Briefs: RTA

By Mark Reaman

Potential Montrose service hitting hurdles

The idea of providing a bus route between Gunnison and Montrose has hit a snag. Gunnison Valley Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) executive director Scott Truex reported to the board that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) “doesn’t believe that Bustang Outrider will run this service since they don’t believe it is a long enough route to fit their intercity model.” Truex said there may be funding available for bus purchases for the route next summer if funding can be found for operations. No discussion has been held about what organization might run the route if it happens.  “We are waiting until we have the second Denver bus contracted before we discuss the Montrose service,” he reported. 

Solar rooftop on maintenance building a no go

In a relatively brief discussion at the August 8 board meeting, the RTA board decided against pursuing putting solar panels on the maintenance facility located at 905 W. Evans in Gunnison. The proposal was to spend about $100,000 for a 28-kilowatt system.

“I’m opposed to the idea,” board member Ian Billick unequivocally stated. “Adding rooftop solar is inefficient. Including it on the new facility on Tomichi might make sense given the current building code requirements but to me it doesn’t make sense to retrofit that building. Maybe 10 or 20 years ago it would make sense but now I think there are better options to support renewables at scale, so I am not excited about rooftop solar.”

RTA board chair Matt Schwartz noted that the payback timeline was coming in at around 20 years which was not a great motivator. No one on the board expressed interest in pursuing the rooftop solar idea so it won’t happen.

Bus replacement cycle

The RTA has several new bus purchases in the pipeline. Five new big vehicles should be in the valley before the end of next March. Truex will continue to apply for more grants to fund replacement buses. The RTA agreed to send its mechanic to the Canadian production line in October as part of the inspection process.

Stuff: winter bus schedule, enhanced bus 

stop progress, etc.

—The bus schedule for the upcoming ski season will be the same as last year with 41 roundtrips per day.

—The RTA is preparing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) document for the new “enhanced bus stop” to be located at 301 W. Tomichi Avenue in Gunnison. The RFQ is for architectural, engineer and project management services.

—The RTA approved a new contract with Swiftly to provide real-time location services.

—The board approved increasing the subsidy for the Gunnison Airport mechanic subsidy from $50,000 to $54,000 annually.

—The board accepted the annual audit report for the RTA.