Find a Ride’s Trip Planner Makes Getting Around Easier and More Fun

Getting where you need to go shouldn’t be a puzzle. Whether it’s getting to work, school, the doctor, or just meeting friends, everyone deserves a simple way to plan a trip. That’s exactly what Find a Ride was created to do. And in 2026, it’s getting even better.

What is find a ride?

Find a Ride is a special transportation service developed by Hopelink’s Mobility Management team and the King County Mobility Coalition. The program’s goal is simple but powerful: to help people discover, plan, and connect to rides that meet their needs, all in one easy place.

It started as an online website where people in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties could look up transportation options. Before that, finding a ride could mean calling lots of numbers or searching many websites. Everyone from older adults and veterans to students and people with disabilities often had to become “travel experts” just to get around.

Find a Ride changed that by offering a “one-call/one-click” system, meaning you can either go online or make one phone call to get help planning your trip. Now, with the improved Trip Planner, everything is faster, simpler, and more accessible than ever.

Why it matters

Transportation is about more than getting from point A to point B. It’s about freedom—the freedom to go where you want, visit friends, see a doctor, or take a class. For older adults, people who use wheelchairs, or those living in rural areas, those little trips can make a huge difference. Find a Ride helps connect people to volunteer rides, buses, shuttles, and other specialized services designed to fit their individual needs.

Hopelink’s Mobility Management team says their work is all about increasing access and building connections between communities. They partner with local transit agencies, nonprofits, healthcare providers, and even technology experts to make sure that the system works for everyone—not just people who already know the bus schedule by heart.

The road so far

Find a Ride’s journey started several years ago, back in 2018, when the King County Mobility Coalition began designing a regional plan for better mobility. The idea came from listening to community members who said they needed something more user-friendly, especially for people who had physical or financial barriers to transportation.

The first version of the new Trip Planner was launched in March 2024. That year, it went through big accessibility tests to make sure people who are blind or have low vision could use it easily. The project also helped create a new transportation data standard called GTFS-Flex, which helps show real-time options for flexible transit like Dial‑A‑Ride and volunteer driver programs. That technology breakthrough made it easier to include rides that don’t always run on fixed routes or timetables—a huge boost for rural and specialized transportation.

In 2025, the project also got a major win. The Federal Transit Administration awarded Hopelink a federal grant to help fund Phase 2 of the One-Call/One-Click system. This phase focuses on improving the sign up process for these specialized services, which can include senior shuttles or low-cost fare cards. The grant also supports the program’s promise to stay inclusive, meaning that real people from the community, including seniors and riders with disabilities, continue to help test, design, and improve the system.

2026: Smarter, smoother, and more interactive

Now, in 2026, Find a Ride is again stepping up its game. The latest update brings a bunch of new features that make planning a trip both easy and fun.

Here’s what’s new and improved:

• Smarter trip recommendations: The new version uses better data to show you the most convenient and affordable routes, including buses, paratransit, volunteer drivers, and special shuttles.
• Personalized results: Users can filter options based on accessibility needs, distance, or cost. If you use a wheelchair or need door‑to‑door service, the planner will highlight the best matches automatically.
• Mobile-friendly design: Whether you’re on your phone, tablet, or computer, the website adjusts to fit your needs. That means you can plan your trip anytime, anywhere.
• Multilingual options: The Trip Planner and toolkit are now available in many languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Somali, Russian, Dari, Vietnamese, and more—helping even more people navigate their communities with ease.
• Community connections: You can now see more local transit partners and volunteer driver programs listed right in your results, so you know exactly who’s helping make your trip possible.
• Phase 2’s privacy and simplicity: Phase 2 will focus on a smoother “intake” process. Riders will be able to safely upload any needed eligibility documents online without piles of paperwork or repeated forms. Phase 2 will need your input. Stay tuned for focus groups, surveys, and opportunities for co-design.

All these updates come from what riders asked for during hundreds of hours of inclusive planning, community testing, and feedback sessions. In other words, Find a Ride was shaped by the people who use it.

Working together for a better ride

One of the best things about Find a Ride is how many people and organizations come together to make it work.

That teamwork makes Find a Ride something more than just a website—it’s a community project helping everyone travel more confidently.

Try it yourself

You can explore the Trip Planner today at FindARide.org. Just type where you’re starting from, where you want to go, and the time you want to travel. Then complete a customized travel profile. In just seconds, you’ll see your options, including connections to door‑to‑door services, shuttle programs, or nearby public transit.

Rolling into the future

With each new update, Find a Ride gets closer to its goal: a Puget Sound region where everyone can travel safely, easily, and independently. Whether you’re a older adult headed to a doctor’s visit, a teen going to after‑school practice, or a neighbor helping someone new to the area, Find a Ride is there to help.

Visit FindARide.Org/TripPlanner.

Laura Loe (she/they) is the program supervisor for Partnerships and Engagements for the Find a Ride platform at Hopelink in King County.