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

[Amy Sabo]

hello tim and all,

well, i want to put in my 2 cents worth on this topic after reading this article which tim pasted here in this message from the denverpost.

i thought it was a very good article indeed and, i do agree that we need to either show up in person for this meeting on july 28th or email the board of directors on this issue.

thanks again and, i will talk to you all soon!



sincerely,
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: Thursday, July 16, 2026 02:07 PM
To: colorado-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Tim Keenan
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] RTD Update: Smoke and Mirrors with a Kernel of Critical Importance

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.