The Regional Transportation District’s board this week approved a $1.2 billion budget to cover the transit agency’s operating expenses in 2025, including funds for a new credit-card tap option for paying bus and train fares as well as added police patrols.
The budget that directors unanimously approved Tuesday night is the largest in the agency’s 55-year history. It covers spending that has increased sharply since 2023, when the board approved a $816 million budget. RTD is funded mostly by residents of eight metro Denver counties who pay sales and use taxes.
Bus and train fare revenue funds about 4% of the budget. Grants fund about 30% of the spending. This budget includes a $185 million grant for a project to install faster buses along East Colfax Avenue.
RTD staffers say they’re counting on increased fare revenues in 2025 to cover costs of letting residents aged 19 and under ride for free.
The credit-card tap system, planned for three years, is designed to make riding buses and trains more convenient.
RTD’s ridership in September, the last month for which agency officials could provide data, decreased by 4.7% compared with September 2023. Despite RTD’s increased spending, annual ridership has decreased to around 65 million, down from 106 million in 2019. A slight increase, by 1.2%, is projected this year, agency documents show.
The transit district’s annual spending has nearly doubled since 2018 when directors approved a $675 million budget.
In 2025, salaries and benefits expenses — around $420 million, up by $52 million — will account for a third of the budget. Maintenance projects, such as a $152 million reconstruction of downtown tracks, are expected to continue this summer. RTD contractors also have yet to complete inspections of deteriorating tracks around metro Denver, which this year forced the designation of “slow zones” where trains cannot exceed speeds of 10 mph as crews work to replace rails.
RTD officials said in an email that the new budget will lead to increased service. Starting in January, agency supervisors plan to reinstate 15-minute train frequencies along the E Line and the H Line. They also plan to boost bus service between Denver International Airport and Boulder.
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Ridership numbers will be “directly resulting from efforts to properly maintain assets, hire and retain a qualified workforce, create a welcoming transit environment, and enhance the customer experience,” agency spokeswoman Tina Jaquez said in an emailed response to questions.
The budget includes increased spending for transit security. Transit police will number 88 by the end of this year, up from 19 at the end of 2022, Jaquez said.
Safety is a primary obstacle to increased ridership, newly elected RTD director Chris Nicholson told current board directors during their Tuesday night meeting. Nicholson said he will prioritize increased security.
“Most potential RTD customers have cars and they will choose to drive if they don’t feel safe on transit,” Nicholson said in an email. “A logical first step to increase ridership is to fix the problems that non-riders are telling us matter to them most.”
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