RTA looks at service expansion plans for buses

Hoping to move to 15-minute buses in the next five years

By Katherine Nettles

The Gunnison Valley Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is making strides in expanding free bus services both up and down valley, and in the coming years it may have some major progress in achieving a year-round 15-minute bus schedule. While making the push to 41 trips would require securing some additional vehicles, the RTA board has initial ideas for how to accomplish that and possibly use smaller vehicles during the quieter shoulder seasons.

RTA executive director Scott Truex updated the RTA board during their regular meeting on June 20 that a new operating grant opportunity has come up prompting him to consider creating a five-year service expansion plan. The RTA is applying for  funding of about $500,000 with the Clean Transit Enterprise fund, but funds would need to be used to expand service. The funds will be awarded in 2026. 

“Because of our past successes in expanding service, we have been asked to be one of the first to go through the contracting process for the grant,” wrote Truex in a memo to the RTA board. He said these funds can be used for capital if that capital is used for service expansion, so his recommendation was to stockpile for a new bus. “Then the following year [2027] we could expand the summer service to the winter schedule, doing 41 trips year-round.”

Truex said it would take a second new bus to fully expand to that schedule, but if they could collect funds for a second new bus, “Within five years we would be able to run a 15-minute service from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” he said. 

The application requires having a comprehensive expansion plan, and Truex asked for the board’s informal support to draft such a plan using the RTA’s strategic operating plan as a guide. 

 “Once we get to every 15 minutes, people don’t really need to look at the clock to see what time the next bus is coming. So that’s going to be ideal. But we need two more buses to do that,” said Truex.

Board member Laura Puckett Daniels asked for a review on the new buses that are coming in. 

Truex confirmed that the RTA has five new buses coming in the next 12 months, three of which are to replace older buses and two which are already slated to be used for expansion. 

“It’s a big opportunity that we should take advantage of, I think,” he said. He estimated that under that schedule they would need a new vehicle every three years and said he could also update the fleet replacement plan to reflect this potential expansion.

Board member Diego Plata said he liked the idea of expanded service. “It invites more users,” he said. “My main concern is, looking at the bus reports, we’re going to be running empty buses up and down the corridor a lot more often.” 

Plata asked if there was a way to use smaller buses during off-peak hours and save money in the long-term. 

Truex agreed that there was potential there. Plata said he also hears a lot of requests to provide service to the airport, and perhaps smaller buses could accomplish that. “That’s a broader conversation,” admitted Plata, but reported that in the past two weeks he had seen four couples wheeling their luggage from the airport to the bus stop by Safeway. “It’s a continued need that we need to continue to discuss.”

Board member Matt Schwartz agreed with that concept. “Exploring riding smaller buses during lower ridership times makes a whole lot of sense,” he said. 

Puckett Daniels brought up other potential services including expanded senior services, a Gunnison circulator bus and others. “I feel like there’s a broader conversation here,” she said, based on the RTA’s strategic planning. She asked how this expansion would fit into the broader plan, and how they would choose what to expand. Truex reviewed that 15-minute service was part of the RTA’s approved strategic plan, and that this particular grant was for transit services but not specialty services such as senior services.  

“How tied are we to that decision when we approve the five-year expansion plan to this grant? Do we have to be following that to a T?” asked board member Anna Fenerty.

Truex said they had some flexibility, and they could potentially defer the planning part for a year while still applying for the funds. 

The board contemplated that they could potentially get four to six smaller buses instead of two larger ones. 

Fenerty asked how this expanded schedule would impact drivers, to which RTA marketing and communications manager Leia Morrison said it is much easier on staffing than adjusting seasonally. “Having the 41 routes is going to be a lot easier because then you have a solid staff that is there the whole time,” she explained.

Truex said another perk could be that using smaller vehicles in spring and fall could free up the bigger ones so they can get in for maintenance. Truex said he would take that input from the board and would look into the possibility of smaller vehicles for the expanded service plan. 

Truex said would research more about the guidelines and work on the draft plan for the board to review at the next meeting. The application is due in August.