Press Release regarding public transportation for Metro students

RTD CHANGES COULD AFFECT SUMMER SEMESTER STUDENTS

By Adrian Galltier

Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD), which operates all of Denver’s public transportation, has proposed service changes to major bus and rail routes in and around Denver for the summer months. These changes will take place on Sunday, May 29, 2022, and will be active throughout the summer semester. Many MSU Denver students rely on summer classes to graduate on time, raise their grade point averages, or take classes they can’t complete during the traditional semester. Likewise, many MSU Denver students rely on public transportation to get to and from campus on time. Unlike many universities, MSU Denver does not have on-campus housing. This means that students come from places as far as Boulder, Parker, and Brighton and need a safe, reliable way to be on time for class every day. Reasons students may choose public transportation over a car range from not having access to a personal vehicle to not being able to pay for the Auraria Campus parking permit.

According to RTD’s website, many of these proposed changes are seasonal and will be reversed during the August 2022 service changes. The term “historically lower demand during the summer season” was mentioned for many of these routes.

The routes in question are:

LOCAL

Route 1 - West 1st Avenue

Route 9 - West 10th Avenue

Route 11 - Mississippi Avenue

Route 20 - 20th Avenue

Route 24 - University Boulevard

Route 30 - South Federal Boulevard

Route 51 - Sheridan Boulevard

Route 59 - West Bowles

Route 65 - Monaco Parkway

Route 73 - Quebec Street

Route 120 - 120th Avenue

Route 169L - Buckley/Tower DIA Limited

Route 204 - Table Mesa/Moorhead/ North 19th

Route 206 - Boulder Junction

Route 225 - Boulder/Lafayette via Baseline

Route DASH - Boulder/Lafayette via Louisville

Route JUMP - Boulder/Lafayette via Arapahoe

Route SKIP - Broadway

REGIONAL

Route BOLT - Boulder/Longmont

Route NB - Eldora/Nederland/Boulder

Route P - Parker/Denver

RAIL

Route N - Union Station to Eastlake & 124th Station

Out of the 22 routes mentioned, only six of them are adjusting to increase on-time performance and not changing the routes or timing in a significant way. It is important for students to keep this in mind so that they can choose their summer class schedule wisely.

All information about the exact changes to these routes can be found at https://www.rtd-denver.com/service-changes/may-2022.