<html class="apple-mail-supports-explicit-dark-mode"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr">Great email, thank you Tim. I would like to add to the list of points that remember everybody, RTD has $800 million in reserve funds. There is no urgent. Need to cut any service. Kind regards, Claudia.</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Jun 9, 2026, at 5:16\u202fPM, Tim Keenan via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">\ufeff<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Hey, RTD riders and transit advocates!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Two important RTD committee meetings are happening this week, and both give us an opportunity to make our voices heard before the full board vote on June 23. Here's what you need to know.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Tonight -- Tuesday, June 9 -- Finance and Planning Committee, 5:30 PM, remote only.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">I apologize for the late notice on tonight's meeting -- it starts in about 15 minutes. If you can join, please do. If not, written comments submitted to <a href="mailto:RTD.Directors@rtd-denver.com">RTD.Directors@rtd-denver.com</a> become part of the official record and are seen by every board member, so it's never too late to make your voice heard.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Register here for tonight\u2019s meeting: <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GUBburQSTbaqy6L4GZK1nA#/registration">https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GUBburQSTbaqy6L4GZK1nA#/registration</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:dotted windowtext 3.0pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;border:none;padding:0in"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Tonight's vote covers the financial side of the deficit reduction strategy -- fare increases, debt refinancing, labor expense reductions, and revenue options. No service cuts are being voted on tonight -- those are tomorrow. But public comment tonight still matters, and the advertising revenue discussion is worth watching: staff is recommending RTD take its on-vehicle advertising program in-house, and reversing the board's ban on window advertising could generate $3 to $4.5 million net annually -- real money that reduces pressure on service cuts.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Tomorrow -- Wednesday, June 10 -- Operations, Safety, and Security Committee, 5:30 PM, remote only.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">This is the one we really need you for. Please make time for this meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Register here: <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XkYhwwO0RGyDf76JY6OSPw#/registration">https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XkYhwwO0RGyDf76JY6OSPw#/registration</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Tomorrow's committee handles service delivery -- and this is where service cuts are formally on the table. The committee is being asked to authorize deeper modeling on "modifying service hours in alignment with geographic considerations and utilization." That's RTD's careful language for cutting up to $102 million in bus and rail service. It is the largest single item in the entire deficit reduction package, and it is the one that directly threatens paratransit coverage for blind, disabled, and elderly riders across the Denver metro area.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Here is the hard truth buried in RTD's own documents: even the most aggressive service cut scenario -- eliminating $102 million worth of service -- still doesn't fully close the deficit or meet the board's own December 2025 resolution. Service cuts alone cannot solve this problem. The board knows this. They need to hear from us that cutting service is not acceptable as the primary solution when it doesn't even work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">We also need to push back hard on any suggestion to eliminate Access-on-Demand. ADAPT Colorado has demonstrated through RTD's own data that AOD is the most cost-effective paratransit option RTD offers. Eliminating it would push riders to Access-a-Ride, which costs significantly more per trip and is already failing on multiple performance measures. The financial argument for eliminating AOD doesn't hold up -- and the human argument against it is even stronger.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">This committee meeting will have far fewer people than the June 23 full board meeting. That means your voice carries more weight, not less. Three minutes of clear, calm, specific public comment tomorrow night can genuinely influence what recommendation goes to the full board on June 23. Please show up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><hr size="2" width="100%" align="center"></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Key public comment points for tomorrow:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">RTD needs to go to voters in 2028 with a healthy, reliable system -- not a diminished one. The ballot measure option needs to be treated as a serious priority, not buried at the bottom of a list.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Service cuts shrink the ADA-mandated paratransit service area. The board still has not seen a full analysis of what proposed cuts would mean for Access-a-Ride coverage. Demand that analysis before any vote is taken.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Grandfather existing paratransit riders if service cuts shrink the eligibility area. Chair O'Keefe has expressed support for this. The full board should commit to it explicitly.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Do not eliminate Access-on-Demand. It is the most cost-effective paratransit option RTD offers. Expanding it -- not eliminating it -- is the smart financial move.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">The $227 million in unrestricted reserves exists precisely to bridge situations like this while a permanent revenue solution is pursued. Use it.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><hr size="2" width="100%" align="center"></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Written comments can be submitted any time to <a href="mailto:RTD.Directors@rtd-denver.com">RTD.Directors@rtd-denver.com</a>. Every director sees them, and they become part of the permanent public record.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">The full board vote is June 23. What happens in committee this week shapes what goes to that vote, so please, Zoom in tomorrow night and give a public comment. They always ask for public comment at the beginning of the meeting, and these meetings are generally pretty sparce when it comes to public comment, so you\u2019ll be done by 6.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Thanks, everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Tim Keenan <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">State Transportation Chair <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">National Federation of the Blind of Colorado<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><hr size="2" width="100%" align="center"></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Ready to send -- just drop in the * * * section breaks manually after pasting into Outlook since we know the markdown version renders as "horizontal line." Go get 'em!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Colorado-Talk mailing list</span><br><span>Colorado-Talk@nfbnet.org</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org</span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Colorado-Talk:</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org/cfolska%40yahoo.com</span><br><span>List archives can be found at <http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>