Introducing Reimagine RTD
Reimagine RTD is a two-year effort to evaluate and forecast the changing transportation needs of our region and involve you, our customers and stakeholders, in the conversation. We want to understand what is important to you as we look at changing the way our region moves. The key to this effort will be open, transparent dialogue about how to balance these priorities with limited resources.
When complete, Reimagine RTD will identify comprehensive, forward-thinking strategies to better connect people to the places they want and need to go. We’ll review best practices from other transit agencies and technology innovators, build upon existing capital investments in the District, and incorporate stakeholder and community feedback on how to allocate RTD’s resources.
Key elements of Reimagine RTD
We’re exploring ways to revamp our services to meet the future needs of our growing District. Aided by your input and ideas, we’ll answer the question of “what’s next” for RTD.
This effort will focus on the following specific areas to create a roadmap for the future of transportation across our region.
Seeking your input
Your voice will be important as we reinvent transportation. We plan to reach out to our communities throughout this effort to listen and learn how we can better serve our region’s mobility needs. We’ll also collaborate with our regional partners to learn how we can better work together to integrate new services with traditional transportation options as we look at transit priorities.
Assessing resources and capacity
Population growth, advancements in transportation technologies and limits in funding are driving RTD’s comprehensive look at future service needs and investments. We’re committed to developing models to address financial sustainability, optimize resources like equipment and workforce, and better understand a growing region with more places to go, people to see, and things to do.
Optimizing current and future services
Reimagine RTD will begin with an in-depth look at our current system, the rapidly evolving demographics of our region and future trends and best practices in the overall transportation industry. We will then develop a series of future operational scenarios that will allow the public, stakeholders and ultimately the RTD Board of Directors to understand and provide feedback on potential trade-offs associated with paths forward.
Mobility plan for the future
Emerging technologies are rapidly changing how travel occurs in our region. Reimagine RTD’s result, The Mobility Plan for the Future, will develop a long-term strategy for RTD to stay ahead of the curve of private sector innovation, develop mechanisms to integrate with them, and ultimately create a system that meets the future mobility needs of our region.
Why Reimagine RTD
By 2050, population in the Denver area is expected to grow by approximately 31%, resulting in increased congestion and an even greater need for transportation options. This, combined with the introduction of new technologies and limited options for increasing transportation funding, is driving our need to reimagine RTD by looking at our transit network, services, and business practices to meet the transportation needs of the future.