BOULDER — Activists and residents told Regional Transportation District officials Thursday that the agency will charge have to be two things: simple to understand and affordable for everybody.
“For low-income people and even those with moderate incomes, taking a bus or train to work and to get your kids to school is a sizable piece of your income,” said Carolyn Bninksi, a coordinator with the Boulder-based . “People are really squeezed, and I think a bus pass based on income would be very helpful.”
She was among about 15 people in the Boulder City Council chambers who lobbed questions and gave plenty of opinions about the restructuring of RTD’s fare schedule.
The Boulder gathering was among several public meetings planned this month by RTD, which is the middle of a massive review of its fares.
The agency wants an updated fare system developed by January 2016 as RTD opens five new transit lines, including one to DIA.
RTD admits its current fare schedule is confusing. Commuters on light rail, for instance, are faced with paying different fares depending on which zone a train is traveling.
One idea on the table is reducing the current fare structure from 10 categories to four:
• Local — which are bus routes on city streets with frequent stops.
• Regional — which are bus routes carrying riders between cities often on highways.
• Rail — which would be a single flat fare for all rail service with no zones.
• Airport — bus and rail service to DIA.
RTD is considering two options for how a passenger pays:
• Pay per boarding, in which passengers would pay a fare each time they board a vehicle or buy a day pass.
• Pay for time, in which riders would pay for a three-hour block of unlimited rides.
Some at the Boulder meeting wanted a payment system that combines the two options. Others said a zone should include rail and buses.
Boulder City Councilwoman Mary Young said RTD must communicate clearly to all passengers about fare pricing and schedules.
“Brochures, information, must be written so at least an eighth-grader can understand,” Young said. “Convenience and simplicity is so important to people and to this system.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/montewhaley
