ARCHIVED  February 1, 1997

Fort Collins/Loveland bus service ramps up

The announcement of bus service between Fort Collins and Loveland on U.S. Highway 287 now is even closer to becoming a reality.The long-awaited step toward regional mass transit is expected to hit the road in March, said Larimer County Commissioner Jim Disney. There will be a ceremony March 1 unveiling the program’s name and providing inaugural rides for local dignitaries.
There now also are discussions that initial bus runs will be either free or at a reduced cost. Meg Corwin, coordinator of SMARTrips, said that fares will be free at least during the month of March.
After the service has been established, fares likely will be $1, a small price to pay to avoid rush-hour traffic and parking hassles.
Disney said that the county, city of Loveland and city of Fort Collins all will have to sign off on the lower fares because the three entities are pooling funds to launch the project.
The Loveland City Council already has discussed the lower fares.
“I’d like to see it happen,” Disney said.
Larimer County is contributing $38,000 to the bus service this year, while Fort Collins and Loveland each are pitching in $55,000. The federal government will give $39,000.
Transfort, the municipal bus service in Fort Collins, is providing buses out of its existing fleet. Corwin stressed, however, that the new bus routes are not part of Transfort.
“This is a regional transportation system,” she said, and not an operation of Transfort.
Much of the funding will be used to staff the buses and operate them from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
After a one-year trial period, the participating governments will evaluate the project’s success and determine its future.
The bus route is part of a 20-year Northern Colorado transportation plan. It also will help fulfill the North Front Range Transportation and Air Quality Planning Council’s goal of significantly reducing the number of single-occupancy vehicles in the region by 2015.
“If you want people to get out of their cars,” Disney said, “you have to provide them with alternatives.”
A study done for the project showed potential ridership of more than 382,000 between the two cities a year.
The service will operate 22 round trips a day and a fleet of four buses.
Indeed, the program is aimed at the thousands of commuters who travel between Fort Collins and Loveland on a daily basis while trying to get to jobs.
The buses will go from The Square in Fort Collins, a shopping center at 3500 S. College Ave., to the Safeway at 860 N. Cleveland Ave. in Loveland.Have an idea for The Green Page? Call (970) 221-5400, (970) 356-1683 or (800) 440-3506. Or fax us at (970) 221-5432. Our e-mail address is ncbr@aol.com.
ÿ

The announcement of bus service between Fort Collins and Loveland on U.S. Highway 287 now is even closer to becoming a reality.The long-awaited step toward regional mass transit is expected to hit the road in March, said Larimer County Commissioner Jim Disney. There will be a ceremony March 1 unveiling the program’s name and providing inaugural rides for local dignitaries.
There now also are discussions that initial bus runs will be either free or at a reduced cost. Meg Corwin, coordinator of SMARTrips, said that fares will be free at least during the month of March.
After the service has…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
Categories:
Sign up for BizWest Daily Alerts