RTD study group to recommend passes, discounts, increases

DENVER — A group formed to study individual and group passes for the Regional Transportation District in the Denver metro area, including Broomfield and Boulder counties, will recommend greater discounts or new passes for low-income riders or youth and an increase for the EcoPass, Neighborhood EcoPass and CollegePass.

The 25-member group will recommend:

Adding a low-income pass, which would provide a 40 percent discount to qualifying riders whose incomes are at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

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Adding a youth pass, which would discount the fare for riders 13 through 19 years old to 70 percent. Individuals 12 years old and younger would ride free with a fare-paying rider.

Retaining EcoPass, Neighborhood EcoPass and CollegePass and pricing them based on updated service level areas and value of the trips taken. The group is considering phasing in price increases of more than 20 percent for EcoPass holders, neighborhoods and higher education institutions.

The working group will deliver its recommendations to the full RTD board. All the recommendations, according to information released by the RTD, were reviewed to determine impact on overall agency revenue and on ridership.

“I commend the members of the working group for their thoughtful participation in this important process, and my colleagues and I look forward to reviewing their recommendation,” said RTD CEO and General Manager Dave Genova in a prepared statement.

The RTD board is expected to take action on the recommendations later this year with impacts most likely to occur in 2019.

Regular individual RTD rates — those not involved with the agency’s passes — will be determined in a separate process.