US 36 BRT/ Flatiron Flyer Proposed Service Plan Operations and Customer Services Committee Meeting June 9, 2015

US 36 BRT – Flatiron Flyer 18 miles of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) 6 stations – Table Mesa, McCaslin, Flatirons, Broomfield, Church Ranch, and Sheridan Jointly funded by RTD, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Colorado High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE)

Recap: Timeline Proposed US 36 Service Plan initial draft distributed to Board, public, and stakeholders– January 8, 2015 Stakeholder meetings to review proposed service plan – January 9 - February 10, 2015 Review Proposed US 36 Service Plan with RTD Board Operations Committee – February  10, 2015 Revised Proposed US 36 Service Plan distributed to Board, public, and stakeholders – March 9, 2015 Conduct public meetings on Proposed US 36 Service Plan – March 16 - April 13, 2015 Proposed Service Plan revised based on public input and distributed to Board, public, and stakeholders – June 2015

Proposed Service Plan Guiding Principals Consolidate routes Easier for customers to select their bus (less need to consult timetables) Provide regular and spontaneous service frequencies throughout the day More cost-effective service delivery Provide frequent, bi-directional service that supports intra-corridor travel Utilize roadway improvements Increase operating speeds Increase reliability Consolidate the routes to streamline the number of terminal and station stop patterns to make it simpler for customers to select their bus. Better frequency and connectivity trumps specialized routes with low frequency and reduces customer wait times to attract spontaneous trips. Fewer route patterns can be operated more reliably and operator shifts (runcutting) and vehicle assignments more cost-effectively. Make use of the median lane for express buses and the shoulder lane for all station buses to increase speeds, thus reducing the ride time for customers avoid congestion and roadway disruptions to improve reliability

Public Process Service Planning hosted 5 public hearings along the US 36 Corridor 200 attendees 77 verbal comments 189 written/email comments Several petitions and letters Public input informed revised service plan

Feedback Request: Include US 36 & Flatiron Station on Route BJCC Current thinking: Include US 36 & Flatiron Station on Route BJCC Most requested item from public More closely mirrors current HX

Feedback (cont.) Request: Include US 36 & Church Ranch on Route DWB Current thinking: Include US 36 & Church Ranch on Route DWB More closely mirrors current BF

Feedback (cont.1) Request: Retain trips on Route S Current thinking: Retain trips on Route S Maintain direct connection between Denver Union Station and East Boulder Establish new direct connection between Boulder Junction at Depot Square and DUS

#3 #1 #2

Feedback (cont.2) Request: Retain mid-day Express Current thinking: Service is not warranted at this time Proposal 4 mid-day trips/hr vs. 3 currently 24 boardings/hr vs 80 boardings/hr all-station Marginal (5-10 minute) time savings $400,000/year operating, $1.4m capital

Feedback (cont.3) Request: Increase service along Broadway in Boulder Current thinking: Service plan represents a significant increase in service along Broadway 190 trips to 245, increase of 28.9% Matches or exceeds current levels at all hours

Feedback (cont.4) Request: One-seat ride Westminster/ Broomfield - DIA Current thinking: Service not warranted at this time NW Parkway routing more efficient and attractive 36 boardings/day at Broomfield 75 boardings/day at Westminster These 2 stations have only 15% of nearly 800 daily boardings 85% of AB Boardings within Boulder/McCaslin Comparable travel times via A-line or AB Will delay routing change to match A-line opening $3.3m/year operating, $2.8m capital

Feedback (cont.5) Request: Do not eliminate Route 209 south of Baseline Rd Current thinking: No longer proposed Proposed in initial plan due to poor ridership (5/day) Remove in first revision

Feedback (cont.6) Request: Restore Late Night Service Current thinking: Agreed - proposal matches current span of service Reduction never proposed Clerical oversight in consultant plan

Feedback (cont.7) Request: Retain Express level of service & frequency Civic Center – McCaslin/Flatiron Current thinking: Proposed service plan meets or exceeds current level of service Addition of Flatiron to BJCC 24 HX trips today, increase to 56 (bi-directional) Decreased travel time from 59 min to 54 min

Feedback (cont.8) Request: 30-minute mid-day service between Boulder Junction at Depot Square and Civic Center Station Current thinking: Unwarranted service Projected 108 daily boardings Very frequent (≤10 min.) alternative local service Bound, Hop, Jump, 0, MallRide 205 and 206 $800,000/year operating, $2.8m capital

Feedback (cont.9) Request: Direct Service between Boulder Junction at Depot Square and Denver Union Station Current thinking: Accomplished by retention of Route S

Feedback (cont.10) Request: Retain current Express service and frequencies between Boulder Junction at Depot Square and CCS Current thinking: Proposed service plan provides more service Currently, no service from Boulder Junction Proposal includes 56 bi-directional trips Express service to/from everywhere and frequency are mutually exclusive Service plan emphasizes strong trunk corridor with frequent service Express trip available via BJCC to Express (at Table Mesa), 61 min vs 48 min, or BJCC 54 minutes (with no transfer)(shorter than today’s express)

Feedback (cont.11) Request: Airport Service from Boulder Junction at Depot Square Current thinking: Not warranted at this time Boulder Junction would not currently support airport service 108 total projected daily boardings All-day alternatives exist at BTC and Table Mesa via local routes $3.3m/year operating, $2.8m capital

Progressive Service Increases Current proposal recommends Express frequency of 10-minute vs. initial consultant recommendation of 15-minute Additional 28 hours and 32 trips Current proposal eliminates initial consultant recommendations to reduce local service

Proposed Service Resources Represents a 10.5% increase in service hours over existing 10,000 hours/year 16.6% increase in number of trips Service plan meets or exceeds frequencies outlined in the July 2012 US 36 Mayors/Commissioners Coalition memo Increase of 10% service hours, but 16% in number of trips

Proposed Service Resources Frequencies meet or exceed those outlined in MCC memo Service plan meets or exceeds frequencies outlined in the July 2012 US 36 Mayors/Commissioners Coalition memo Increase of 10% service hours, but 16% in number of trips

Cost of Recommend Service Above staff recommendations exceed the initial funding identified for the US 36 BRT Corridor, but are warranted Additional service above and beyond is not warranted at this time but Service Planning recommends closely monitoring and making changes as warranted Service plan meets or exceeds frequencies outlined in the July 2012 US 36 Mayors/Commissioners Coalition memo Increase of 10% service hours, but 16% in number of trips

Next Steps: Timeline Board approval of Final US 36 Service Plan – July 28, 2015 Implement service plan/begin BRT service – January 17, 2016