The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“More service is better”
By Alissa Johnson
If you have an opinion about ground transportation in the Gunnison Valley, now is the time to express it. The Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) held an open house last week to solicit input on ground transportation, and the meeting was one of several ways the RTA is reaching out to the community. The organization will use that input to update its long-term vision for its free bus service.
According to Scott Truex, executive director of the RTA, this is the first time the organization has updated its strategic transportation plan since 2006. “That was before we even had bus service. I led that effort and got a group of people together and came up with a plan for how to get the bus service going. It’s time for an update,” he said.
This time around, the RTA is working with A.T. Stoddard of LSC Transportation Consultants to gather input and develop the plan, which will review routes and schedules, and develop a capital plan for buses and facilities, such as possible park-and-rides. The RTA secured a grant of $24,000 from the Colorado Department of Transportation and added $16,000 of its own funds to complete the work.
In addition to the open house, which attracted a handful of people, the RTA and the consultants have completed an on-board survey of bus passengers, put together a steering committee to help with the planning process, and conducted interviews with key stakeholders. They are also holding a meeting with bus drivers to get their input and have an online survey for the public, which more than 130 people have responded to so far. Visit http://lsccs.com/surveys/gunnison/community.php to provide your input.
“What we’re hearing from people is not surprising. It’s ‘more service is better,’” Truex said.
For the summer season, the RTA is running 11 daily trips between Mt. Crested Butte and Gunnison, including service to Crested Butte South, and is exploring increasing winter service to 16 or 17 trips per day. Senior transportation is provided seven days a week in and around the city of Gunnison, with two buses running on weekdays and one on the weekends.
“That is a dial-a-ride kind of deal. Call two hours in advance to be sure to get a bus,” Truex explained.
Using public input, the RTA and its consultant will examine service levels and different alternatives for service. That will be presented in draft form at an August open house in Gunnison. The final report, which will include the capital plan, is slated for completion in November.
