RTA winter bus schedule to grow 26 trips per week

Summer flights already 30% booked

Next winter’s bus service between Gunnison and Crested Butte just became a lot more reliable and hopefully a lot more roomy, thanks to a recent decision by the Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority.

Acting on a mid-winter promise to address issues of overcrowding that led to some passengers being left behind, the RTA voted last week to increase bus service by 45 percent and raise the budget for the bus program to $350,000 annually. The change will result in 26 more trips each week, and will also incorporate a 6:50 a.m. bus from Crested Butte to Gunnison.
“The RTA is excited to be able to increase our bus service next winter while keeping the bus free,” said RTA executive director Scott Truex. “We recognize that this winter was very busy, but really it’s a good problem to have in the sense that people are using the bus. We are hoping this new winter schedule will provide the service people need to get where they need to go.”
In order to make sure the new schedule works efficiently, the RTA will be staging one bus in Crested Butte overnight, and all RTA buses will be garaged when not in use. This arrangement should alleviate some maintenance issues that can arise from cold weather wear and tear, and will also shorten the time needed for buses to warm up in the morning.
In additional RTA news, the winter flight program has come to a close and airport director Rick Lamport said the airport made it though the season “okay.” “There were no flights impacted by airport operation, to put it that way,” he said. Meanwhile the new summer air service nonstop from Houston is off to a banner start with a large percentage of flights already booked.
“Summer is looking to be off the charts,” said RTA airlines consultant Kent Myers. “We don’t fly a plane for another ten weeks and we’re already 30 percent booked.”
Service for summer flights will run June 21 through August 10, with inbound flights Wednesdays and Saturdays and outbound flights on Thursdays and Sundays.
For more information about transportation options in the valley, visit the RTA website at www.gunnisonvalleyrta.org.