*A message from RTD:

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to change our lives, we want you to know that the health and safety of our riders, employees and their families continues to be the top priority for all of us here at the Regional Transportation District (RTD). We want to make sure you know about the proactive measures we’re taking to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Safety Measures

We continue to clean our buses and trains daily, wiping down surfaces, hand rails, hand grips, etc. with industrial grade disinfectant. We are also providing our operators with hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies to keep their work areas clean. We have restricted public access to RTD facilities and are limiting time for our riders to congregate at our Denver Union Station Bus Concourse and Civic Center Station.

We are in close coordination with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the Denver Office of Emergency Management. We have a strong collaboration of partners working together across the region and the state as we all do our part to combat this virus and its threat.

We’ve compiled answers to some of the frequently asked questions we’ve been getting. You can find our FAQs on our News Stop FAQs on RTD’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

RTD Ridership

As more people stay home and practice social distancing, fewer people are riding transit. RTD is experiencing about a 60% decline in ridership. RTD is now providing about 139,000 trips each weekday, compared with 347,800 weekday trips one year ago. The agency is working to quantify the effects the pandemic is having on its ridership and solidify actual ridership figures. For comparison, transit agencies across the United States have reported that they are experiencing a drop in ridership ranging from 45%-80%.

We are committed to providing service to our customers, many of whom are transit dependent. For many, RTD is their lifeline. Continuing to provide service also serves the many healthcare workers and other professionals whose work is critical in fighting this disease.

Access-a-Ride Service

RTD’s Access-a-Ride paratransit service also has seen a steady decline in bookings. While average weekday trip demand is typically around 3,000 trips per day, with a 3%-4% cancellation rate on the day of service, trip numbers are much lower and cancellation rates are higher. Therefore, we’re making a few temporary changes to our booking process.

Access-a-Ride will suspend five-day advanced bookings, allowing customers to book next day trips only.  All standing orders from Friday, March 20, will be canceled. Customers can call 303-292-6560 to book trips. This information has been communicated to our customers in various ways, through the established customer messaging systems, media release, info on website, etc. These steps will reduce demand for staff and allow us to continue to provide essential trips for our customers. This is not a cut in service, but designed to better serve the customers who do need service during this time. This change will remain in place until Governor Polis lifts the state of emergency.

Transit Driver Appreciation Day

Wednesday, March 18, was International Transit Driver Appreciation Day – a very timely opportunity for us to thank our operators for the very important public service they provide. If you haven’t read the current blog post on our website, check it out. It’s a nice tribute to our wonderful operators.

In This Together

We are in strange times, like nothing we’ve experienced before. We continue to be nimble and adjust as COVID-19 evolves. We are being challenged as never before. But we will get through this together.

Things change quickly, so please keep up to speed on how RTD is addressing the pandemic by visiting RTD’s News Stop and follow us on social media for the latest developments. But more than anything, stay healthy and be safe.

*Information from Transportation for America newsletter

ACTION YOU CAN TAKE
As millions follow their elected leaders’ directions and stay home from work and school, public transportation ridership is plummeting. Combined with increased costs for additional cleaning and with the economy slowing down quickly, transit is facing an economic apocalypse—unless Congress decides to make it a priority in their proposed economic stimulus.

We need you to take action. Tell your members of Congress to support emergency financial assistance for transit agencies.

THREE THINGS WE’RE THINKING
(1) Coronavirus will have huge impacts on transit systems—here’s how Congress should help: Congress and the president are considering ways to provide much-needed boosts to the economy due to the impacts of the novel coronavirus. But simply pouring money into the existing transportation program as a whole will fail to help the people who rely on transit to access the health care system and will have impacts on transit service that will last for years to come. Read more on their blog > >

(2) Dear governor, our congestion “solutions” have failed: Governors and legislators in state houses across the country have a major role to play in ending the congestion con and spending our money on projects that will actually improve our lives—rather than just temporarily shortening some commutes by 30 seconds until the congestion returns. Help us make that a reality by sending your local officials a message—and check out our webinar on the Congestion Con from earlier this week. Read more about this on their blog >>

(3) What would a Green New Deal for transportation look like? Current federal transportation policy is diametrically opposed to addressing climate change. The Green New Deal framework released a year ago mostly left that fact unchanged. But a new report that T4America contributed to fills in those gaps and gives transportation policy the same visionary makeover to show what we could achieve if our transportation and climate goals were aligned. Read more on their blog > >

THREE THINGS WE’RE READING
(1) Coronavirus is taking a big bite out of public transportation ridership in the US (The Verge): Transit ridership is plummeting all over the country as people limit their movement to slow down the spread of COVID-19—which is a good thing. Washington, DC’s transit agency rightfully praised Washingtonians for riding less this week. But revenue from ridership makes up a huge chunk of agencies’ budgets and falling ridership makes emergency funding for transit even more critical. The same day they thanked riders for staying home as asked, Metro also sent a letter to their congressional delegation projecting a $52 million per month deficit. Expect many more stories like this.

(2) A surge in biking to avoid crowded trains in NYC (New York Times): One upside of the recommended social distancing is that more people are biking. New York’s bikeshare system, Citibike, experienced a 60 percent increase in ridership this month, and the city is considering installing temporary bike lanes to meet demand. (Want to join the growing tide of bike riders? Here are some great tips on how to bike safely in spaces where cars are prioritized.)

(3) Covid-19: What if transit runs out of money? (Human Transit): Transit guru Jarrett Walker does a great job explaining the repercussions of falling ridership due to COVID-19 for transit agencies. If transit agencies continue to lose revenue, they’ll have to cut service, which can keep ridership low even after the pandemic subsides. “Remember, the riders you drive away due to service cuts will stay gone until the service improves again, while those who are just working from home will come back post-crisis if the service is still there,” writes Walker.