RTD Bus & Light Rail

RTD Bus Service
Info
Locale	Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area
Transit type	Bus
Daily ridership	212,100 [1]
Operation
Began operation	1969
Operator(s)	Regional Transportation District

RTD Light Rail
Info
Locale	Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area
Transit type	Light rail
Number of lines	5
Number of stations	36
Daily ridership	63,100[1]
Operation
Began operation	October 7, 1994 [2]
Operator(s)	Regional Transportation District
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines
System map

Light rail at 16th & California in downtown

16th Street Mall shuttle bus

RTD Bus & Light Rail is a transit system in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area. It is operated by the Regional Transportation District (RTD). It currently operates 101 local, 13 limited, 24 express, 16 regional, and 6 skyRide bus routes. It also includes 5 light rail lines with 36 stations and 39.4 miles (63.4 km) of track.^[3]

History

Light rail

RTD's first light rail line, a 5.3-mile (8.5 km) section of what is now the D Line, opened on Friday, October 7, 1994, with free service for that half day and all weekend, and revenue service starting on October 10.^[2] It was estimated that more than 200,000 passengers rode the new system during its 2-1/2-day opening weekend, when the fleet comprised only 11 Siemens SD-100 rail cars.^[2] Since that time, several additional light rail lines have been opened. An 8.7-mile (14.0 km) southwest extension to Mineral Avenue in Littleton opened in July 2000, and the 1.8-mile Platte Valley extension to Denver Union Station opened in April 2002. An additional 19-mile (31 km) Southeast Corridor extension along I-25 to Lone Tree and a branch along I-225 to Parker Drive were completed in November 2006 as part of Denver's T-REX project. As of January 2010 the system had 125 light rail vehicles, serving 39 miles (63 km) of track.^[4]

Current services

Main article: List of Denver RTD Bus Routes

Primary services

The primary RTD services are scheduled bus and light rail routes.^[5] Most bus routes are divided into Local, Express, and Regional service levels. Light rail is divided in four zones: A, B, C, & D. Local service is service within two zones, express service is within three zones, and regional service is within four zones.

The current light rail lines are:

• C Line: Littleton/Mineral to Union Station
• D Line: Littleton/Mineral to 30th/Downing
• E Line: Lincoln to Union Station
• F Line: Lincoln to 18th/California & 18th/Stout
• H Line: Nine Mile to 18th/California & 18th/Stout

With the opening of the Southeast Corridor, many regional bus routes that provided service from the North Metro to Denver Tech Center were replaced by service to Union Station and light rail from Union Station to the Belleview light rail station. Several regional bus routes to and from the South Metro were also eliminated by the openings of the Southeast & Southwest Corridors, replaced by feeder routes to light rail.

Planned services

• W Line: Denver Union Station to Jeffco Government Center. Will operate the new FasTracks West Corridor line.

Former services

• G Line: Nine Mile to Lincoln. This line was canceled May 3, 2009. With the completion of FasTracks I-225 corridor, the line will resume service.

Special services

Special bus services are offered for various purposes.^[6] Some of the more popular special services are:

• "call-n-Ride", which provides curb-to-curb service in specific areas. This is similar to taxis.^[7]
• "access-a-Ride", which provides transportation for disabled people.^[8]
• "FREE MallRide", the 16th Street Mall shuttle; as its name implies, rides on this service are free. The shuttles use compressed natural gas (CNG)/electric hybrid engines.^[9][10]
• "skyRide", which provides direct service to Denver International Airport from various locations around the metro area.^[11]
• Sporting events service:
  • "BroncosRide", which provides direct service to INVESCO Field at Mile High from various locations around the metro area.^[12]
  • "RockiesRide", a similar service which provides direct service to Coors Field.^[13]

Fares

As of January, 2011

Fares

	Local / Limited	Express	Regional
Cash	$2.25	$4.00	$5.00
Discount	$1.10	$2.00	$2.50
Ticketbook (10 rides)	$20.00	$36.00	$45.00
Discount Ticketbook	$10.00	$18.00	$22.50
Monthly Pass	$79.00	$140.00	$176.00
Discount Pass	$39.50	$70.00	$88.00

These fares apply only to the primary services. Special services typically cost more, up to $12 each way for some skyRide routes. Free transfers are available between services going in the same direction, of the same type or cheaper. Passengers may pay for an upgrade to transfer from a lower fare service to a higher fare service, regardless of whether one is special service and the other is not. Discount fares are available to seniors over 65, students ages 6 to 19, people with disabilities and people who receive Medicare.

