NEWBERG, Ore. — Fare and route changes to Yamhill County Transit are shifting from a September launch date to a tentative November 1, 2026. This change allows more room for the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners to discuss the changes and give the public room to comment. There was a digital open house on YCT’s website that allowed comments to be submitted, which closed August 31, 2026.
The shift also schedules time for YCT to update existing signage and materials to communicate the changes to the public, according to YCT Transit Manager Cynthia Thompson.
“As we developed a more detailed implementation timeline, we determined that a September 1 implementation date was not feasible,” Thompson said in an email. “Moving the implementation to November 1 provides the time needed to complete the approval process and ensure the changes are communicated and implemented properly.”
The new fare policy is scheduled to be presented to the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners during their September 24, 2026 meeting, but the date is subject to change. If the item remains on the September 24 agenda, the public will have the opportunity to provide comments on October 1, 2026 before the commissioners give their final input and approval.
Original story published Sept. 1 below:
Starting September 2026, Yamhill County Transit, the county’s public transportation system, is reinstating fares for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and adding a new fareless GoLocal flex route to Newberg to replace the dial-a-ride service.
New fares include one-way tickets, day passes, monthly passes, and annual passes, with local fares starting at $2 and ranging up to $250 for an annual pass.
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Fares will be collected via the Token Transit app when boarding the bus. The app allows users to purchase different types of fares and passes ahead of time. Cash will be accepted, but only for one-way rides.
The dial-a-ride service currently operating in Newberg will be renamed GoWell and will not be open to the general public. According to a fact sheet published by YCT, the service will instead be limited to adults aged 60 and older and people with disabilities. There is no application for the demand response service, but only eligible riders can use it.
In Newberg, the new GoLocal flex route will operate up to four days a week and aims to improve mobility more than the 44 bus route that runs from McMinnville to Tigard with stops near Nap’s Thriftway, Walgreens, and Providence Newberg Medical Center, among others.
Riders can choose to use GoLocal’s set route or schedule a pickup or drop-off point ahead of time within designated deviation zones.
Along with the other updates to routes and schedules on the trip planning tool, YCT will release the GoLocal flex map after receiving approval for the new policies by the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners during one of its September meetings, according to a July 30, 2026, news post by the City of Newberg. The GoLocal route is not active as of Aug. 31, 2026.
A rebrand is also in the works for the ADA Paratransit system, which only operates in McMinnville and is available to approved riders unable to use the fixed-route services due to a disability. Fares will start at $4 for single riders, with monthly and annual passes also available for the service, which will be renamed Access Link.
All local routes operating in McMinnville will see schedule changes regardless of whether the route path is adjusted. It is not immediately clear whether timing adjustments will also be made to commuter routes such as Line 44 through Newberg.
These fare additions and route adjustments result from rising operational costs and a budget deficit of about $700,000 this year, as revenue and funding have declined, YCT said on its website.
“The cost of fuel, labor, insurance, purchasing buses and even basic materials and service expenses have doubled over the last few years, and still costs continue to climb,” the YCT website said. “Meanwhile, federal, state, and local revenue has remained flat or declined. To address these financial challenges, it’s necessary to reintroduce an affordable fare system along with additional service adjustments that optimize routes and connections.”
Ballot Measure 120, which would have provided an estimated $117 million for Oregon public transportation systems, did not pass in the May 19, 2026, election.
In August 2026, YCT received a $1.92 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration as part of Section 5339(a) funding, which designates funding for upgrading aging vehicles and facilities. Yamhill County applied for the grant in June 2025, according to Deputy County Administrator Kevin Perkins. The funding will replace existing vehicles in the YCT fleet nearing the end of their service life.
Under the grant requirement, which mandates a 20% local funding match, Yamhill County also contributed $339,000 toward bus capital expenditures.
“The process from selection of grant recipients to delivery of a new vehicle can take from two to five years depending on when the state determines the award and the production capacity of vendors,” Perkins said in an email. “Due to funding restrictions at the state and federal level, these funds cannot be used for operations.”
Update Sept. 10, 2026 12:06 p.m. — This story was updated with new information and an updated fare implementation schedule.
