Douglas County commissioners approved spending nearly $3 million to offer free transportation within Highlands Ranch, a move officials hope expands micro transit services throughout the large county south of Denver.

Douglas County plans to annually spend $2.9 million with Via Transportation, providing free transportation options through most of the affluent Highlands Ranch metro district.

Set to launch in late spring, anyone in Highlands Ranch could call a number, or book through a mobile app, to grab a shuttle ride. The service connects to businesses, shopping centers, businesses, schools, parks, medical centers and Regional Transportation District stations.

Micro-transit, a hyper-localized strategy that Denver has also adopted in select neighborhoods, focuses on transferring people to select spots within specific boundaries.

Via already offers micro transit services in neighboring Lone Tree, called “Linked on Demand,” a decade-old offering that officials now, in part, plans to interconnect with Highlands Ranch, according to county officials.

Linked on Demand offers wheelchair-accessible, family-friendly shuttles driven by professional drivers.

Planned now for Highlands Ranch, services are as simple as transit from an auto repair shop, or a high school student needing transport to a summer job, according to officials.

Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon called the move a “safety solution.”

“If you’re a senior in Highlands Ranch trying to get to Sky Ridge Medical Center, you now can do that for free,” Laydon said in a previous board meeting. “People who were limited within the incorporated portions of Lone Tree in the past, now can go beyond that in unincorporated Douglas County in most of Highlands Ranch.”

At the meeting, Laydon noted Via’s Highlands Ranch expansion may open doors for countywide micro transit, mentioning both Parker and Castle Rock as potential suitors.

“Link on Demand in Lone Tree has been a successful model,” Laydon said in a news release. “We’re thankful for that example and look forward to this launch in Highlands Ranch and, eventually, countywide.”

Commissioner George Teal emphasized the service highly benefits the elderly or those with certain medical needs.

“As part of our Older Adult Initiative, we heard loud and clear that older adults need help getting to and from doctors’ appointments, the grocery store and entertainment,” Teal said. “We are excited to launch this program to help meet their needs.”

Earlier this year, county commissioners budgeted $3 million in Capital Improvement Plan funds for micro transit services, anticipating its need for a county that continues to grow in population.

Commissioners said micro transit could boost sales tax revenue by transporting people to businesses and services, enough revenue to possibly exceed its annual expenses.

Douglas County’s program is similar to Denver’s $6 million city-operated micro transit operation in west Denver neighborhoods. Denver’s “high demand” micro transit offers SUV transport anywhere within its boundaries.

Like Lone Tree and Denver’s program, Douglas County will operate on a fixed schedule. Officials proposed the fixed schedule for its Highlands Ranch expansion:

• Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Fridays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“Folks of Highlands Ranch and much of Douglas County have been jealous of Lone Tree and the Link for several years now,” Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle, who represents most of Highlands Ranch, said at the board meeting.

“To connect those two large communities in the northern part of Douglas County, well over 100,00 people,” Van Winkle said, “one cohesive transportation plan is a big achievement.”