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RTD’s proposed service changes, set to begin this June, include new bus routes and suspended light rail lines from downtown to Aurora.
During a pair of virtual virtual presentations on Monday, February 23, and Tuesday, February 24, RTD planners and community engagement staff said the changes will be in place for a few months, with public input gathered until March 4. However, the agency has yet to reveal an exact timeline.
“RTD cannot say how long the June service changes would last considering all service is evaluated three times a year and any further adjustments may be made based on those evaluations,” spokesperson Tara Broghammer says.
RTD is expecting $9.25 million in new grants in 2026 as a result of Senate Bill 24-230, which requires Colorado oil and gas producers to pay fees to fund clean transit. But RTD has to serve more people and communities to earn the grants, according to community engagement specialist Gabriel Martinez.
Proposed changes, first suggested in the 2022 RTD System Optimization Plan, include launching new routes, reviving old ones and increasing frequency for buses and light rails. RTD also plans to discontinue certain bus and light rail services because of low ridership, and a few light rail services will temporarily shutter to make way for the Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project, an ongoing effort to replace aging rail lines around Colfax Avenue and Kalamath Street.
The RTD Board of Directors is expected to vote on the plan on March 24. If approved, the majority of the proposed changes would take effect on June 7. Public input is still being gathered through online surveys, phone calls (303-299-6000) and emails(service.change@rtd-denver.com).
Here are a few highlights of what’s to come and reactions so far.
Suspended H and L Line Services
One of the most useful light rail lines for Aurora commuters and connection riders will have to stop running temporarily under RTD’s plan.
The H Line that connects the Florida Station in Aurora to the 18th-California Station in downtown Denver will likely suspend service, according to RTD, which doesn’t have “enough track capacity” to keep the H Line running during reconstruction.
Like many of the other changes, the H Line closure would begin on June 7. Riders who rely on the H Line will instead have to catch the R Line and transfer to the E Line at the Southmoor Station to get from Aurora to Union Station. A temporary T Line would also serve riders from the south metro to Interstate 25 and Broadway.
The L Line, which operates in downtown and Five Points, will also be suspended under RTD’s plan.
Denver metro residents said they largely supported RTD’s proposed changes during virtual public meetings held earlier this week.
“This looks like a real positive batch of service changes,” Richard Bamber, a transportation engineer, said during a February 23 session. “We see some genuinely innovative and imaginative new services.”
Tom Worker-Braddock, a senior transportation planner from the City of Aurora, said on February 24 that he was “very happy” about expanded service, but worried about suspending the H Line, which he calls “the primary light rail that serves Aurora.”
Courtesy of RTD
Downtown Rail Lines Will Stop
Starting in June, downtown Denver commuters won’t be able to board a light rail anywhere except at Union Station if RTD approves the current plan.
No light rail line will stop at stations on California, Stout, Welton and Downing streets during RTD’s construction, and neither will any stop at Colfax at Auraria Station.
Light rail stations just outside of the downtown will still see service, though, including stops at Empower Field at Mile High, Tenth and Osage and Ball Arena-Elitch Gardens, according to RTD.
Temporary Light Rail Line
A temporary T Line will take south metro light rail riders in the Parker and Centennial areas to central Denver. The temporary line is meant to help fill some of the service gaps left by the absence of the H Line, and will run from Lincoln to I-25 and Broadway stations.
Westward Expansion
The new 22 bus route will take RTD commuters from the Evans Station in South Denver to the bus stop at South Kipling Parkway and West Jewell Avenue in Lakewood.
In the northwest metro area, RTD wants to restore route 80, which goes along 80th Avenue in Westminster and Arvada.
RTD also plans to reinstate bus route 53 from North Sheridan Boulevard to the Broomfield Municipal Center and run it seven days a week; the 53 would begin with a temporary construction detour.
Changes to DTC, Platte Valley FlexRides
The RTD FlexRide is a bus service operating within seventeen different areas to connect people to “Park-n-Rides, stations, work, medical centers, business, parks and other local destinations,” according to RTD. The service requires a reservation through a mobile app or desktop, but FlexRide costs the same as a normal one-way bus fare, $2.75.
RTD is thinking about ending the Platte Valley FlexRide service in west Denver because of low ridership. According to RTD, only about eight riders a day use it.
Meanwhile, RTD wants to expand the FlexRide service in the Denver Tech Center by adding a 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday service. Officials also want to change the 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekday service to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., which would start later but increase the service window by an hour and half.
A speaker named Melissa C. told RTD boardmembers that she uses the DTC FlexRide “to get to work, and I really appreciate that you guys extend the hours.”
Lynn Meyer said she uses the DTC FlexRide often. At the first session, she asked that the FlexRide end a policy that suspends people from the service for one week if they are a no-show to their reserved ride three times. Meyer says she uses the service to pick up her disabled son from work, but it’s often late because of no-shows, leaving her to choose between picking him up herself or facing a FlexRide suspension.
“When the bus is twenty minutes, like it was today while picking my son up from work, the bus isn’t there when I pick him up,” Meyer said. “We need to rethink whether this system is the best for everyone.”
C Line Revival
RTD will bring back the C Line to connect commuters in Littleton, Englewood and Sheridan to Union Station.
The revival of the C Line is to make sure southwest metro area commuters don’t lose service from the planned suspension of the D Line, which takes them to downtown Denver and L Line stops.
RTD cut the C and F lines in 2022 after lower ridership. Bringing back the C Line is basically rerouting and renaming the D Line, which runs parallel to the C Line until downtown, RTD planners noted during public meetings.
North Metro Riders Want More
Residents in Boulder and the northwest have long complained to RTD that they are paying taxes for the FasTracks program to expand commuter rail lines, but their area hasn’t seen any new services yet.
Melissa Hunter, a mobility programs coordinator for Boulder County, asked RTD to expand northern-bound bus routes, which connect Nederland and Eldora to Boulder and lines that come to Denver.
“I see a lot of people using the service as part of their day-to-day commute,” Hunter told RTD boardmembers. “I just really appreciate that and would really hope that in future service changes, we could see increased service to keep up with the demand and lifeline that service provides.”
