3 ECO Transit routes will be fare-free this summer, with a catch
Highway 6, Minturn, Valley routes will have no cost, except for riders boarding or departing in Gypsum
Ali Longwell/Vail Daily archive
More free bus routes are coming to Eagle County this summer.
In a unanimous vote during its Wednesday, March 13 meeting, the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority board approved making three of ECO Transit’s regular routes fare-free in the summer, with one caveat.
The Highway 6 (from Edwards to Vail) and Minturn (including Red Cliff) routes will both be fare-free at every stop.
The Valley route, which runs from Dotsero to Vail, will be fare-free for all riders except those who board or depart at stops in Gypsum.
“The fare is associated with boarding or exiting the bus at one of those stops,” said Tanya Allen, the executive director of the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority.
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Charging in Gypsum
This is designed to reflect the town of Gypsum’s decision not to join the transportation authority — the ballot measure that created the authority in November 2022 that failed in Gypsum.
“From our community’s perspective, we want this RTA (regional transit authority) board to govern the RTA in the interest of its members, and to do whatever you think is right,” said Jeremy Rietmann, Gypsum town manager.
While the concept of having some riders pay a fare and others ride for free based on where they enter and exit the bus may seem complicated, it is not a new concept within the transportation industry.
“Zoned fares are common in other transit systems that stretch over long areas, and so there are mechanisms in place,” Allen said.
Just next door, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority utilizes fare zones on some of its bus routes, with costs based on the length of the route.
The new fare system will, however, likely create an additional burden on frontline transportation employees, who will need to explain to some customers how it works.
Transportation authority staff is working through how to apply the fare zones and has not yet come up with a policy or plan.
Eagle benefits from advocacy
Notably, the town of Eagle is included in the new fare-free zone, despite being left out of the original fare-free zone written into the ballot measure, which would have run from Edwards to Vail.
Eagle’s inclusion comes after continued advocacy by Eagle’s transportation authority board representative Nick Sunday and residents of Eagle, some of whom attended Wednesday’s meeting to support the measure.
“We have been supportive as a community in passing the EVTA and paying into the EVTA, and we’re really looking forward to having that free and frequent bus service to Eagle,” said Laura Hartman, an Eagle resident and the executive director of the Eagle-based Adam Palmer Sustainability Fund.
Careful planning, increased service
The decision to make more routes fare-free comes after more than a year of careful planning.
The transportation authority piloted making one of ECO Transit’s bus routes — the Vail-Beaver Creek Express — fare-free this winter. The route, which also stops in Avon, saw increased ridership despite initial challenges. While the Vail-Beaver Creek Express service is provided by the contractor SP Plus, the newly fare-free service on the summer routes will be mostly or completely run directly by ECO Transit.
Reduced fares are expected to heighten user demand, with potential ridership increases of up to 50% from regular summer ridership numbers. ECO Transit and the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority will add more buses along the Highway 6, Minturn, and Valley routes for the summer schedule to accommodate for this change. The service provided in summer 2024 will be a 43% increase from summer 2023, according to Larry Tenenholz, ECO Transit director.
The Highway 6 route will see 20-minute service at peak times in the morning and afternoon. The Minturn route will be offered an hour later each day and will also include a new mid-day round trip to Red Cliff every day. The Valley route will have 30-minute service from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The fare-free service will begin on May 19 with the start of the summer season. The Leadville route will continue to charge a fare but will be fare-free for riders boarding or departing at the Red Cliff stop.
The goal is to continue fare-free service on the Highway 6, Minturn and Valley routes into the winter of 2024-25, despite expected ridership increases that come with wintertime.
“In our mind, launching it in the summer gives us the opportunity to make some of the adjustments that we might need,” Allen said.
Board member concerns assuaged
Some board members expressed concerns about the rapid rolling out of the fare-free plans, just one of the transportation authority’s many projects and goals.
ECO Transit operations are slowly transitioning from under Eagle County to under the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority, with the transition scheduled to be completed in August.
“There’s a fragility of us creating a new brand that goes far and above what ECO did, and I just want to make sure we’re delivering the best we can with the ballot language, and gathering as much data (as possible),” said Barry Davis, Vail’s representative to the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority board.
Getting the transition to fare-free right on the first try is “absolutely critical,” Davis said.
Davis also voiced doubt about the efficacy of charging only Gypsum riders on the Valley route.
“If our intent is to create a carrot that compels Gypsum to opt-in, I’m not sure that that’s it,” he said.
Amy Phillips, transportation authority board president and Avon representative, said she felt “confident” in the summer routes and fare-free rollout, but had some concerns about the capacity to carry over the fare-free ridership increases into the winter.
Jeanne McQueeney, Eagle County’s representative to the transportation authority board, brought the question back to transit staff.
“I just want to check in with staff, because this was your recommendation, and I just want to make sure that you feel as if we can make this and continue it,” McQueeney said.
Staff were quick to assuage all board member concerns.
“We would not be presenting something that we don’t have the confidence level that we can provide,” Tenenholz said.
