Buckeye City Council unanimously approved an update to the city's transit master plan on Dec. 2, 2025, endorsing a short-term pilot that relies on on-demand, curb-to-curb service using small vans rather than a standard fixed-route system.

John Willett, identified in the meeting as deputy director of transportation in the program management office, told the council the city's dispersed development pattern makes a typical fixed-route system impractical and that a flexible microtransit approach best fits Buckeye's mix of suburban and lower-density areas. "It's kinda like Uber for transit," Willett said, explaining the model of picking riders up at or near their homes and dropping them at destinations rather than requiring fixed stops.

Willett said the updated plan incorporated 17 public comments received after an October workshop and outlined short- and long-term strategies including a pilot, staffing needs, vehicle redeployments and funding considerations. In the short term, the city will use small vans (described in the presentation as similar in size to Chrysler minivans, holding roughly three to four riders) and assign community services staff to operate the program while the city evaluates microtransit vendors and options.

A Community Services staff member (identified during the meeting as the transit coordinator role, name not specified in the transcript) told the council the pilot will begin with an advanced-reservation window—initially 48 hours—and that same-day reservations would be considered if capacity allows. The staffer said the city is hiring drivers ("2 and a half" positions were referenced as funded in January) and that new vehicles ordered for the effort are expected early in 2026, with a target of "next summer" to have the pilot running depending on hiring and software testing.

Council members asked how the service would operate, whether it would be point-to-point or require stops, the types of vehicles to be used, and how the city would staff extended hours. City staff said the system will emphasize curb-to-curb pickups and coordinate trips to consolidate riders going to similar destinations.

The council motioned to approve the transit master plan update as presented; the motion passed unanimously of the members present. The plan references the city's earlier transit planning work completed by the Maricopa Association of Governments in November 2016 and frames the current update as an implementation step toward a staged investment in public transportation for Buckeye.

Next steps outlined in the meeting include launching the pilot program, monitoring and adjusting operations as demand data come in, and continuing to pursue longer-term connections with regional transit providers.