TRANSIT PLANNING HISTORY

The 47th session of the Colorado General Assembly in 1969 created the Regional Transportation District (RTD), a regional authority to plan and build a public transportation system for the six county (and part of a seventh) area whose center is Denver, Colorado. At the time, the principal provider of transit service was the Denver Tramway Company, whose bus routes covered primarily the City and County of Denver.

In October 1970, RTD participated in a comprehensive transportation study for the Boulder Valley area. The District would need to establish its Northern Operations Group (NOG), which would include Intercity, Boulder and Longmont service. It was apparent, even in 1971 that the urban areas of the District needed more than private cars and buses to meet transportation needs. For this, the Phase I report recommended a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, which included an efficient, dependable local bus system, incorporating what was still operating, but with new extended service and vehicles.

By the end of 1972, a transportation plan was completed, a most significant accomplishment in complying with the RTD’s 1969 legislative mandate. This plan included a 98-mile network of PRT and an extensive bus system throughout the District. Late in the year, Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) announced that the Denver area had been selected as the site of the federal project to develop and demonstrate a new transit technology – PRT.

1973 was the year that citizens voted overwhelmingly for RTD’s plan to finance the development of an integrated regional public transportation system. After a little more than three years of operating public transportation in Denver as Denver Metro Transit, the system became part of RTD on July 1974. The District then consolidated its acquisitions to provide at least an interim system of routes and schedules, and common fares.

While 1975 was a year of consolidation and expansion, 1976 was a period of improving service frequency, taking over routes previously serviced by commercial carriers and trying new service techniques. 1977 was characterized by continued growth, improved performance and innovation in transit service. A new fare structure was implemented and the new grid system of routes went into effect in 1978. Increasing inflation prompted RTD to develop and implement a new fare structure aimed at encouraging ridership. The new grid system placed buses on arterials and important collector streets where the routes could be understood, the buses and stops seen, and where the buses could travel faster.

During 1979, planning for the Transitway/Mall on 16th Street in Downtown Denver is being readied for federal approval - a project that will allow express bus productivity to double and which will serve as the distribution system for whatever rail system the future may bring. Achievements in 1980 included reaching a record number of passengers per workday, expanding the park-n-Ride system, acquiring 127 new buses and 89 articulated buses, getting Mall construction underway, and making The Ride more accessible to the handicapped and elderly. The Mall was opened and dedicated in early October 1982 with a weeklong celebration that attracted hundreds of thousands of people.

Through the years, RTD has refined its original vision for rapid transit development by conducting numerous other studies that reflect changes in the region's land use, growth of population and locations of employment centers. The benefits associated with rapid transit such as increased mobility, reduced air pollution, and less congestion have been examined and documented thoroughly in each study.

RTD's study of rapid transit corridors, modes, and financing options has resulted in significant progress. In September 1994, the Downtown Express/High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes were opened to buses and to car pools a year later. In October 1994, RTD opened the Central Corridor Light Rail System, the region's first experience with light rail technology. These projects are first steps by RTD to provide quick and reliable rapid transit alternatives to its many customers.

Finally, the RTD is currently involved in three concurrent Major Investment Studies (MIS). Over the next eighteen months, the RTD along with the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Denver Regional Council of Governments will explore a variety of transportation options for three major corridors in the metropolitan area. The three agencies' policy boards will then select which of the three corridors will proceed forward for eventual implementation as the region's next priority corridor. These efforts will position RTD to offer viable alternatives to the automobile as the public's primary mode of transportation.

Did you know...

The Regional Transportation District is a public agency created in 1969 by the Colorado General Assembly to develop, operate, and maintain a mass transportation system for the benefitof 2.5 million people in RTD's District. The 2,327 square mile District includes all or parts of eight counties: the City and County of Denver, the City and County of Broomfield, the counties of Boulder and Jefferson, the western portions of Adams and Arapahoe Counties, the northeastern portion of Douglas County, and small portions of Weld County annexed by Longmont and Erie. RTD's governing body is a 15-member directly elected Board of Directors, with each Director elected by district for a four-year term. Each Director District contains approximately 167,000 residents.

OUR MISSION:
"To meet our constituents' present and future public transit needs by offering safe, clean, reliable, courteous, accessible and cost-effective service throughout the district."

Service Statistics (as of January 2008)

• Service area population - 2.6 million
• Cities and towns served - 40 municipalities in 6 counties plus 2 city/county jurisdictions
• Square miles in service area - 2,331
• Weekday scheduled miles - 166,571 (includes Light Rail and FREE MallRide)
• Annual regular service miles operated: 50,706,99. (2007 est.)(includes Light Rail)
• Active bus stops- 10,329
• park-n-Ride facilities - 76
• Total number of regular fixed routes - 170
  Local - 73
  Express -25
  Regional - 18
  Limited - 15
  Boulder City Local - 15
  Longmont City Local - 8
  skyRide - 5
  Misc. - 6 (Mall Shuttle, Light Rail C, D, E, F, G and H lines)
• Special Services - access-a-Ride, Bolder/Boulder, BroncosRide, BuffRide, call-n-Rides (Arapahoe, Arvada, Aurora, Brighton, Broomfield, Dry Creek, Evergreen, Gateway, Highlands Ranch, InterLocken/Westmoor, Lone Tree, Longmont, Louisville, Meridian, North Inverness, Orchard, Parker, South Inverness, South Thornton/Northglenn, Superior and Watkins), CU/CSU Football Game, Race for the Cure, RockiesRide, Senior Ride, and Van Pool (DRCOG Commuter Services and North Front Range "VanGo")

Active Bus Fleet

• Total buses (All are wheelchair lift-equipped) - 1,060
  RTD - owned and operated -624
  RTD - owned and leased to private carriers - 436
• Peak-hour buses required - 862 (regular busses only)
• Average age of fleet - 6.0 years
• Annual diesel fuel consumption (RTD-operated buses only) - 6.0 million gallons
• Access-a-Ride cutaways - 301
• call-n-Ride Ride cutaways - 40
• Light Rail Service
  Vehicles - 91
  Miles of track - 35
  Stations - 37

Ridership - September 2006 - September 2007

• Average weekday boardings - 313,590
  (including approx. 50,285 Mall shuttle boardings, 55,717 LRT boardings and 2,220 access-a-Ride boardings)
• Annual boardings -93,425,922
  (including approx. 14,869,543 Mall shuttle boardings;17,121,651 LRT boardings; and 637,459 access-a-Ride boardings)

Financial

• Total operating budget
  (2007) - $433,469,295
  (2008) - $458,438,997

Staff

• Budgeted Number of Employees
  RTD Total - 2,520
  Salaried - 613
  Represented - 1,907
• Private Contractors:
  Fixed Route Total - 1,063
  Paratransit (ADA & call-n-Ride) Total - 530