Denver entrepreneurs are launching ski-area shuttle services in December.
The Denver Ski Bus will begin ferrying skiers and snowboarders from Boulder and Denver to Winter Park and Copper Mountain every Saturday and Sunday beginning this weekend. And the Front Range Ski Bus is aiming for a Dec. 10 start of weekend service between downtown Denver and Summit County.
“I used to live in Winter Park, and when the Ski Train went away, we saw a lot of business drop off,” said Curt Spencer, who owns the Fraser Valley’s Valley Taxi. “This is our take on the old Ski Train.”
Spencer will be offering $38 rides from the Denver West Christy Sports and $42 rides from Boulder to Winter Park and Copper Mountain in Arrow Stage Lines coaches, complete with television, Wi-Fi and bathrooms. The 56-passenger buses will leave the University of Colorado campus in Boulder at 6 a.m. and leave Denver’s Christy Sports at 7:30 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday.
The Front Range Ski Bus, which received Public Utilities Commission approval two weeks ago, is hoping to ramp up $32 round-trip service from downtown Denver to Loveland, Arapahoe Basin and Keystone on Dec. 10. The company plans to use 28-passenger buses and will raise prices to $40 in a month, with expanded service to Winter Park, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge.
Denver-based Colorado Jitney, which began a ski shuttle in 2009, is planning $50 shuttles from Denver’s Union Station and Cherry Creek to Copper Mountain and Vail, with weekend service starting Dec. 10.
Spencer, who estimates his buses could pull 30 cars off Interstate 70 during peak ski-traffic times, has big plans for expansion. Already he is offering discounted lift tickets. Eventually, he hopes to offer food, drinks and overnight trips.
“If you have to sit in traffic, this is the way to go,” he said.
Go to or cojitney for more information.
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com
