[Colorado-Talk] Denver Area: Urgent: Access on Demand Virtual Committee Meeting This Wednesday

Tue Sep 9 03:04:04 UTC 2025

Hi, all,

I marked this as urgent because rather than meeting next Wednesday as usual,
the Operations, Safety and Security Committee will be meeting this Wednesday
to make a new recommendation to the RTD Board regarding Access on Demand.
So, we need to be there to make public comment, again. I know it's nerve
wracking having to do this again and again, but the Board indicated at the
July meeting that at their September meeting, they want to have a
recommendation from the OSSC that they can just approve without all the
amendments they added at their July meeting. So, if we want to influence
their thinking, this Wednesday's meeting will be critical to make absolutely
certain they know where we're coming from and what we view as acceptable and
unacceptable. 

If any of the following is incorrect, by all means, reply to this message
with the correct info.

Meeting Details:

*	When: Wednesday, 5:30 PM 
*	Format: Zoom meeting
*	Registration:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uoXuiU3CS16FUViqwrmqzQ#/registra
tion
*	Action needed: Raise your hand and make public comment

What's Changed Since July

At the July Board meeting, directors modified staff's harsh recommendation
($6.50 fare, Access-a-Ride area and hourly restrictions) to a more
reasonable $2.50 fare with no area/time restrictions. Instead of voting,
they sent it back for new cost analysis.

The bombshell: Staff recently send the Board a memo which reveals they've
been hiding wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) costs all along - adding
$12-16 million annually to every scenario. This explains the dramatic cost
increases and raises serious questions about their previous analyses. I'll
attach the full memo to this message.

The Six Scenarios (2026 Costs)

*	Scenario 1: $25.4M - $4.50 fare, 40 trips, Access-a-Ride boundary
only, restricted hours
*	Scenario 2 (Staff wants this): $22.9M - $6.50 fare, 60 trips,
Access-a-Ride boundary only, restricted hours
*	Scenario 3: $29.6M - $4.50 fare, 60 trips, ADA + regional routes,
restricted hours
*	Scenario 4: $31.1M - $4.50 fare, 60 trips, full area, 24/7 service
*	Scenario 5: $34.2M - $2.50 fare, 60 trips, Access-a-Ride + regional
routes, restricted hours
*	Scenario 6: $36.0M - $2.50 fare, 60 trips, full area, 24/7 service

Context: Even the most expensive option represents just 2.8% of RTD's $1.3
billion budget.

RTD's Promise To Voters

In November 2024, RTD asked voters to approve Ballot Measure 7A to keep all
the sales tax revenue they receive without having to refund any amount over
a certain threshold as required by the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. As part of
their vote yes push,  they specifically promised to "maintain the
availability of services for people with disabilities." The measure passed
with 69% support.

Ten months later, they're breaking that promise to save under 3% of their
budget. The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition endorsed 7A based on these
disability service promises, and several directors pointed to this promise
at the July meeting as they worked to come up with a new proposal that would
keep AOD largely intact.

The Stakes

Staff is pushing hard for Scenario 2, which would:

*	Eliminate service for night shift workers and anyone who might need
a ride overnight
*	Cut off anyone outside Access-a-Ride boundaries
*	Impose unacceptable $6.50 fares

They're threatening to cut 3.3% of bus service if they don't get their way,
despite being given the unlimited sales tax funds they asked voters for.

Bottom Line

RTD management wants to gut their most effective paratransit program just
months after voters gave them exactly the funding they said they needed to
maintain these services. We need strong turnout Wednesday to make it
absolutely clear that Scenario 2 is unacceptable and to remind the committee
and the Board that voter promises matter.

Personally, I'll be advocating for Scenario 4. It keeps the current AOD as
it is while adding a fare in the same amount as the Access-a-Ride fare to
give RTD some revenue. I think it gives us what we need while sending the
message that we're willing to pay our fair share.

Whatever your feelings on this issue, your voice counts. Please register and
attend.

Register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uoXuiU3CS16FUViqwrmqzQ#/registra
tion

You'll need to raise your hand in order to be acknowledged for public
comment.

After the public comment period, you can either remain online to listen to
the discussion, or listen to the video or read the transcript that's posted
after the meeting.

The final recommendation will be taken up by the Board at their September 30
meeting.

Let's show the Committee how much this program matters!

Thanks for all you do!

-Tim

P.S. I'll paste the memo below:

FULL RTD MEMO TEXT (August 27, 2025)

Memorandum
Date: August 27, 2025
To: Board of Directors
From: Debra A. Johnson, General Manager and CEO
Re: Access-on-Demand: Cost Updates

This memorandum serves to update the Board of Directors (Board) regarding
staff's cost projections for various Access-on-Demand (AoD) program
scenarios. These scenarios were brought forth during the monthly Board
meeting held on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Additionally, this memorandum
provides important FY 2026 budget information that will aid the Board in
determining the optimal path forward for the program.

