{"id":40793,"date":"2022-05-05T01:33:53","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T07:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-is-about-to-spend-28-million-to-fund-free-summer-bus-and-train-trips\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:57:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:57:43","slug":"colorado-is-about-to-spend-28-million-to-fund-free-summer-bus-and-train-trips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-is-about-to-spend-28-million-to-fund-free-summer-bus-and-train-trips\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado is about to spend $28 million to fund free summer bus and train trips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bundled
Bundled up against cold temperatures and light snow, passengers wait for a light rail train to pull up to a station, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, in downtown Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

If you build it, will they really come?<\/p>\n

Or, more specifically, if you make transit free for one month will Coloradans start riding it and then come back when they have to pay?<\/p>\n

Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis hope the answer is \u201cyes\u201d as they prepare to spend $28 million on a program aimed at easing air pollution in Colorado, particularly during summer months when ozone levels are high.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 180 would allocate the money to let public transportation agencies, primarily the Regional Transportation District in the Denver area, offer free train and bus trips. RTD plans to use the money to offer free rides in August 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n

The idea, first unveiled by the governor late last year, is to get Coloradans to try out transit in the hopes that they will form a habit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to increase ridership because we want to increase the use of public transit because that helps our air quality,\u201d said state Rep. Matt Gray, a Broomfield Democrat and prime sponsor of the measure.<\/p>\n

But not everyone believes that the adage \u201cif you build it they will come\u201d applies in this case. RTD\u2019s ridership is still recovering from the pandemic and the funding comes without data showing it\u2019s a sure bet.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe if we would have come up with a bill that said each individual gets a free lunch or a Rockies ticket or a Broncos ticket maybe people would start to ride it more,\u201d said Sen. Ray Scott, a Grand Junction Republican and frequent critic of transit initiatives. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s such a false premise to believe just because we keep throwing more money at these issues that it\u2019s going to solve the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

An example in Utah \u2013 kind of<\/div>\n

There\u2019s not a lot of evidence to indicate that the idea behind Senate Bill 180 will work. Proponents of the measure often point to Salt Lake City, where the Utah Transit Authority in February raised money to offer free transit trips.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Faith Winter, a Westminster Democrat and another prime sponsor of the measure, called the UTA initiative \u201chighly successful,\u201d but the data is difficult to parse because of how COVID-19 has affected ridership.<\/p>\n

The UTA, which serves seven counties in the Salt Lake City area, raised about $2.5 million to offer the free trips and reported surging ridership in February over January on weekdays (up 16.2%), Saturdays (up 58.1%) and Sundays (up 32.5%).<\/p>\n

The UTA conducted a survey and found that 22% of riders in February were new, 72% of whom said they were riding because the service was free. Those new riders said they would ride RTA more frequently if it were free. But the survey didn\u2019t ask people if they were more likely to continue using transit if they had to pay.<\/p>\n

Megan Waters, the community engagement manager at UTA, said the agency was pleased with the increased ridership, but she admitted it\u2019s tough to truly gauge how offering free transit trips affected ridership given that passenger numbers still haven\u2019t returned to pre-pandemic levels, including during free-fare February.<\/p>\n

January was also when the omicron coronavirus variant was spreading across the country. By February, the variant\u2019s spread had slowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think right now we are in a really rough time to compare, with the pandemic changing all the time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Waters said that while UTA was interested in seeing how offering free fares in February would affect ridership, the goal of the initiative wasn\u2019t necessarily to build long-term passenger habits, which is why the agency\u2019s poll didn\u2019t ask about riders returning when they had to pay. The main goal was to improve air quality during a particularly bad air season in the Salt Lake City area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not personally bet on this because of what we saw in Utah,\u201d said state Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat who is working on the bill. \u201cBut what I bet on is we know that for a certain period of time, it helps us to get more cars off the road. Let\u2019s give it a shot \u2014 and that includes the upside of being able to maybe capture new riders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An
An RTD bus is seen on Tuesday, July 21, 2021, in downtown Denver. Denver\u2019s Regional Transportation District operates rail and bus services over 2,342 square miles, serving over 3 million people. (Olivia Sun\/The Colorado Sun)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Setting up transit agencies for success<\/div>\n

The original plan for Senate Bill 180 was to offer free fares on ozone alert days, of which there were 65 between May 31, 2021, and Aug. 31, 2021, the highest on record.<\/p>\n

But the proponents of the measure decided that wouldn\u2019t necessarily breed success. For instance, RTD, which would receive $11 million in each of the next two years to waive its fares, has been struggling to hire drivers and would want to be prepared for any increase in ridership caused by waiving fares.<\/p>\n

Instead of offering free fares on ozone days, RTD and the bill\u2019s sponsors settled on waiving fares for the whole month of August in 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n

Troy Whitmore, who sits on the RTD board of directors, told lawmakers that his agency is concerned about having enough drivers for a free-fare August and whether it can handle the corresponding security needs.<\/p>\n

Winter said the important thing is that when people get on an RTD train or bus during free-fare August that they are inclined to come back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure we\u2019re setting up all the agencies for success,\u201d Winter said. \u201cAnd so when we\u2019re asking RTD to provide free transit, that\u2019s not just about farebox replacement, that\u2019s about hiring and recruiting drivers. It\u2019s about cleanliness and safety and security. We need this to be a success. We need the experience to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for how RTD plans to encourage people to use the free transit, a spokeswoman for the agency said \u201cit\u2019s too early to talk about our plans for fare-free August.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRTD is preliminarily preparing internally how to implement fare-free transit if the bill passes,\u201d spokeswoman Marta Sipeki said.<\/p>\n

Proponents of the measure expect RTD to advertise the waived fares. The $22 million can also be used for that purpose.<\/p>\n

In Salt Lake City, the UTA relied on earned media \u2013 i.e. stories in local news outlets \u2013 and partner organizations to get the word out about its free-fare February. The state\u2019s transportation department posted about the initiative on its digital highway road signs. And, finally, UTA did purchase some billboards to advertise the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not say we spent heavily,\u201d said Waters, UTA\u2019s community engagement manager.<\/p>\n

Whitmore said RTD will \u201chave a full-fledged PR campaign,\u201d but the details of that campaign appear to still be in the works. He also said RTD isn\u2019t sure how well free-fare August will work out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that we have a good estimate,\u201d Whitmore said.<\/p>\n

What else is in the bill<\/div>\n

RTD isn\u2019t the only Colorado transit agency that would benefit from Senate Bill 180.<\/p>\n

The legislation also sets aside $6 million to allocate $3 million in each of the next two years to other transit agencies \u2013 including the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority that serves people in the Aspen and Glenwood Springs area \u2013 so that they, too, could offer free fares in the summer. Agencies would have to apply for grants from the Colorado Energy Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery transit agency in the state is eligible and I would expect them all to apply,\u201d said Sen. Nick Hinrischsen, a Pueblo Democrat and prime sponsor of the bill.<\/p>\n

The measure also would allocate $30 million to the Colorado Department of Transportation to establish a pilot project to expand transit, including through additional bus trips on Interstate 70 and Interstate 25.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 180 is awaiting final approval in the House.<\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/div>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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