Stations

Bus stations typically provide a starting or end-point for limited, express, and regional routes with many local and limited routes stopping near these stations, making transfers between routes relatively easy. Light-rail stations serve the light-rail system and many of these stations have gates for bus service and function as Park-n-Rides. Civic Center and Market Street stations are connected to Union Station via the "FREE MallRide" shuttle service.

Bus stations

Littleton-Mineral light rail station

Station Name	Address	Phone Number
Civic Center Station	1550 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202	Lost & Found 303-299-2288
Market Street Station	16th Street Mall and Market Street, Denver, CO 80202	None
Union Station (rail and bus)	1701 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202	None
Boulder Transit Center	1400 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO 80302	Lost & Found 303-442-7332

Light-rail stations

Main article: List of Denver RTD light rail stations

Interior of a RTD light rail train.

As of 2010, there are thirty-six stations on the five lines in the RTD Light Rail system. RTD has adopted specific design standards that are incorporated into its station design, with a specific emphasis on the platform, its transition plaza and the multi-modal access provided for at the facility.^[14] Platforms are designed to accommodate four-car trains and may be in either a side, island or side center style.^[14] The transition plaza is the area where tickets are purchased and passenger services can be found.^[14] Additionally, all stations include works of public art as part of RTD's art-n-Transit program.^[15] These works include independent works or as pieces incorporated into the canopies, columns, pavers, windscreens, fencing and landscaping present at all stations.^[15]

Future services

RTD is currently working to build the West Corridor light rail line (2013), four commuter rail lines, and extensions to the Southwest, Southeast and Central corridor lines, via the FasTracks project.

Art on the Light Rail system

About $1 million from the T-REX contingency budget was dedicated to art projects at each of the 13 new southeast corridor light-rail stations.

• Ira Sherman, "Stange Machine," Louisiana/ Pearl.
• Ries Niemi, "Big Boots," Colorado.
• John Goe, "Reflective Discourse," University.
• Gregory Gove, "People," Yale.
• Chris Janney, "Denver Lights," Southmoor.
• Richard Elliott, "Thunder Over the Rockies," Belleview.
• Christopher Weed, "Windswept," Dayton.
• Dwight Atkinson, "Troll Trouncer," Nine Mile.
• Wopo Holup, "Orchard Road Orchard," Orchard.
• Michael Clapper, "Nucleus," Arapahoe at Village Center.
• John McEnroe, "Fools Gold," Dry Creek.
• Emmett Culligan, "Plow," County Line.
• Ray King, "Sun Stream" Lincoln.

Design team artists who worked on windscreen benches, railings, bike racks and canopy columns at all stations were Susan Cooper and Rafe Ropek.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "APTA Transit Ridership Report". APTA. http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2010_q1_ridership_APTA.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-26. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Pacific RailNews, January 1995, p. 68. Pentrex. ISSN 8750-8486.
3. ^ "Denver Light Rail". Kavanagh Transit Systems. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20071021102539/http://www.ktransit.com/transit/uscentral/denver/denver_lr.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-19. 
4. ^ "Facts & Figures". RTD. January 2010. http://www.rtd-denver.com/factsAndFigures.shtml. Retrieved 2010-04-14. 
5. ^ Routes
6. ^ Special Rides
7. ^ call-n-Ride
8. ^ access-a-Ride
9. ^ FREE MallRide
10. ^ Route MALL
11. ^ skyRide
12. ^ BroncosRide
13. ^ RockiesRide
14. ^ ^{a b c} "Station design criteria". RTD Design Guidelines & Criteria, Light Rail Design Criteria. Regional Transportation District. November 2005. http://www3.rtd-denver.com/content/DesignCriteria/LightRail/SECTION%2005%20-%20STATION%20DESIGN.pdf. Retrieved September 26, 2010. 
15. ^ ^{a b} "art-n-Transit: A rider's guide to public art on RTD's transit system". Regional Transportation District. http://www.rtd-denver.com/artnTransit.shtml. Retrieved September 26, 2010.