At Ride Connection, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) isn’t a checklist; it’s the way we live our mission. From the beginning, accessibility has been our lens. It’s often the quieter part of DEIA, but it’s where we’ve built our greatest strength.
Ride Connection is a vital transportation hub, facilitating over a million rides annually. We serve a diverse range of individuals who are unable to access traditional means of transportation: older adults, people with disabilities, low-income households, and other marginalized neighbors. As a private nonprofit organization, we provide more than just rides. We provide human connection, dignity, and care. We believe that connection is the road to belonging, and belonging is the foundation of a healthy community. Our services have a profound impact on the lives of our community members, fostering a sense of pride and connection within them.
One way our commitment to DEIA comes alive is through our partnership with CareOregon and other organizations to operate the Portland area’s non emergency medical transportation system. This system is a lifeline. It’s the critical bridge to dialysis treatments, doctor’s appointments, and life-saving prescriptions. Our commitment to and experience with DEIA are essential to our success, as all customers who participate in this service live on low incomes, and 84% live with at least one disability. This service is a profound demonstration of our core belief: equitable transportation is about health, dignity, and independence.
At Ride Connection, we understand that equity is not abstract; it’s about meeting people where they are, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, language, age, or disability. That’s why we develop deep, authentic community partnerships with community members, predominantly older adults and people with disabilities, to navigate complex systems and overcome barriers. We are proud to partner with a network of culturally specific organizations to ensure that our services reflect and respond to the realities of our communities. We provide needs assessments, travel options counseling, fare assistance, travel training, group trips, and door-to-door rides. Through these and other strategic partnerships, we place vehicles directly with community agencies, extending our collective reach and strengthening the social fabric of the Portland Metro area. The journey toward equity is ongoing, and at Ride Connection, we are committed to the long road ahead. Through the concrete actions of our Equity in Motion framework (embedding, investing, training, and hiring), we are engineering a more just and accessible community. Every statistic represents a person we are committed to serving. Every partnership amplifies our collective impact. This is our promise: to ensure that in Portland, equity isn’t just an idea, but it’s a ride that always arrives.
To turn this belief into measurable action, we launched Equity in Motion, our DEIA philosophy and multi-year strategic plan. It lays out four clear pillars: Embed, Invest, Train, and Hire. Each one drives accountability and ensures equity is built into policies, operations, and outcomes.
These pillars come to life through our work:
Connection to Partners in DiversityRide Connection has a long and deep history as a member of Partners in Diversity. In fact, its Chief Executive Officer played a role in creating the organization 10 years ago. Andy Nelson was a member of the Partners in Diversity founders’ board. “To see the evolution of PiD from a good idea to a driving force in our community has been very rewarding,” said Andy. “Ride Connection is committed to partnering with PiD through all the changes to advance this mission.”
