The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Whetstone campus, employee retention, future route expansions
By Kendra Walker
Mountain Express managing director Jeremy Herzog provided the Mt. Crested Butte town council with an annual update during the March 17 meeting. Overall, Herzog said Mountain Express continues to operate safely, without disruption and extremely cost efficiently, while seeking out opportunities to grow and innovate. “It was a great year for Mountain Express,” he said.
Mountain Express served 618,604 passengers in 2025, down 6% from the previous year. Winter ridership was at 480,991, summer ridership at 117,936 and then 19,677 passengers during the spring and fall off-seasons. Late Night Taxi (LNT) ridership increased 1% with 3,768 riders even with a reduction from 365 to 300 service days. Senior Van ridership increased 17% with 3,079 riders, back on track after the Highway 50 bridge disruption in 2024.
Herzog said the overall ridership decrease was the first time since Covid, attributing the 6% ridership dip to the winter bus routes experiencing slower skier traffic during the critical peak months. He also noted observing the local workforce continuing to move out of Mountain Express service zones.
Looking at the costs per passenger, the Town Shuttle was the most efficient at $3.18 per passenger in the winter and $6.38 in the summer. FirstTracks was the most expensive at $9.15 per passenger in the winter and $21.82 in the summer. “Overall distribution of ridership and route efficiency remains roughly the same,” said Herzog. He pointed out that Mountain Express has the lowest cost per passenger when compared to other mountain ski towns, such as Park City, Snowmass, Telluride, Breckenridge and Steamboat. “It’s part of our culture here,” he said. “We have a lot more people getting on these buses.”
However, “Despite having exceptional cost efficiency, as well as hourly costs in line with peers, we will be running at a $74,000 deficit this year to maintain service levels,” he said. “LNT and Summer FirstTracks require funding above our standard levels.”
In 2025, Mountain Express was awarded a few noteworthy grant wins, including $14.4 million for the new Whetstone Transit Campus, $100,000 in perpetuity for the winter FirstTracks service and $300,000 annually for an expanded town shuttle route hopefully starting in the winter 2027/28 season.
“Assuming completion of the new roundabout and new buses we ordered, we’ll start going to the east side of the town of Crested Butte,” said Herzog. He told the council that phone data from the town of Crested Butte’s transportation plan revealed roughly 10% of people parking at the Four-Way were driving from elsewhere in town, such as the Rainbow Park neighborhood. “The goal is to serve that side of town better than it has in the past, getting closer to people in those homes.” He said Mountain Express is also in conversation with the Crested Butte Community School to use that parking lot in the future on weekends for additional parking.
Herzog said employee retention was strong in 2025 at 97%, noting that Mountain Express offers a workplace culture that retains staff and works well as a team to solve daily challenges. However, aging Mountain Express staff creates a strong need to compete for employees in a highly competitive market, he said. “Natural attrition requires an ability to attract new talent to MX to maintain services.” Mountain Express is currently looking to fill its operations manager position.
Herzog said the completion of the Whetstone Transit Campus project is roughly three years out, with planning underway and construction estimated for 2028 and 2029. Mountain Express has estimated $18 million in construction costs and assumed an annual increase of $300,000 in operating expenses. “The Whetstone Transit Campus project will be a critical project for Mountain Express to execute to scope and budget, with significant board involvement,” he said.
“I think Mountain Express should be continuing to serve local residents in the valley,” concluded Herzog, calling out the goal to someday serve all the way from CB South to Mt. Crested Butte. “Mountain Express is seen as an important institution in the valley. Investment in transit is seen as a positive step to manage the impact of recent changes in the valley.”