As illustrated herein, the AoD program has grown considerably since its
inception less than five years ago, more so than could have been
anticipated. Along with that precipitous growth has come precipitous program
cost increases. In order to ensure the program remains sustainable in the
long term, cost controls must be established.

I recognize the real-world implications of the decisions the Board will need
to make regarding this program. I myself do not take lightly the
responsibility of ensuring equitable transit access for people with
disabilities. I and members of my leadership team are empathetic to the
diverse needs of RTD's customers and take great pride in providing transit
services to the greater Denver region. RTD's functional mission as
memorialized in the RTD Act is "to develop, maintain, and operate a mass
transportation system for the benefit of the inhabitants of the district."
To meet the region's transit needs, the agency must make sound business
decisions to ensure its long-term sustainability while simultaneously
delivering excellence and value to customers and community.

History

AoD was launched as a limited pilot program available within four ZIP codes
in November 2020 as part of an expanded supplemental, premium service
available to registered, eligible Access-a-Ride (AaR) customers. The
program's goal was to provide a responsive, on-demand platform for
paratransit customers, which was similar to the agency's Access-a-Cab
program as it existed at that time. While AaR remains an accessible
paratransit option for individuals who cannot use AoD for a variety of
reasons (e.g., certain individuals require door-to-door service while others
are unbanked or unable to use apps to book ride share trips, etc.), AoD
provides a viable, convenient transit option for a significant number of
individuals with disabilities who have come to rely on RTD as their mobility
provider of choice.

Following a successful pilot, the Access-a-Cab and AoD programs were merged,
and the Board approved an initial not-to-exceed (NTE) amount of $9.3 million
for three years commencing January 2023. Since that time, the Board has
approved increases to the total program not-to-exceed (NTE) amount, which
now stands at $37.8 million through December 31, 2025, a four-fold increase
from the original projection due largely to the popularity of the AoD
program.

2026 AoD Scenarios

In an effort to maintain consistency, assumptions regarding project costs
and parameters have been presented in a similar manner since the start of
discussions in November 2024; however, this has created the possible
misconception that the cost controls under consideration would yield either
cost savings or increased revenue for the agency in 2025, when in fact the
program costs will eclipse the amount budgeted. To better illustrate the
impacts of each scenario, this memorandum highlights projected costs for
each of the scenarios as contemplated in the 2026 Budget. Projections have
been developed based on a variety of historical data and assumptions
relative to customer behavior based on the associated fare. Following are
further details for each scenario.

Information previously presented to the Board has illustrated the actual
trip subsidy paid by RTD to the four service providers and has not, prior to
the dissemination of this memorandum, included the Wheelchair Accessible
Vehicle (WAV) costs that should also be considered as part of the overall
program costs. These costs have been included in the scenarios as described.

Scenario 1 - Staff's March 2025 Recommendation

Program Parameters:

*	Base fare: $4.50 standard fare/$2.25 LiVE fare, $25/trip subsidy
*	Service area: 3/4-mile ADA boundary
*	Service window: Current AaR service hours
*	Trip cap: 40 trips/month
*	Assumptions: Projections assume a reduced increase in new monthly
customers of 3%, a reduction in trips of 5% to account for aligning current
service delivery with ADA boundaries, and an average of 18 trips per
customer per month based on a lower per month trip cap

Annual Program Costs:

*	Trip subsidy after fare: $12,975,597
*	WAV cost: $12,388,144
*	Total cost: $25,363,741

Scenario 2 - Staff's July 2025 Recommendation

Program Parameters:

*	Base fare: $6.50 standard fare/$3.25 LiVE fare, $20/trip subsidy
*	Service area: 3/4-mile ADA boundary
*	Service window: Current AaR service hours
*	Trip cap: 60 trips/month
*	Assumptions: Projections assume a reduced increase in new monthly
customers of 3%, a reduction in trips of 5% to account for aligning current
service delivery with ADA boundaries, and an average of 18 trips per
customer per month based on a lower per month trip cap

Annual Program Costs:

*	Trip subsidy after fare: $10,845,023
*	WAV cost: $12,042,061
*	Total cost: $22,887,085

Scenario 3

Program Parameters:

*	Base fare: $4.50 standard fare/$2.25 LiVE fare, $20/trip subsidy
*	Service area: 3/4-mile ADA boundary with the addition of service
adjacent to Regional routes
*	Service window: Current AaR service hours
*	Trip cap: 60 trips/month
*	Assumptions: Projections assume a reduced increase in new monthly
customers of 3%, a reduction in trips of 5% to account for aligning current
service delivery with ADA boundaries, and an average of 21 trips per month
per customer

Annual Program Costs:

*	Trip subsidy after fare: $15,138,197
*	WAV cost: $14,452,834
*	Total cost: $29,591,031 (29.3% increase over July 2025 Recommended
Scenario)

Scenario 4

Program Parameters:

