[Colorado-Talk] Reminder/Update: Tonight's RTD Board Meeting

[Tim Keenan]

Hey, RTD riders and transit advocates!

Time is short, so please read this carefully.

Yesterday RTD management released their latest proposal for addressing the
agency's budget deficit. 

The good news: the hard push for an immediate 20% service cut appears to be
off the table for now. 

The bad news: service cuts are still very much in play, and the disability
community has serious concerns about what's in this proposal. ADAPT
Colorado, a fellow disability rights organization that has been watching
this closely, has already identified three major red flags. We agree with
every one of them.

Red flag number one: route reductions could reduce paratransit eligibility.
If RTD cuts fixed routes, the ADA-mandated paratransit service area shrinks
with them -- and existing riders could lose their eligibility entirely.
ADAPT has been pushing RTD to grandfather existing paratransit riders if
cuts do occur, so that people who are eligible today don't lose access
they've come to depend on. Chair O'Keefe has indicated support for this, but
there is resistance from other quarters. We need the board to hear that
grandfathering existing riders is the bare minimum.

Red flag number two: fixed-route fare increases are on the table, and
paratransit riders could feel the impact. By law, paratransit fares cannot
exceed twice the standard fixed-route fare. That's a ceiling, not a floor --
RTD isn't required to raise paratransit fares if fixed-route fares go up.
But given the financial pressure management is under, the risk is real. For
riders who just absorbed a significant fare increase on Access-on-Demand on
January 1st, any further increase would be a serious hardship.

Red flag number three: at least one board member continues to push for
eliminating Access-on-Demand entirely. This is deeply alarming. ADAPT has
demonstrated using RTD's own data that AOD is the most cost-effective
paratransit option RTD offers -- and that Access-a-Ride is currently failing
on multiple performance measures. AOD is the only reliable option for many
riders. Eliminating it would not save money. It would shift those riders to
a more expensive service that is already struggling, and it would expose RTD
to serious legal liability under the ADA.

Management's new approach has shifted from a specific 20% cut proposal to a
menu of options for the board to prioritize. That sounds less alarming, but
it isn't -- because buried in that menu are options that could devastate our
community. The key votes are now scheduled for June 9 and June 10 in
committee, with a full board vote on June 23. Those dates are coming up
fast, and tonight's meeting is the first opportunity to speak directly to
the board since this proposal was released. We need to get our perspective
on the record while there's still time to influence the outcome.

We do have allies on the Board. Directors Benker, Ruscha, Larsen, and Guzman
have all pushed back on management's approach. They need to see us in that
room tonight.

Tonight's meeting: Wednesday, May 27, 5:30 PM, 1660 Blake Street, Denver. In
person is more powerful -- please come if you can. 

Zoom registration:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x8BY5TdBSH-kLMrJO3zOUg#/registra
tion 

Written comments, please send ASAP if you haven't already:
RTD.Directors at rtd-denver.com <mailto:RTD.Directors at rtd-denver.com> .

 

See you tonight.

 

 

 

Tim Keenan 

State Transportation Chair 

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

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