By Nathaniel Minor, Colorado Public Radio
Passengers flocked to the Regional Transportation District’s buses and trains in the highest numbers since the beginning of the pandemic during a free fare program in August.
RTD saw some 6.3 million boardings during that month’s state-sponsored “Zero Fare for Better Air” campaign, a 22 percent increase over July 2022 and a 36 percent jump from August 2021.
“The top line 36 percent increase is fantastic,” said state Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, who sponsored the air quality improvement legislation creating the free fare program. “But when you look at the detailed numbers … every single line saw an increase in August. So that shows that we were bringing ridership across the region up.”
A more comprehensive look at the effect of the free fare program, including customer surveys and an analysis of security problems, is coming next month in a report to RTD’s board of directors. CPR News obtained a summary of the ridership data through an open records request.
The data are encouraging, said RTD General Manager and CEO Debra Johnson. But she said it’s too soon to say whether there will be a sustained ridership bump after RTD began collecting fares again on Sept. 1. Some of the August increase is probably due to the start of the school year, she added, which traditionally means a ridership increase.
“I’m optimistic,” she said. “But I really don’t know if it was just zero fare that resulted in that increased ridership.”
Read the full story at Colorado Public Radio