[Colorado-Talk] Denver Area: RTD Management Wants Directors To Approve 20% Cuts To Routes and Services by Next Month

[Dan Burke]

Tim -

Thanks for digging in and summarizing all this information for all of us. I
also read the Denver Post article the other day and am appalled that we
could be facing further cuts. In the South Metro area, particularly
affecting the Colorado Center for ther Blind, the COVID-era cuts have never
been restored completely. We've had some extra runs added that have helped
a little, but we still aren't bac to our pre-COVID daily schedule of 8 AM
to 4:30 PM because of the limited fixed-route access.  We will definitely
submit our concerns in writing before the next meeting.
Dan


On Thu, Apr 23, 2026 at 10:35 PM Tim Keenan via Colorado-Talk <
colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hey, RTD riders and transit advocates!
>
> It's me, with some more cheery news from RTD.
>
> RTD management is putting significant pressure on the Board to enact route
> and service cuts of at least 20% starting next January, and we don’t even
> know what they are. If you followed the Access on Demand saga, this will
> feel familiar. When it came to cutting Access on Demand, management pushed
> hard for draconian cuts to the number of trips and service area combined
> with significant fare increases. Fortunately, the Board refused to be
> rushed, and we ended up with a service that, while not perfect, is still
> largely intact. I'm hoping history repeats itself here, but we need to make
> our voices heard.
> What's actually being proposed:
>
> Management is recommending a 20% cut to bus and rail service starting
> January 3, 2027, which they say would save roughly $62 million and help
> close a $215 million structural deficit. If an anticipated $40 million
> state grant doesn't come through, they're warning the Board it would need
> to cut an additional 16% of service in May 2027 — bringing the total to
> about 36%. To put that in plain terms, as one transit advocate quoted in
> the Denver Post put it, cuts like these mean the bus goes fewer places and
> less often, making transit more cumbersome or entirely impossible for those
> who depend on it most.
>
> Management has already identified $84 million in non-service cuts —
> contract modifications, departmental reorganizations, vacancy eliminations,
> and the like. But they're telling the Board that isn't enough, and that
> service cuts are unavoidable.
>
> Here's something that isn't in the news coverage but deserves serious
> attention: management's presentation is completely silent on what these
> cuts would mean for paratransit. Under the ADA, RTD is required to provide
> complementary paratransit service within three-quarters of a mile of any
> fixed route. Cut the fixed routes, and the paratransit service area shrinks
> with them. For blind and low-vision riders and others who depend on
> Access-a-Ride, this isn't just an inconvenience — it's a mobility and
> independence issue. The fact that management's presentation doesn't mention
> this at all is a significant omission that we should be calling out
> publicly and loudly.
> Is this timeline genuinely urgent?
>
> I had real doubts about this, but having dug into the actual board meeting
> packet, the short answer is: the timeline is more legitimate than it first
> appears, but the process still has serious problems.
>
> Here's why the May deadline is real: for service changes to take effect
> January 3, 2027, RTD's own process requires proposed changes to be
> published by September 11, public meetings to run from late September
> through early November, and a board vote by December 1. To do the service
> planning work that produces those September proposals, staff needs to start
> in June. That means a May board decision is genuinely necessary.
>
> Here's what's still wrong with the process: management revealed the
> specific proposed cuts to the board in a closed executive session.
> According to board member Karen Benker, the entire board looked stunned
> when they saw the scope of what was being proposed. But you and I still
> don't know which specific routes are on the chopping block. Presumably,
> we’ll know on Tuesday, but that doesn’t give Board members or the public
> much time to analyze these and formulate a response. The board is being
> asked to approve a 20% reduction strategy before the public — or arguably
> even the board itself — fully understands what that means for specific
> communities and routes. That's a transparency problem, and it mirrors what
> we saw with Access on Demand.
>
> I also want to flag something for those who remember the equity analysis
> debate: RTD's policy requires a formal equity analysis when any route faces
> a reduction of 25% or more in service hours. The recommended cut lands at
> 20% — just below that threshold. Convenient, right? That said, RTD's civil
> rights policy still prohibits any service changes that disproportionately
> burden protected populations, including people with disabilities,
> regardless of the size of the cut. That's a lever we can and should use.
> What you can do right now:
>
> The next RTD Board meeting is this Tuesday, April 28, at 5:30 PM. You can
> attend via Zoom or in person at RTD headquarters, 1660 Blake Street,
> Denver. As of this writing, RTD has not yet posted the agenda or the Zoom
> registration link — which is itself a little telling, but par for the
> course for RTD. I’ll keep checking the meeting portal at
> http://rtd.iqm2.com for the link once it's posted.
>
> To submit written comment that becomes part of the official record, email
> RTD.Directors at rtd-denver.com. If you get your comment in a few hours
> before the meeting starts, it will be printed and placed in front of every
> director.
>
> Some things worth mentioning in your comments:
>
> Management's proposal is completely silent on paratransit impacts, and
> that silence is unacceptable. The Board should require management to
