Colorado’s Regional Transportation District will give its train and bus riders’ wallets a break in the new year by reducing its base local fare for the first time in its history — and slashing monthly pass costs even more deeply as part of a full revamp of its pricing.

The metro Denver transportation agency’s board approved the fare restructuring plan in July, and it takes effect on Monday, Jan. 1. The standard fare on most buses and most trains will be $2.75, down just a quarter from the current $3 local fare.

But by simplifying and combining some of its fare tiers, RTD’s changes will save many riders even more than that — including up to 56% if they purchase a full-price monthly pass.

An overview of the changes:

• The new $2.75 standard fare will replace the current local ($3) and regional ($5.25) fares for up to three hours of bus and train rides.
• Day passes for all rides except for those to Denver International Airport will cost $5.50, down from the current $6 local and $10.50 regional day passes.
• Rides that begin or end at DIA, including on the A-Line train, will cost $10, down from $10.50.
• RTD’s standard monthly pass will cost $88 for the entire system, down from the current $114 for a local pass and $200 for a regional pass (including airport access).
• Discount fares will be standardized at 50% off for all riders who qualify — people ages 65 and older, those with disabilities, Medicare recipients and riders who meet low-income qualifications. The new pricing is $1.35 for a regular three-hour fare, $2.70 for a day pass and $27 for a monthly pass.

Notably, the adjustment to RTD’s highest fare — for the airport — was slight, with that pass still costing $10. That was purposeful, according to RTD general manager and CEO Debra Johnson.

The fare changes are the result of three goals: “equity, simplicity and affordability,” Johnson said in an interview.

“We had an opportunity to really decrease the barriers to entry,” she said, since fare costs prevented some Coloradans from taking advantage of the transportation service.

Airport travelers typically don’t fall into lower-income brackets, she said, so that fare isn’t being reduced much. But airport workers who take transit and don’t receive an RTD pass through work will benefit significantly from the reduced cost of the monthly pass.

“When you talk about public transportation, I always say: My personal belief is it’s the great societal equalizer,” Johnson said.

When she first visited Denver to take on her leadership role more than three years ago, Johnson said, “I had difficulty deducing the fares” because of their complexity. That spurred her decision in 2021 to launch a lengthy fare study and equity analysis that took into account the voices of marginalized communities, culminating in last summer’s board approval of the updated fare structure.

In September, at the end of two months of free fares during the summer ozone season, RTD also kicked off a year-long Zero Fare for Youth pilot that is allowing riders 19 and younger to ride trains and buses without paying. It’s looking for partners to extend that program beyond August.

RTD expects ridership to rise as a result of the fare changes and the youth program, and fare revenue will decline. But fare revenue has covered just 5.6% of operating expenses this year, with sales taxes providing the lion’s share of RTD revenue.

As it comes out of the pandemic, RTD is stretched thin — with ridership still at roughly 60% of pre-pandemic levels and a continuing worker shortage that has slowed the restoration of service cuts.

Jacob Belgrad, a transportation advocate at GreenLatinos Colorado, called the fare decreases “a much-needed change, as the prices for public transit in Denver were among the worst nationally.”

As RTD’s ridership lags, he sees cost as a barrier. He said the group’s members were most excited about the new rates for the monthly and three-hour passes.

“When we look at other major cities like New York and Chicago, we see that their monthly pass and single ride prices are similar — around $90 and $2.50 to $3, respectively,” Belgrad said.

But price counts as “only one piece of the puzzle,” he added. On top of concerns about RTD lines’ reliability and frequency, “lots of people have reported feeling unsafe on Denver’s buses, primarily because of public drug use,” Belgrad said.

Danny Katz, executive director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, said that “anytime that we can make it more affordable and simpler to use transit, the better.”

He recognizes that RTD stands as “one of the most stable transit agencies coming out of the pandemic,” contrasting with many large agencies that face fiscal cliffs and other difficulties. The agency’s leadership is turning its attention toward tackling staffing challenges and reorienting the system to ensure the team isn’t stretched as thin as it once was, Katz said.

“Now’s the time to focus on growing ridership, and for that, we’ll need to see more frequent and fast service,” he said. “Service is what recruits riders.”

Curbing air pollution, tackling traffic and fighting climate change depends in part “on us having a good transit system,” Katz said, pointing to Seattle as a city that has invested in its system and gotten more people out of their cars.

“If a bus or a train isn’t coming every 10 minutes, then it’s just not a great option,” he said. “Fewer people will be able to or even choose to use it.”