Redrawn fare plan for RTD turns Aurora-to-Denver into ‘regional’ trip

AURORA | The Regional Transportation District is increasing its bus and rail fares, despite opposition from activists and residents who want RTD to create an income-based pass for the working poor who they say are most reliant on public transportation.

The RTD District Board of Directors voted 11-1 in May to boost bus and light rail fares. Director Paul Solano was the only board member to vote against the restructured fares.

Under the new fare system, which will go into effect next January, local one-way bus and light rail fares will increase from $2.25 to $2.60, and a monthly local pass will increase from $79 to $99. One-way fares that travel through three light rail zones — currently known as “express” tickets — will also increase from $4.00 to $4.50 under the new system.

The new fares do not take into account a majority of RTD’s riders, said Dace West, director of  Mile High Connects.

“It was our hope that as the board passed a core fare structure, it would also include discount programs for low-income riders,” she said.

The nonprofit — which heads an affordability task force of more than 100 nonprofit, government groups and businesses — presented a study to RTD board members this spring that showed low-income riders make up a large part of RTD’s ridership and would be most impacted by the changes.

Using census data from 2011 and 2012, the task force found that about 27 percent of RTD riders earn less than $15,000 a year. That study also found that those earning less than $15,000 a year would feel the greatest impact from the fare increase because most of those riders use local bus routes and transfers over other forms of RTD transportation.

In that same study, the task force asked RTD not to increase fares without also creating an income-based pass for those who earn up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level. The low-income passes would be similar to the discount RTD already gives to students and seniors, and would mean that a family of four who earn $36,000 or less a year would qualify for low-income bus fare.

Under the new fare system, which will go into effect next January, local one-way bus and light rail fares will increase from $2.25 to $2.60, and a monthly local pass will increase from $79 to $99. One-way fares that travel through three light rail zones — currently known as “express” tickets — will also increase from $4.00 to $4.50 under the new system.

The task force suggested in the study that RTD could pay for the low-income passes by charging in-district users who park in an RTD parking lot for less than 24 hours $1 per day, or increasing light rail trips to the airport from $10 to $13 or $15.

Under the newly approved fare system, a trip from Denver Union Station to Denver International Airport costs $9.

At the same time,  the new fare system also will implement all-day passes that will be the same rate as round-trip fares, and help eliminate the need for transfers. A local day pass will cost $5.20, and a regional day pass will cost $9.

“We heard from a lot of people, they use the bus and make a lot of stops during the day,” said Tom Tobiassen, RTD Board First Vice Chair, whose district encompasses Aurora. “The day pass is a huge savings if you’re going to use bus or a train more like a car. It’s like a round-trip fare but you use it all day.”

The number of travel zones used to determine fare price have also been reduced from four zones to three. One change in the fare zone structure that could be problematic for Aurora, Tobiassen said, is that most of Aurora’s light rail line will be located in the third travel zone.

Dubbed the “R” line, the new Interstate 225 light rail system will also open sometime in 2016 and will  connect the East Commuter Rail Line through Aurora to metro Denver’s Southeast Corridor light rail.

But for Aurora residents using two particular stops — the station serving the Aurora Municipal Center and Second & Abilene Station — a round-trip to Denver will be $9.

Residents traveling from any other station on the line to downtown Denver will only have to pay a local fare.

Dubbed the “R” line, the new Interstate 225 light rail system will also open sometime in 2016 and will  connect the East Commuter Rail Line through Aurora to metro Denver’s Southeast Corridor light rail.

“If you go from anywhere in Aurora to the airport, or if you go or anywhere in Aurora down to Lincoln, it’s a local fare,” Tobiassen said.

Tobiassen said RTD is still reviewing the zones and especially how they affect the new Aurora light rail and potential ridership.

He said RTD plans to implement a smart card system by next year that would give residents who use it additional discounts on fares. The reusable plastic card, which is about the size of a credit card with a chip in it, would allow riders to purchase and store fares electronically.

Kat Smith, 22, moved to Aurora three months ago from Chicago and said she takes the train from Nine Mile Station five days a week to work for DirecTV in Denver. She said she usually pays for a one-way ticket each way, rather than buying a monthly pass.

She said she’s not worried about that same ticket increasing by 50 cents each way.

“Hopefully I’ll have a car in the next few months,” she said.

RTD had not changed its fares since 2011, and RTD officials have said they are looking to simplify the system before new FasTracks transit lines open in the next two years.