WHY NOW?
In 1999, voters exempted RTD from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) Cap limitations for the purpose of paying debt incurred to finance construction of the Southeast and Southwest light rail lines until bond repayment, which will happen this year.
WHO IS RTD ?
RTD is a regional transit service that serves 8 counties and 40 municipalities and includes the bus lines, light rail, commuter rail, Free MallRide, and Free MetroRide. The service area spans 2,342 square miles and includes 135 fixed route schedules. The 8 counties served include Denver, Broomfield, Boulder, Jefferson, Adams, Arapahoe, and parts of Douglas and Weld.
WHO BENEFITS FROM RTD?
Over 3 million people in Colorado live within the RTD service area. All 1,028 of the buses used by RTD are wheelchair lift-equipped and specialized services include Access-a-Ride and FlexRide. In 2023 alone there were over 65 million boardings, including 542,619 Access-a-Ride boardings for individuals with disabilities. There are over 135k weekday regular fixed-route scheduled miles and passengers have access to 9,720 stops. Some of these routes include the Flatiron Flyer between Boulder and Denver, the rail line to Denver International Airport, and bus and rail service to downtown Denver for work and entertainment.
