Winter season forecast and briefs

CBMR, Chamber and RTA notes

RTA conducting survey
The Gunnison Valley Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) board is considering whether the voters would be amenable to increasing the RTA sales tax to expand air and bus service in the region. As part of that evaluation, the RTA has hired a consulting firm to conduct a phone survey to obtain feedback from local citizens. That survey started this week.

According to an announcement released last week, RTA board chairman Paula Swenson sees this as an opportunity to hear directly from citizens on what they would like from the RTA. “The board of directors will use the survey results to determine what we are doing well and where we can improve. This survey is a crucial piece of our strategic planning process and will allow us to make sure we are doing what the community feels we should be in terms of what services we provide and to what level.”
“This survey will test the support of the voters for a possible ballot initiative. The timeline for any ballot initiative would be either next November, or in 2016,” said Kent Myers, Air Planners president and RTA consultant. “The goal of an initiative would be to increase funding for both our bus and air service programs based on the feedback we receive from all types of citizens who live and vote here. To be able to effectively plan for the future of the RTA we need to hear from all of our county’s demographics, including those up valley and down valley, college students and empty nesters, parents and retirees.”
The survey will be directed at a sample size of 150 registered voters and will include both land and cell phone lines and should take about ten minutes.
Board member Carolyn Riggs said at the November 14 board meeting that she had hoped to have some county residents do the surveying but RTA executive director Scott Truex said the firm is based out of Louisville, Colo. and has a very effective team in place.
Riggs also feared conducting the survey so soon after the recent election would eliminate some potential participants who were tired of phone solicitations.
Speaking of surveys, the RTA will be surveying air passengers coming into and departing from the local airport this winter. A similar survey was conducted with summer passengers and the board felt gathering more information would be beneficial in the long run.

Winter reservations looking good but March is weak
Myers told the board that so far, the winter air program looks strong for the coming season. December, January and February bookings are trending ahead of last year. He said, however, that the last half of March and early April look soft. Crested Butte Mountain Resort officials have confirmed they are seeing the same booking trend, with March having some room to improve.
“The snow should help spur some reservations and bookings,” commented Myers.
CBMR director of innovations and relations Erica Mueller told a Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce gathering last week that the marketing department was trying to design incentives to fill up March, which looked soft for skier visits.
“Christmas looks good since it falls on a Thursday this year,” she said. “The whole Christmas holiday period is looking to be awesome. January is always lean but there is opportunity to fill it in with events and groups. And as for March, there is still time to address the issue and get more people here. We are looking at focusing on the schools that have their breaks that time of year and getting the word out to them to come to Crested Butte. Overall things are looking good.”
Truex said he would be approaching the Tourism Association for funding to support a social media ad campaign designed to boost the Houston flights. He has been discussing a campaign with a firm called Buttery, which has an office in Crested Butte.
CBMR air consultant Jeff Moffett of Community Flights said that based on school breaks and Mardi Gras, all the resorts appeared to be having issues getting reservations for the end of March.

Butte Buzz, a bull and Front Rangers…
Erica Mueller told the chamber crowd that the resort has a major 10-page feature in the November Powder Magazine. She said the resort is also seeing good press in newspapers across the country. She said the CBMR marketing team just returned from a major ski show in Denver where they were one of the most popular booths on the floor. “We took the mechanical bull with us and offered $39 lift tickets to people who would ride the bull,” she said. “It generated a lot of interest in us and a lot of people did it.”
CBMR general manager Ethan Mueller told the same crowd that the ski area was continuing its efforts to attract Front Range skiers to Crested Butte. He said CBMR saw a 27 percent increase in visits from Front Range visitors last year. “That’s huge, given the fact they had to bypass a lot of other resorts to get here, but it is working,” he said.
“People are understanding the beauty of Highway 285 compared to I-70,” added Erica.

New buses on the horizon
Truex said the RTA had purchased a used bus for the commuter fleet. He said the $25,000 purchase appeared to be a good deal after the mechanic cleared the vehicle. He is also starting the process to get a grant to help pay for new buses, hoping to bring in larger, more comfortable buses to the fleet. He has looked at new buses that fit the bill but cost about $670,000 each. The hope is to get two such buses into the fleet by 2016 with the help of federal grants. If there is success with that path, Truex is anticipating two more 57-seat buses to come on line in 2019 and two more the year after that.