Woefully low ridership on the G light-rail line between the Nine Mile and Lincoln stations has led RTD to propose slashing the service beginning Aug. 19.
“Ridership is pathetic, and it costs us a lot of money to do this,” RTD general manager Cal Marsella told agency board members on Friday.
The Regional Transportation District proposes to eliminate all Saturday, Sunday and holiday service on the G route, except for an early-morning trip that links to the E and H lines.
G trains on Saturday have been handling as few as six passengers per trip, and on Sunday ridership has been only slightly better at nine passengers per trip, according to RTD’s analysis.
The agency also is proposing to discontinue weekday G train service after 7 p.m. and reduce midday, off-peak service from 30- minute to 60-minute frequencies. Rush-hour frequencies will stay at 30 minutes under the proposal.
G trains on weeknights have been handling as few as two passengers per trip, while midday trains have been transporting as few as four passengers, RTD said.
Combined savings from the weekend and weekday/off-peak cuts could total about $929,000 a year, Marsella said.
The G route is part of the southeast rail line that opened in November. The southeast line, built as part of the T-REX project, also includes E and F train service between Lincoln and downtown Denver and the H train between downtown and Nine Mile, which is at Parker Road and I-225.
The elimination of much of the G train service leaves rail users with the option of transferring between E, F and H trains at Southmoor, Marsella said.
RTD will hold public hearings next month around the metro area to consider these and other service changes.