> explicitly address how these cuts would affect the ADA complementary
> paratransit service area before any vote is taken.
>
> A 20% systemwide service reduction, combined with cuts already made during
> and after COVID, risks pushing RTD into a ridership death spiral that makes
> the financial situation worse, not better.
>
> The Board should insist on full public transparency about which specific
> routes and services are under consideration before approving any reduction
> strategy.
>
>
>
> Bottom Line: I don't want to needlessly alarm anyone, but cuts are coming
> in some form. The financial situation is real — but the shape and severity
> of those cuts is absolutely still up for debate, and public pressure worked
> last time. Let's make sure it works again.
>
> I'll share more as things develop. In the meantime, here's the full Denver
> Post article for those who want the details without fighting through a
> screen-reader obstacle course.
> ------------------------------
> RTD management wants directors to cut public transit by at least 20%
>
> Decisions on metro Denver bus, train service reductions due in May for
> balancing RTD's $1.5 billion budget
>
> *By Bruce Finley | bfinley at denverpost.com <bfinley at denverpost.com> | The
> Denver Post*
>
> *Published: April 21, 2026*
>
> At least a fifth of the Regional Transportation District's bus and train
> service would be cut next year under agency managers' recommendations to
> directors, who are considering eliminating entire routes and slashing
> thousands of public transit trips across metro Denver.
>
> If an anticipated state grant for $40 million doesn't come through, RTD
> directors must cut "another 16% of services," according to a document
> presented to directors before meetings Tuesday night.
>
> Directors haven't decided which routes to cut.
>
> "It's like signing your own death warrant," Director JoyAnn Ruscha said.
>
> A 20% service cut would reduce overall spending by about $62 million,
> helping balance RTD's $1.5 billion annual budget, RTD general manager Debra
> Johnson and Kelly Mackey, the chief financial officer, said in a
> presentation to directors. Cutting service by 36% "is totally in your
> purview," Johnson told directors, warning that if they don't correct RTD's
> budget deficit next year "we will be putting ourselves in a very precarious
> position."
>
> The cuts almost certainly will complicate efforts to reverse RTD's
> declining ridership, down by nearly 40% since 2019 across RTD's
> 2,345-square-mile service area, which spans eight counties.
>
> RTD managers also recommended that directors pursue a ballot measure in
> 2028 to ask voters for funding to shore up public transit finances. The
> 15-member, publicly elected board of directors must make decisions by the
> end of May, managers added, warning that a delay would hurt the development
> of a balanced 2027 budget.
>
> But Director Karen Benker, who leads RTD's finance committee, is
> challenging the cuts. Benker has proposed fare increases to raise revenue,
> furlough days for managers, ending overtime pay for bus and train
> operators, corporate sponsorships, debt refinancing, and a tougher
> crackdown on bus and train riders who don't pay fares by installing
> turnstiles at Denver International Airport.
>
> "Cutting service by 20% is crazy. Combined with the reductions already
> made during COVID, these proposed cuts risk pushing RTD into a downward
> spiral," Benker said in an emailed response. "I cannot support the level of
> cuts currently being proposed by management. RTD needs to get to work — dig
> in, tighten up the numbers, and identify the funding required to avoid
> severe service cuts. Customers come first."
>
> At a recent, closed executive session, agency managers revealed the scope
> of the service cuts they recommend, and "the entire board looked stunned,"
> Benker said.
>
> RTD Director Patrick O'Keefe, chairman of the board, said no final
> decisions have been made but that directors know the agency faces a
> fundamental financial problem. "Without spending less or bringing in more
> money, we will be forced into far more significant impacts in the near
> future," O'Keefe said.
>
> Director Chris Nicholson said cuts in bus and train service along suburban
> as well as central urban routes must be considered. The smartest approach
> is "to cut the service people do not use," Nicholson said. "We know how
> many people board each train and bus. Those passenger counts should drive
> our decisions."
>
> RTD financial planners have warned that an annual $215 million budget
> deficit must be corrected by 2027 to prevent credit agencies from
> downgrading RTD's status. Agency planners already have worked out
> "non-service" cuts from departmental realignments, layoffs, and contract
> changes for about $84 million in savings.
>
> Johnson told directors that measures such as raising fares won't be
> sufficient, and Mackey said corrective action to balance the budget is
> essential for the "viability" of public transit.
>
> For metro-Denver residents, service cuts will mean "the bus goes fewer
> places and less often," said Saigopal Rangaraj, co-leader of Greater Denver
> Transit, a public transportation advocacy group. "It makes journeys on
> transit more cumbersome or entirely impossible. We will see more traffic as
> people who can afford to will choose to drive. … People who can't afford to
> buy a car will be left using a less-useful system."
> ------------------------------
>
> That's the complete version. The only thing I'd flag is that you may want
> to do a quick read-through to make sure the voice sounds like you
> throughout — I tried to preserve your style, but you know better than I do
> where it drifts. Good luck Tuesday!
>
>
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-- 
Dan Burke

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Co-chair

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"

My Cell:  406.546.8546
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