Denver, CO

As Denver’s RTD goes fare-free for the summer, other cities in the US are making it year-round

Published

2 years ago

June 24, 2023

As Denver’s RTD goes fare-free for the summer, other cities in the US are making it year-round

DENVER — In January 2020, leaders in Olympia, Wash., had a decision to make.

The nightmare of COVID-19 was just around the corner, but still off the radar for most. Local leaders in Olympia had their eyes on the community’s public transportation network, called the “Intercity Transit.” Its fare payment system was in need of significant upgrades to remain operational, and the costs were going to be significant. Agency leaders pulled the numbers, and showed that fares only accounted for about 2% of revenue.

So rather than upgrade fare systems, they decided to do away with fares entirely.

Denver’s RTD has gone fare free for the summer, eliminating the cost to riders for the months of July and August as part of its “Free Fare for Better Air” initiative. The pilot program was approved by the Colorado state legislature last year, with the goal of reducing car trips during hotter months when ozone is most problematic.

A handful of communities across the country though, like Olympia, have gone a step further and begun offering free fares on public transportation year-round. They’re reporting successes.

In Olympia, for example, ridership jumped 20% in January 2020 and 40% in February 2020. While they took significant hits to ridership at the onset of the pandemic, like virtually every transportation network, spokesperson Nick Demerice said it has recuperated more than 75% of its pre-pandemic ridership levels and is growing year over year.

Across the country, leadership in Alexandria, Va., made a similar calculation. After going fare-free with its DASH transit network at the start of the pandemic as a safety precaution, interest grew throughout the community to create a permanent free fare program. In the fall of 2021, funding was secured to make that a reality.

“Our ridership has recovered and climbed back to not only meet but exceed pre-COVID pandemic ridership levels,” said Raymond Mui, chief infrastructure officer for DASH. “We are on track with record-breaking ridership. We’re confident that is being attributed to the fair free program, as well as a new DASH network.”

As Denver’s RTD goes fare-free for the summer, other cities in the US are making it year-round

Both Olympia’s and Alexandria’s free fare programs technically have expiration dates built in, 2025 and 2028, respectively. However, both communities are already seeing strong support for making the changes truly permanent given the successes they’ve reported.

Both communities are different from Denver, in size and in complexity of transit networks. Funding for their networks is also structured differently, and is less dependent on fares. Still, there are some in Denver who have asked if something similar would be possible here.

Adrienne Razavi, an organizing manager for the Denver Streets Partnership, said free fares could play an important role in creating “a lasting boost in ridership” for RTD, but that it wouldn’t solve other issues facing accessibility of services.

“Make it easier to get on the bus and on the train, through like, you know, better amenities and things like that,” Razavi said. “But then also, [create] frequently reliable service. I mean, that’s been the research for decades. That’s what transit riders want. That’s all they need to really convince people to get on transit.”

Lawmakers in Colorado approved roughly $28 million in grants to supplement losses RTD will face for its “Free Fare for Better Air” initiative. According to the transit agency, fare revenue constituted between 16 and 20% of its operating budget prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Follow Up

What do you want Denver7 to follow up on? Is there a story, topic or issue you want us to revisit? Let us know with the contact form below.

Source link

Click to comment

Denver, CO

Judith Rosoff Shore

Published

6 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Judith Rosoff Shore

OBITUARY

Judith Rosoff Shore, Denver, CO, 89; was a free-spirited woman with the kindest heart and special to everyone that met her. Daughter of the late Benjamin M. Rosoff and the late Beatrice Goldman Rosoff Travis-Cole, born in London, England in 1935, Judy moved to New Haven in 1939. She attended high school at the Country Day School (now known as Hopkins), followed by Connecticut College, where she met her future husband, Martin H. Shore “Lucky” of Denver in her senior year. They got engaged, graduated, married, and Lucky was drafted all in 1956. After the Military Service they moved to Denver.

Wife of Lucky for 68 years; Mother of Lisa, Martin H. Jr. “Chip” (Shari Lisann), David Andrew (Sarah). Grandmother of Elizabeth Parker (Drew), Benjamin Niere (Tina Leon), Max, Remi, Drew (Katie), Nicholas, Quentin (Hannah), and Baker, and Great-Grandmother of 7. Sister of the late Pamela Burrows, Aunt of Richard Slavin (Patti), and Grand Aunt of Olivia and Lila.

Judy was a teacher, real estate agent and small boat captain. She was a health nut who loved yoga, swimming, skiing, tennis, golf, and bridge.

