Oktoobar 22, 2026 · RES 26-5643
Resolution No. 26-5643
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Metro adopts five-year plan to bring back vanpools for commuters
The plan is a five-year roadmap to restart vanpooling in the Portland region, where 5 to 12 people share a van to ride to work. Metro will help promote a new state vanpool program run by the Oregon Department of Transportation and study who could run a lasting regional program later. The region has had no formal vanpool program since Metro ended its subsidies in 2012.
Decision: Passed, 5 to 0, with 2 councilors excused.
Who it affects: Workers who commute long distances or to jobs that buses do not serve well, such as shift, hospitality and health care workers, and their employers.
Money: The Oregon Department of Transportation has set aside about $3 million over three years for vanpool programs and rider subsidies statewide, with a focus on the Metro region and underserved communities.
Official record
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Page 1 Resolution No. 26-5643
BEFORE THE METRO COUNCIL
FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADOPTING THE
REGIONAL VANPOOL ACTION PLAN
) RESOLUTION NO. 26-5643
)
) Introduced by Chief Operating Officer
) Marissa Madrigal in concurrence with
) Council President Juan Carlos González
WHEREAS, federal and state law require Metro adopt an approach to congestion management
and greenhouse gas reduction that incorporates transportation demand management (TDM); and
WHEREAS, since 2003 Metro’s Regional Travel Options (RTO) program has advanced TDM in
the Portland metropolitan area in alignment with the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP); and
WHEREAS, the 2023 RTP identified vanpool as a pricing policy to improve reliability and
efficiency of the transportation network, reduce VMT per capita, and increase transportation options; and
WHEREAS, in April 2026, the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) and
the Metro Council adopted the Regional TDM Strategy which identifies increasing the availability of
vanpool as a strategy to meet goals to deliver adaptive and resilient programming that strengthens
commuters’ ability to reliably get to job centers; and
WHEREAS, the Regional TDM Strategy serves as guidance for Metro’s RTO program delivery
and funding, including specific strategies to inform RTO work program development and an evaluation
approach of Metro-funded TDM programs; and
WHEREAS, the Regional Vanpool Action Plan provides a five-year strategic roadmap for
establishing a long-lasting vanpool program in the greater Portland region that will guide Metro staff and
partners to promote current Oregon Department of Transportation vanpool programming and explore
governance options for continued programming; and
WHEREAS, the Oregon Department of Transportation has dedicated $3 million to support
vanpool programming and commuter subsidies in the state, with a focus on the Metro region and
underserved communities; and
WHEREAS, Metro staff developed the Regional Vanpool Action Plan with input from regional
technical and policy advisory committees including the Vanpool Action Plan Technical Work Group,
RTO grantees and partners, county coordinating committees, and the Transportation Policy Alternatives
Committee (TPAC), JPACT and the Metro Council; and
WHEREAS, Metro released the Regional Vanpool Action Plan for a 30-day public comment
period from July 1 through July 31, 2026; and
WHEREAS, Metro received 5 comments through the 30-day public comment period and Metro
staff reviewed and made recommendations for revisions to the Regional Vanpool Action Plan; and
WHEREAS, on October 2, 2026, TPAC recommended that JPACT approve this resolution; and
Page 2 Resolution No. 26-5643
WHEREAS, on October 15, 2026, JPACT approved and recommended the Metro Council adopt
this resolution; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that the Metro Council adopts the Regional Vanpool Action Plan, attached to this
resolution as Exhibit A.
ADOPTED by the Metro Council this 22nd day of October 2026.
Juan Carlos González, Council President
Approved as to Form:
Carrie MacLaren, Metro Attorney
