Regional Transportation District

For the RTD that operated in Los Angeles, see Southern California Rapid Transit District.
Regional Transportation District
Info
Locale Denver Metro Area, Colorado
Transit type Bus and light rail
Number of lines 174
Daily ridership 313,590 boardings (2007)[1]
Chief executive Phillip A. Washington
(General Manager)[2][3]
Operation
Began operation 1972
Operator(s) Regional Transportation District

The Regional Transportation District, or RTD, was organized in 1969 and is the regional authority operating public transit services in eight of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in Colorado. RTD is governed by a 15-member, publicly elected Board of Directors. Directors are elected to a four-year term and represent a specific district. Elections are staggered so that eight seats are open in one general election, seven in the next. The 2009 Board members are: Kent Bagley, District H; Barbara Brohl, District D; Noel Busck, District K; Juanita Chacon, District C; William M. Christopher, District J; Bruce Daly, District N; Bill James, District A; Lee Kemp, District I, Christopher Martinez, District B; William G. McMullen, District E; Jack O'Boyle, District G; Wally Pulliam, District L; John Tayer, District O and Tom Tobiassen, District F.[4]

RTD currently operates a bus and light rail system that has a service area of 2,337 square miles (6,050 km2). It employs 2,526 people and reported over 100 million boardings in calendar years 2007 and 2008.[5] It had a $372 million budget for the year of 2008 and a $382 million for 2009. Google has RTD schedules attached to its trip planner, and 3rd party mobile applications are now available for the iPhone and other platforms.

RTD is working to deliver the voter-approved FasTracks rapid transit expansion that will add 122 miles (196 km) of new commuter rail and light rail, 18 miles (29 km) of bus rapid transit service, 21,000 new parking spaces at rail and bus stations, and enhance bus service for easy, convenient bus/rail connections across the eight-county district.

Contents

Timeline

Fleet

Gillig and Orion buses make up most of the fleet. MCI and Neoplan vehicles are used as express buses and regional buses. Siemens SD100 and SD160 are used as light rail vehicles. As of January 2010, the RTD light rail fleet has 125 light rail vehicles, serving 35 miles (56 km) of track.

Projects

Past projects

Downtown Express

This project added HOV lanes to I-25 north of downtown Denver.  It also added several dedicated slip ramps for RTD buses to access several Park-n-Ride stations directly from the highway.  At the south end of the HOV lanes, buses had direct routes into Union Station or Market Street Station.  The HOV lanes extended from I-25 to US-36, allowing regional and express routes running along US 36 to downtown Denver to bypass congestion around the Turnpike Tangle.  This project was completed in September 1994. 

In 2006, the Downtown Express was renovated to include a toll lane, thereby converting the HOV lanes into HOT lanes. This allows SOV vehicles to pay a toll to use them. It was built to increase the overall usage and efficiency of the highway's HOV lanes. The project was completed on June 2, 2006.

Central Corridor

The Central Corridor, a 5.3 mile (8.5 km) light rail line, opened in October 1994. It was built along Welton Street, through the Five Points district along Stout Street and California Street, and following a railroad right-of-way from Colfax Avenue down to the intersection of I-25 and Broadway. This line was built without the aid of tax increases or federal funds; however, extensions have been funded by the Federal Transit Administration and new tax measures. This line was built from 30th/Downing as the northern terminus to I-25/Broadway as the southern terminus.

Southwest Corridor

After the success of the Central Corridor, the Southwest Corridor light rail route opened in July 2000. An 8.7 mile (13.9 km) light rail line, the route runs from the terminus of the Central Corridor at I-25 & Broadway to Mineral Avenue in Littleton with 5 existing stations. The line has been popular, and the park-n-Ride lots at its stations often experience parking shortages. This project built a light rail line from I-25/Broadway south to Littleton/Mineral along an existing railroad right-of-way next to Santa Fe Drive.

Central Platte Valley Corridor

In April 2002, the Central Platte Valley (CPV) spur opened. It is a 1.8-mile (2.9-km) branch with four stations that provides light rail access to numerous venues, including the Auraria Campus, Invesco Field at Mile High, the Pepsi Center, Six Flags, Union Station and Coors Field. This project built light rail lines from 10th/Osage to Union Station.

T-REX Project

In November 1999, Denver area voters approved a project, known as the T-REX, which involved reconstruction of I-25 between Broadway and Lincoln Avenue in Lone Tree, and I-225 between I-25 and Parker Road in Aurora, with widening of the road to 5 lanes and light rail being built. The highway project was completed on August 22, 2006. The light rail line known as the Southeast Corridor opened shortly after 11 a.m. on November 17, 2006. The line covers 19.1 miles (30.6 km) and includes thirteen new stations, with parking available at all but the Louisiana/Pearl station.

Projects under development

FasTracks: A major project to dramatically expand the metro area's rail service. The less densely populated north metro area will receive two commuter rail lines, while the west metro will receive a light rail line and a commuter rail line. In addition, a commuter rail line will connect Denver International Airport to downtown. Union Station will be redeveloped into the hub of the rail network, with a large mixed-use transit-oriented development built around it. Several existing lines will be extended. This project is scheduled to be completed in 2014.[6]

References

  1. ^ RTD Facts
  2. ^ "Interim General Manager". http://www.rtd-denver.com/GeneralManager.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 
  3. ^ Francis, Jeff (2009-06-25). "RTD gets interim general manager". MileHighNews.com. http://www.milehighnews.com/Articles-i-2009-06-25-211116.114125_RTD_gets_interim_general_manager.html. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 
  4. ^ "RTD Board of Directors". http://www.rtd-denver.com/BoardDirectors.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 
  5. ^ "RTD Facts and Figures". http://www.rtd-denver.com/factsAndFigures.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 
  6. ^ Program Schedule: http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/main_31

External links