*	Base fare: $4.50 standard fare/$2.25 LiVE fare, $20/trip subsidy
*	Service area: Full RTD service area
*	Service window: Available 24/7
*	Trip cap: 60 trips/month
*	Assumptions: Projections assume a reduced increase in new monthly
customers of 3% and an average of 21 trips per customer per month

Annual Program Costs:

*	Trip subsidy after fare: $15,934,944
*	WAV cost: $15,213,510
*	Total cost: $31,148,454 (36.1% increase over July 2025 Scenario)

Scenario 5

Program Parameters:

*	Base fare: $2.50 standard fare/$1.25 LiVE fare, $20/trip subsidy
*	Service area: 3/4-mile ADA boundary, with the addition of service
adjacent to Regional routes
*	Service window: AaR service hours
*	Trip cap: 60 trips/month
*	Assumptions: Projections assume a similar number of new customers
per month at 3.5%, a reduction in trips of 5% to account for aligning
current service delivery with ADA boundaries, and an average of 22 trips per
customer per month

Annual Program Costs:

*	Trip subsidy after fare: $18,604,453
*	WAV cost: $15,578,409
*	Total cost: $34,182,862 (49.4% increase over July 2025 Scenario)

Scenario 6

Program Parameters:

*	Base fare: $2.50 standard fare/$1.25 LiVE fare, $20/trip subsidy
*	Service area: Full RTD service area
*	Service window: Available 24/7
*	Trip cap: 60 trips/month
*	Assumptions: Projections assume a similar number of new customers
per month at 3.5% and an average of 22 trips per customer per month

Annual Program Costs:

*	Trip subsidy after fare: $19,583,635
*	WAV cost: $16,398,325
*	Total cost: $35,981,960 (57.2% increase over July 2025 Scenario)

(Note: For comparison, factoring in WAV costs, staff anticipates a total
annual AoD program cost of $24,826,448 in 2025. This total assumes a
sustained average monthly increase of 3.8% in customer demand, with the
average customer taking 22 trips per month within existing program
parameters.)

2026 Budget

While the 2026 Budget is still being developed, staff anticipates that
significant reductions in budgeted operating expenses will be required to
ensure fiscal sustainability and prudent stewardship of taxpayer dollars,
given RTD's change in net position from +$19M in 2023 to -$282M in 2024.

Should sufficient operating expense savings not be realized in the 2026
Budget, fixed-route service modifications would be necessary beginning in
2026. For purposes of the 2026 Budget, each 1% reduction in annualized
fixed-route bus service delivery would yield a budgetary offset of
approximately $4 million in operating costs.

Simply put, an increase in program costs of approximately $13.1 million,
i.e., the difference in program costs between staff's recommended scenario
presented in July 2025 and Scenario 6 as described, would necessitate an
equivalent reduction of approximately 3.3% in fixed-route bus service. For
comparison, the relative costs to operate the following highly utilized bus
routes in 2024, the costs for which are comparable to the cost variance
among the above scenarios:

Route Operating Costs (2024):

*	Route 15L: 2,972,437 boardings, $11,540,182 operating costs
*	Route 15: 2,914,055 boardings, $11,280,570 operating costs
*	Route 31: 1,961,552 boardings, $7,687,933 operating costs
*	Route 105: 1,680,273 boardings, $6,669,049 operating costs
*	Route 0: 1,649,888 boardings, $8,872,121 operating costs
*	MALL: 1,511,656 boardings, $6,117,937 operating costs
*	Route 16: 1,421,505 boardings, $6,182,302 operating costs
*	Route 121: 1,368,101 boardings, $7,391,343 operating costs
*	FF: 1,336,324 boardings, $9,558,717 operating costs
*	Route 83: 1,081,752 boardings, $5,195,189 operating costs

For further context, the anticipated AaR budget for the provision of
services in 2026 is $53,419,030. This cost is in addition to any AoD costs
outlined above.

Impacts to AaR

As discussed during the monthly Board meeting held on Tuesday, July 29,
2025, WAV vehicles used for AoD service are provided by RTD through the
agency's existing AaR service contracts. As demand for AoD, and subsequently
WAV service, increases, the service capacity of RTD's federally mandated
complimentary paratransit service decreases correspondingly. Additionally,
the demand for WAV trips provided through both AaR and AoD services
continues to increase; for AoD specifically, demand has risen from a daily
average of 79 trips in January 2025 to 116 in July 2025, a 47% increase.
During this same period in 2025, monthly AoD on-time performance has
decreased, from over 90% in January-April 2025, down to 86% by the end of
July 2025. Staff attributes this performance decline at least partially to
the impact of AoD WAV trip demands on AaR service.

I along with staff look forward to continued discussion regarding this
matter during the Operations, Safety, and Security Meeting scheduled for
Wednesday, September 10, 2025, and, if approved, the monthly Board meeting
scheduled for Tuesday, September 30, 2025.

Thank you.

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