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

2. 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)

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. #3 #1 #2

10. 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

11. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

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

20. 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)

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

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