[Colorado-Talk] RTD Update: Smoke and Mirrors with a Kernel of Critical Importance

[Tim Keenan]

Hi everyone,

The saga continues. Remember all those routes that were on the chopping
block, like, yesterday? Turns out all that was just for illustrative
purposes. Sadly, this is no joke. See the below article.

But what's also not a joke is that 10% cuts will be on the table at the July
28 Board meeting. That said,  the vote detailing which routes will actually
get cut won't happen until September.

 

Here's what's been going on over the past few days:

On Tuesday, the Finance Committee met to vote for one of the scenarios
outlined in my previous update. They chose to recommend no cuts at all.

The Operations, Safety and Security Committee met last night, (Wednesday,)
and they chose to recommend 10% route/service cuts.

 

But again, the specific routes that would be cut under such a scenario won't
be voted on until probably September.

 

Meantime, on July 28, the Board will meet to decide which of these scenarios
they will pursue, anything from no cuts at all to cuts of 20%.

 

So, the Board still needs to hear from us on the 28th, and what they need to
hear is:

#1. If RTD wants to go to the voters in 2028 and ask for more money, they'll
have much better luck making that ask as an agency that has done its utmost
to avoid cutting services. They should exhaust every other available option
before they even start pondering which routes to cut.

#2. Paratransit eligibility as it stands today must be locked in place, at
least until the mandated independent paratransit study is completed and
fully analyzed, which probably won't happen until sometime in 2028.

 

Below, I'll paste the article that was published in the Denver Post today.
As you'll read, it contains a doozy of a quote from Manager/CEO Deborah
Johnson calling all those routes staff specified as merely illustrative of
the cuts that would be required by each of the scenarios.

 

Bottom line: We still need you on July 28, but not to fight for particular
routes, just to make it abundantly clear to the Board that cuts should be
the absolute last thing they consider, and that paratransit riders should be
insulated from any cuts they do make by locking in their eligibility as it
stands today, at least until the independent paratransit study has been
fully analyzed, which probably won't happen until sometime in 2028.

 

If they do decide to cut routes, they must direct staff to give them an
analysis showing how many paratransit riders would be affected by each route
or timespan cut they make.

 

I swear, I'm gonna have a heart attack by the end of the year at this rate.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Tim Keenan

State Transportation Chair

National Federation of The Blind of Colorado

 

P.s. Here's the article:


RTD panel recommends 10% bus, light-rail service cuts to save $31 million


RTD Board of Directors set to meet on budget on July 28, which could
determine the future of the 16th Street FreeRide


A committee of Regional Transportation District leaders voted Wednesday to
recommend a 10% cut to bus and light-rail service to save the agency $31
million as the organization faces a steep budget deficit heading into the
next fiscal year.

RTD leaders this week also took a step back from a list of possible service
cuts, including the 16th Street FreeRide and several light-rail lines,
compiled by agency staffers after the Board of Directors asked for
cost-saving scenarios to solve the $200 million shortfall.

That list caused several Front Range residents to speak up during public
comment at the agency's operations committee meeting Wednesday night. The
meeting was held virtually.

Doug Tisdale, leader of the Denver Downtown Development Authority and a
former RTD director, spoke with disbelief at the idea that the agency would
ever cut FreeRide, calling it "an exercise in magical thinking."

"For decades it's been the economic and logistical lifeline of downtown
Denver," Tisdale said. "We didn't just endure a massive, multiyear rebuild
of the 16th Street transit way to abandon it now."

Agency leaders repeatedly emphasized that the cuts detailed in the public
documents are hypothetical. General manager and chief executive Debra
Johnson described them as "just for illustrative purposes."

"The board is not approving any cuts to any service at this time. Any
service reductions will be proposed formally in the future and will be
subject to public review," Director Ian Harwick said, adding that what was
compiled by staffers and what will be approved will be "very different."

The committee's recommendation will be passed on to the full RTD board,
which is set to meet at the end of the month.

 

Even if the RTD board approves service cuts, directors won't decide which
specific lines and services to eliminate until a later time, likely
September.

The 5-2 vote from RTD's operations committee stands in contrast to the
finance committee's occasionally contentious meeting Tuesday night, where
directors rejected a proposed recommendation for $20 million in service cuts
and instead voted for zero cuts.

The finance committee also directed agency staffers to find ways to generate
up to $12 million more in revenue through fare increases.

Several directors on the operations committee on Wednesday said they also
support zero service cuts because they hope voters will pass a ballot
measure to increase funding and solve the deficit while the agency could
take on more debt or spend down reserves in the meantime.

 

But that did not convince a majority of the committee.

Director Chris Nicholson said the only thing worse than making cuts now
would be running out of money or making cuts while asking voters to approve
a funding measure.

"I'm not willing to play Russian roulette with the agency's finances under
the assumption that we pass a ballot measure in 2028," he said.

RTD's Board of Directors is scheduled for a hybrid virtual and in-person
meeting at 5:30 p.m. July 28 at agency headquarters, 1660 Blake St. in
Denver.

 

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