Recent Streetsblog DENVER posts about transit

When RTD charges the electric buses used for 16th St. FreeMall Ride, Xcel Energy adds a fee that amounts to 82%. Photo: Andy Bosselman

Guest Post: As Xcel Gouges RTD to Charge Electric Buses, California Model Could Help

By Miles Muller | May 15, 2019 | 2 Comments

RTD pays nearly 60 percent more per mile to power the 16th St. Free MallRide electric buses than its diesel buses. In California, two electric utilities changed their commercial pricing to encourage electric vehicle adoption, a model Xcel Energy could follow.

After Allowing Transit Service to Worsen, Denver Isn’t Ready for Predictable Uber & Lyft Price Increases

By Andy Bosselman | May 10, 2019 | 12 Comments

Uber and Lyft will certainly raise prices, which will price out many Coloradans. For those who return to transit, they will soon learn that officials have repeatedly cut bus service in the region’s densest neighborhoods.

As RTD invests more in its rail network, service cuts, fare increases and demographic changes appear to drive dropping bus ridership. Image: RTD

Why Is Bus Ridership Plummeting in Denver? New Data Tool Offers Insights.

By Andy Bosselman | Apr 30, 2019 | 18 Comments

Want to know why people are ditching the bus in Denver while ridership is growing in Seattle, Houston and Columbus? Now there’s a way for activists, academics and policymakers to compare what’s not working in one city to what’s driving success in other places. It's a new web tool that makes it easier to map, visualize and crunch data.

A pop-up traffic-calming event placed flowers, beach balls, pastel-painted tires and bales of hay on a stretch of Federal Boulevard on Saturday afternoon. Photo: WalkDenver

Pop-up Traffic Calming Demonstration on Federal Shows That Fast, Cheap Fixes Can Improve Safety

By Andy Bosselman | Apr 29, 2019 | 2 Comments

Advocates for street safety placed flowers, beach balls, pastel-painted tires and bales of hay on a stretch of Federal Boulevard on Saturday afternoon to show how easily Denver’s deadliest street could be transformed into something safer.

RTD's MyRide tap-to-pay electronic fare payment card.

MyRide: Why Can’t RTD’s Tap-to-Pay Card Reload Cash Automatically?

By Andy Bosselman | Apr 24, 2019 | 18 Comments

RTD frequently praises itself for innovation. But the agency's MyRide tap-to-pay fare payment card lacks basic features, including the ability to automatically add value, which may be why only 1% of RTD riders use the card.

A G line test train approaches Arvada. Photo: RTD

With G Line Opening, Has RTD Figured out Positive Train Control?

By Andy Bosselman | Apr 23, 2019 | 3 Comments

When the Regional Transportation District opens the long-delayed G-Line on Friday, is it a sign that the agency has finally worked out the electronics difficulties that bedeviled the launch of its first three commuter trains? RTD is the first transit agency in the U.S. to deploy a positive train control system from the ground up […]

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