A group of transit consultants is pitching local towns on a regional transit authority, designed to fund, plan and manage everything from buses and recpaths to e-bikes and railroads.
This group was tapped by the county transit board to see if towns are interested in a regional transit authority, known as RTA. At least one person is all in – Breckenridge mayor Kelly Owens.
“I was excited about being a part of this,” Owens said at this week’s council meeting. “I think it’s gonna be great.”
Owens gave her seal of approval after a thirty-minute Q&A with the transit consultants. They described what an RTA does – and what it does not do.
“You’re not doing an RTA just to absorb your current system and do what you’re doing now,” a consultant told council. “You’re trying to do something better and solve the transportation need or needs. What are those benefits here in Summit County? How can we tie in other communities outside of Summit County to connect workforce and housing?”
Breck council members wanted to know what this means for the existing Breck FreeRide system. Consultants said that is up to the town, but they also reminded council this is bigger than Breck. An RTA could mean new bus routes to Fairplay, Leadville and Kremmling, where more of the local workforce is living.
“There would not be a request, unless you want it, to merge your system with the RTA,” the consultant continued, giving the example of a developing system for Craig in the Yampa River Valley. “They do not have a way for people to get to their buses. They don’t have park and rides to get to Steamboat Springs, so part of that RTA’s goal is to create a local system in Craig. That will move people to the bus, keeping them out of cars, and helping them access schools, stores and the hospital.”
This same group of consultants is guiding RTAs across the High Country. RFTA, of the Roaring Fork Valley, was one of the first in 2000. San Miguel County, home to telluride, formed one in 2016.
The most recent addition is Core Transit of Eagle County, where the newly formed RTA did not gobble up town or ski resort bus lines. But consultants said everyone is reaping the rewards.
“They are getting those economies of scale by sharing maintenance facilities,” consultants said. “They are better programming their schedules, so routes connect, giving people that first-last mile connectivity. If it’s a well-designed effort, there is only a net benefit.”
Next up, towns and the county must approve an RTA before taking it to voters.