[Colorado-Talk] RTD Update: A Win You Haven't Heard About, and Why July 28 Still Matters

[Amy Sabo]

hello all,

i was going to post this comment to peggy's message that she posted on the article on rtd and, the cuts on the rides incluuding the free mall schedule.

i was going to do so, but, i deleted the message before i was going to send it to her. so, here i go! i don't think that rtd needs to cut or get rid of the free mall schedule on 116th street. this a major for it's tourism in the downtown area of denver area and, it also serve as a tool for people to use it besides walking all of those long miles!

especially when they had spent soooo money on thre reconstruction of the mall. as for the cuts on the other light rail lines and the other bus lines i know that rtd needs to save money but, imo for us in the blind and disability communitythis shouldn't happen! but, if the other light rail lines aren't being used by riders then they need to be cut. if you aren't using the service then they need to chang it! well, there's my 2 cents worth on this topic. i hope that you all are keeping cool and, i will talk to you all soon.





sincerely yours,
amy sabo


________________________________________
From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> on behalf of Tim Keenan via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2026 05:22 PM
To: colorado-talk at nfbnet.org <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Tim Keenan <tkeenan79 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] RTD Update: A Win You Haven't Heard About, and Why July 28 Still Matters

Hello all, By now most of you have probably seen the Denverite article on RTD's five service-cut scenarios, so I won't rehash the route lists here. Instead, I want to focus on what the coverage missed: a paratransit funding win almost nobody knows about, and the eligibility threat that win doesn't cover.* * * A WIN YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT At the June 23 board meeting, Directors Guzman and Ruscha ran an amendment to protect paratransit funding in the budget. It passed 10-5. In Director Ruscha's own words to me: "Last night, Michael and I ran an amendment to the budget scope to protect paratransit. For now, paratransit funds for both programs will be protected."That is a real, hard-won victory, and it has not gotten nearly the attention it deserves. Our sustained pressure through public comment and emails helped make it happen, so take a moment to feel good about that.* * * BUT FUNDING PROTECTED IS NOT THE SAME AS SERVICE AREA PROTECTED: Here is the catch, and it is the reason we cannot let up. Access-a-Ride's service area is defined by federal law as everywhere within three-quarters of a mile of RTD's local fixed routes and rail stations. The eligibility map IS the route map. When a route is eliminated, the three-quarter-mile paratransit corridor around it disappears too. This is not hypothetical: under RTD's existing rules, riders can lose Access-a-Ride eligibility when the bus service near their home is withdrawn.So even with the June 23 funding win, every one of the five cut scenarios still shrinks the paratransit map. At the smallest 5 percent cut, 21 routes are eliminated, and each one takes its paratransit corridor with it. At 20 percent, it is 39 routes. Nobody at RTD has published a map showing how many current Access-a-Ride customers would fall outside the service area under each scenario. That is the question we need to force them to answer before the July 28 vote, not after.The rail cuts compound this. The T Line is eliminated in every scenario, and the R Line starting at the 10 percent level. Light rail stations anchor paratransit coverage the same way bus routes do.We already have a concrete example of what this looks like on the ground. Route 53 is discontinued in all five scenarios, and it is the route that provides paratransit access for residents of The Grove, a brand-new housing complex in Broomfield built specifically for people with disabilities. Multiply that story across dozens of routes and you have the real cost of these cuts. * * * SO FAR, ACCESS ON DEMAND IS SAFE: Access on Demand would not be affected by these cuts, and, wonder of wonders, it does not appear to be on the chopping block under any of these scenarios. That’s huge for many of us, but it means nothing for those of us who use Access-a-Ride. * *  * WATCH FOR THE PRESSURE PLAY Buried in the staff report is a warning that delaying a maximum cut from May 2027 to January 2028 would cost RTD an extra $40 million. Expect management to use that number on July 28 to push the Board toward a fast, deep cut.  * *  *Do not let the urgency framing go unchallenged. Here is the thing: there is no financial necessity forcing the deeper cuts. Director Benker's independent budget analysis shows that a 5 percent service reduction, combined with revenue measures, labor savings, and the bond refinancing already underway, closes the entire deficit. The deeper scenarios are a choice, not a requirement. * * * WHAT YOU CAN DO The full Board votes on which scenario to adopt on Tuesday, July 28 at 5:30 PM at 1660 Blake Street. That is the meeting that matters most. I will send registration details as we get closer.In the meantime, written comment can go anytime to RTD.Directors at rtd-denver.com and becomes part of the official record.  * * *Three asks:First, if your route is on the cut list, say so. Tell the Board how you use it and what losing it would mean. Second, ask the question RTD has not answered: how many current Access-a-Ride customers lose eligibility under each scenario? Demand that analysis before any vote. Funding protection means nothing if the service area quietly shrinks out from under us.Personal, specific stories from real riders are the most powerful thing we have.  Finally, the Board should hear from us that the smaller-cut path is the responsible one, and that no route cuts should outpace the independent paratransit study that SB 26-150 requires.The simplest way to accomplish this is to lock in all routes as they currently exist when it comes to paratransit eligibility. We used to call this “grandfathering.” That’s what we need to push the Board to do, because it’s the one thing that would completely protect Access-a-Ride riders. Over the coming days, I’ll be connecting with my fellow paratransit advocates to make sure I haven’t missed anything and to build the most powerful public comment path to best protect the services we all rely upon. If you have questions about any of this, feel free to email me directly at tkeenan at cocenter.org. More to come as we approach July 28.  Thanks for all you do!   Tim Keenan State Transportation Chair National Federation of the Blind of Colorado