Riders of the Route P bus between Franktown/Parker and downtown Denver were smiling once again Monday morning as RTD restored the service 3 1/2 months after it halted regional bus routes to coincide with the start of southeast rail.
“Thank you for giving me an hour back in my day,” said a grateful Sandra Winsett, after boarding the scheduled 6:57 a.m. P at RTD’s Lincoln Avenue/Jordan Road park-n-Ride in Parker.
The Regional Transportation District also resumed Route T bus service between Boulder and the Denver Tech Center. The routes were restored, with fewer trips than before, after riders protested the cuts.
The 6:57 P pulled into the Civic Center station in downtown Denver about 33 minutes after it left the Lincoln/Jordan stop.
Winsett and other transit users who lost their ride on the P in November estimated it added about a half-hour to both the morning and afternoon commutes when they had to substitute a local bus and train ride for their one-seat trip on the P.
After spending nearly $900 million on southeast rail, RTD’s plan was for residents of Parker, Franktown and other communities south of the train line to take a local bus, or drive their own cars, to the Lincoln rail station, near I-25 and C-470, and transfer to the train.
But it was such a “huge hassle” for local buses or cars to get in and out of the Lincoln rail station that Leslie Rojas, another Parker resident who relied on the P, switched to driving her car into Denver, or taking the E-470 toll road to the County Line rail station. The latter option added $3.50 in toll fees to her daily commute.
As Rojas once again enjoyed the quick, single-seat trip into downtown Monday morning on the P, she said, “I think it’s great that RTD responded to people’s feedback.”
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