Memorial Service Wednesday January 22nd at 10:30am in Temple Emanuel’s Feiner Chapel; livestream available on Temple Emanuel’s website, Channel 2, http://www.emanueldenver.org/watch Donations to the Martin H. Shore Scholarship Fund at the Sturm College of Law at Denver University, which Judy endowed in recognition of Lucky’s 50th birthday: https://www.law.du.edu/give

Source link

Denver, CO

Denver officials warn of parking ticket text message scam

Published

14 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Denver officials warn of parking ticket text message scam

Denver officials warn of new text message scam

00:31

In Denver, the Department of Technology Services issued a warning about a scam text message some Denver residents have received.

Some people may have received a text about an unpaid parking ticket. It appears to come from the City of Denver and even has the city’s logo attached. However, the city said it does not use text messages to notify people about parking tickets.

Denver parking ticket text message scam

City of Denver

The scam tries to steal personal and financial information.

Officials said they are aware of the scam and reminded everyone to be cautious of all texts and emails.

Source link

Denver, CO

Art supplies — and creativity — never run out at this Denver store

Published

21 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Art supplies — and creativity — never run out at this Denver store

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems.)

When I was a boy, my sister and I used to beg my mom to buy us new art and classroom supplies before each school year.

New college-ruled notebooks, cartons of pens and pencils, crayons and markers. We would grab it all. Then, at the end of each school year, my mom would pack up what we didn’t use and stick it in the garage. It tended to be most of the supplies we had asked for before classes started.

What was our obsession with new? Nowadays, I’m aware that there are closets and drawers across America full of not just school supplies, but also arts and crafts supplies of all kinds. Skeins of yarn, yards of fabric, rubber stamps, blank canvases, vintage postcards, old magazines, paints, pastels and pipe cleaners.

The entrance of ReCreative, a used arts-and-crafts supply store and nonprofit in the Arts District on Santa Fe in Denver. (Miguel Otárola/The Denver Post)

All of these supplies and much more can also be found at ReCreative Denver, a used arts-and-crafts store and nonprofit located at 765 Santa Fe Drive. They fill enough shelves, cubbies and containers to occupy two spacious halls, plus to sustain artist studios upstairs. Strolling along the Art District on Santa Fe and into this trove of inspiration for the first time last year poked a creative urge that has kept me coming back for more.

“It seems big, but we get inundated with stuff,” said Chris Scott, ReCreative’s director of operations and one of three original founders. He credits the idea to co-founder Emily Korson, who opened a ReCreative workshop in Seattle before moving to Denver and opening in art district in 2016.

ReCreative relies on volunteers to sort through the mountains of goods that come in by appointment each month. Employees or specialists will usually price items at half their retail cost or less, Scott said, though prices have increased somewhat along with the building rent. Individual balls of yarn can be found for $2. Inks for screen printing range from $3 to $5. Singular items and handcrafted goods are priced accordingly and displayed by the entrance. (An unopened kit of pastels, for instance, is $45.)

Another main draw is the workshops and classes scheduled by program manager Kelly Eigenberger in the rooms further inside the building. Casual knitting, sewing, assemblage and crafting clubs meet every month.

Having moved within walking distance, the store is now a regular destination for me. It’s a little silly at this point, as my wife and I have stocked up on enough art supplies to arm a kindergarten class. I like to scrutinize the supply drawers like I do the shelves at record stores, proud and a little overwhelmed that such a bounty of resources exists near me.

Donated skeins of yarn are divided by color at ReCreative, a used arts-and-crafts supply store and nonprofit in the Art District on Santa Fe in Denver. (Miguel Otárola/The Denver Post)

Others have also caught on over the years, Scott said. A fundraiser last month raised thousands, and soon the shop will reopen its mezzanine as a gallery. Its first exhibition will be on Feb. 7 for the district’s First Fridays showcase.

“To see it become this sort of home base [or] nexus for people living the art life is very thrilling to me,” Scott said. “Because that’s a hard life to live. If we can make it a little easier … that’s pretty wonderful.”

At the foot of the staircase that leads to the mezzanine and artist studios is a large community message board. On one side is a prompt: “What does ReCreative mean to you?”

Dozens of answers are written on sticky notes tacked on to the wall:

“An inspirational destination,” reads one note. “The opportunity to try … then try again,” reads another, followed by a smiley face. One is a phrase I’ve used to refer to something that brought me comfort: “Reminds me of my mom!”

One note sticks with me most of all. “I can afford to make art now!!!” it says in sloppy handwriting, the last two words underlined for even more emphasis.

This store should not be such a revelation in a world where material goods continue to accumulate, much of them never used and even more ending up as pure waste. ReCreative stands out not just for recognizing this but also for keeping prices low in a way that actually makes art affordable and accessible for all.

ReCreative helped reawaken my long-dormant creativity, which I promise to you is inherent in all of us. Let the hall of art supplies runneth over.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

Source link