Website RTD Denver Began operation 1994 Parent organization All Aboard America! | Reporting marks RTDZ Number of stations 53 (Rail) | |
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Owner Regional Transportation District Locale Denver Metropolitan Area Number of lines 127 Bus
2 Commuter Rail
6 Light rail Daily ridership 209,100 (Bus)
86,900 (Rail) Headquarters Denver, Colorado, United States Transit types Bus, Commuter rail, Light rail | ||
RTD Bus and Rail (branded as TheRide) is a transit system in the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area. Operated by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), it currently runs 79 local, 16 express, 16 regional, 11 limited, and 5 skyRide bus routes plus some special services. It also includes 6 light rail lines with 53 stations and 47 miles (76 km) of track and an additional 2 commuter rail lines.
Contents
Bus
Bus service in Denver dates back to 1924, when Denver Tramway began the first bus between Englewood and Fort Logan. Buses had completely replaced the previously expansive streetcar system in metro Denver by 1950. However, cars were becoming a larger part of life, and ridership was declining. From 1969 to 1971, Denver Tramway required the sponsorship of the City and County of Denver to continue service. In 1971 with aging equipment, low revenues and lackluster ridership, the Denver Tramway Company transferred all of its assets to city-owned Denver Metro Transit.
In 1969, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) was created in the 47th session of the Colorado General Assembly to provide public transportation to five additional counties in the metropolitan area. It acquired privately owned companies, improved service frequency, and expanded to routes that commercial carriers previously operated such as airport buses.
In July 1974, Denver Metro Transit became part of RTD, and under the new banner, ridership began to increase.
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. It operated with free service for that half day and the first weekend, with revenue service starting on October 10. It was estimated that more than 200,000 passengers rode the new system during its two-and-a-half-day opening weekend, when the fleet comprised only 11 Siemens SD-100 rail cars.
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 Road were completed in November 2006 as part of Denver's T-REX project.
As of April 2013, the system had 170 light rail vehicles, serving 47 miles (76 km) of track.
Commuter rail
With the passage of FasTracks, RTD began planning for a series of commuter rail lines. The first 23.5 miles (37.82 km) of which, the A Line servicing Denver International Airport, opened on April 22, 2016.
Primary services
The primary RTD services are scheduled bus and rail routes. Most bus routes are divided into Local and Regional service levels. Light rail and commuter rail services are divided in four zones: A, B, C and airport. Local service is travel within two consecutive lettered zones, and regional service is within all three lettered zones. The airport zone applies for bus or rail travel into and out of Denver International Airport.
The current commuter rail lines are:
The current light rail lines are:
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.
Former services
Special services
Special bus services are offered for various purposes. Some of the more popular special services are:
Fares
These fares apply only to the primary services. Special services typically cost more, up to $13 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 with proof of eligibility to seniors over 65, students ages 6 to 19 (and still in high school), people with disabilities and/or who receive Medicare. Kids below 6 ride for free with fare-paying rider; limit is 3.
Bus stations
Major bus stations provide termini for Express and Regional routes. Many Local and Limited routes stop near these stations, making transfers between routes relatively easy. Of the three major bus stations in the RTD system, only one—Union Station—is also served directly by light rail trains. None of the three major bus stations is a Park 'n' Ride facility.
Civic Center Station is connected to Union Station via the Free MallRide and Free MetroRide shuttle services.
Market Street Station (16th and Market Street), a major bus station in the RTD system, was closed permanently on May 11, 2014, after thirty years of continuous use. All bus routes that formerly served Market Street Station were re-routed to the renovated Union Station, four blocks to the northwest.
Light rail stations
Light rail stations serve the light rail system and many of these stations have gates for bus service also. As of 2014, there are 46 stations on the six 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 at the facility. Platforms are designed to accommodate four-car trains and may be in either a side, island or side center style. The transition plaza is the area where tickets are purchased and passenger services can be found. Additionally, all stations include works of public art as part of RTD's art-n-Transit program. These works include independent works or as pieces incorporated into the canopies, columns, pavers, windscreens, fencing and landscaping present at all stations.
Park-n-Rides
A number of light rail stations in the RTD system, as well as a number of bus stops located away from the three major bus stations, are attached to dedicated RTD parking facilities. These are the Park-n-Ride locations. As of 2014, there are more than 70 RTD Park-n-Ride facilities with an aggregate total of more than 30,000 parking spaces.
Future services
RTD has two further commuter rail lines opening through 2018. Also extensions to the Southwest, Southeast and Central corridor lines are planned via the FasTracks project.
Art on the Light Rail system
In 1977, Colorado passed the Art in Public Places bill which required that 1 percent of all state-funded construction budgets be used to purchase art. 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 as part of RTD's art-n-Transit program.
Design team artists who worked on windscreen benches, railings, bike racks and canopy columns at all stations were Susan Cooper and Rafe Ropek.