Overview

• Directors voted 10–5 late Tuesday to establish a $4.50 base fare and cap the subsidy at $20 per trip for up to 60 rides each month.
• Staff had proposed a $6.50 fare and curtailing 24/7 coverage across the 2,342-mile service area, but the board chose a lower fare and deferred other limits.
• Access-on-Demand has expanded roughly tenfold since 2021 to more than 62,000–73,000 monthly rides, costing about $1 million per month and roughly $17 million a year.
• RTD reports subsidy costs growing about 3% monthly, with wheelchair-related expenses adding roughly $1 million each month and appropriations up 306% since inception.
• After more than three hours of testimony from riders and advocates, directors also discussed commissioning a new study that reviews Access-on-Demand alongside the Access-a-Ride service.