The agency that oversees metro Denver’s train and bus system will need to create a 10-year master plan and face a new accountability committee under a law signed Tuesday by Gov. Jared Polis.
Senate Bill 161 also requires the Regional Transportation District to align itself with state climate goals, establish worker-retention goals and develop ways to measure its progress on reaching those aims. The district must draft the 10-year plan by Sept. 30, 2026, under the new law.
“Thousands of Coloradans rely on public transit every day to get to work and school, attend essential appointments, and see their loved ones,” Sen. Iman Jodeh, an Aurora Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “For many, unreliable service can mean losing a paycheck or even their job. This law is about restoring trust in our transit system and ensuring all Coloradans, including my constituents in Aurora, get the safe, efficient transit they need.”
The new law follows lawmakers’ failed attempt last year to remake the beleaguered transit agency, but it stops short of the 2024 proposal to overhaul RTD’s governing board completely.
Following the pandemic, the agency has struggled to hire and keep bus drivers and train operators and regain tens of millions of lost riders.
RTD serves more than 3 million people in its service area. It serves all or part of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson and Weld counties. Lawmakers created RTD as its own political subdivision in 1969.
The new law leaves RTD’s 15-member elected board intact. But it calls for the convening of a new 15-member accountability committee within the Colorado Energy Office. The new committee will build off a similar 2020 accountability committee and evaluate RTD’s board and executive leadership, looking at how the agency can expand its services, retain its workforce, and more. It will report its findings by Jan. 30.
The new committee will include six voting members appointed by the governor; three each by the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate; and one each from the House and Senate minority leaders. The last non-voting member will be appointed by the RTD board.
In a statement, spokesperson Pauline Haberman said RTD “appreciates the General Assembly’s work to support the agency and bolster public transit in Colorado.”
“The agency looks forward to implementing the new law, which includes a specific focus on encouraging the use of RTD’s bus and rail services across the metro area,” Haberman said.
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