What’s next for Eagle County’s new regional transportation authority?

On Nov. 8, Eagle County voters in all municipalities but Gypsum voted to approve a new regional transportation authority. With a new half-cent sales tax approved and set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, the work to bring about the proposed service enhancements across the valley is just beginning.

“Now the real work begins to ensure the financial resources are used to create a public transportation system that benefits the people who travel up and down the valley on a regular basis,” said Vail Mayor Kim Langmaid on Election Night.

In the years leading up to the Nov. 8 election, representatives from the eight Eagle County municipalities alongside existing transit agency members and stakeholders from the community as well as local businesses and organizations all participated in the drafting of the intergovernmental agreement, which will guide some of the process moving forward.

This agreement establishes a number of procedures that will guide the governance and operation of the new transit authority. This includes defining what the agency’s board of directors, officers and advisory committees will look like as well as what the powers of the authority will be.

With voters in unincorporated Eagle County, the Beaver Creek Metro District as well as the towns of Vail, Minturn, Red Cliff, Avon and Eagle all voting in favor of the new sales tax and transit authority agency — each of these municipalities will be able to appoint a director to the authority’s board.

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Moving forward, getting these directors appointed will be one of the critical first steps, according to Chris Romer, the president and CEO of the Vail Valley Partnership. Romer participated closely in the formation effort over the past few years. Additionally, “the formation committee will work to establish next steps,” Romer added.

The intergovernmental agreement also establishes a transition plan for moving from the existing authority, ECO Transit, to the new one. It states that this transition is to take place within a 24-month period of its effective date, however, Romer said “it should be completed in less than that,” estimating it would take around 12 months or so.

Part of this plan establishes that the new authority must “use best efforts” to maintain the continuity of the existing ECO Transit services “without any significant changes in routes, schedules or equipment, during the ECRTA Transition Period, except as provided for in the Transition Plan;” as well as continue ongoing transit planning efforts; enter into contracts for transit services that the existing authority provides to Eagle County departments or governments; and accommodate member requests for additional or new local services.

“In voting for this initiative, the community will understandably want to see results right away. While some things can happen quickly, fully realizing the RTA vision will be a multi-year process,” said Tanya Allen, the director of ECO Transit. Allen was also involved in the formation process leading to the election.

“An RTA is a new administrative and governmental entity that needs to be formed with all of the legal, financial and administrative details that this entails. Certain financial controls and administrative procedures need to be in place before the new RTA can begin using these funds; this won’t all happen magically on Jan. 1,” she added.

For the time being, “the election results will have no immediate impact on the current ECO Transit service,” Allen said, adding that ECO Transit and Eagle County staff will play an active role throughout the transition while continuing to provide a consistent service. 

ECO Transit is currently funded by a half-cent sales tax, which will eventually be transferred to the new regional transit agency and added to the half-cent sales tax passed by voters on Election Day.

“The expectation underlying this transfer is for the RTA to continue operating service that is similar to today’s ECO service with respect to hours, frequency and geographic coverage,” Allen said.  

What does Gypsum’s rejection mean?

Gypsum was the only town that voted against the new sales tax and against being an initial member of the new regional transit authority.

Jeremy Rietmann, Gypsum’s town manager, said that the ballot measure’s rejection in the town likely means that residents “must not have perceived a good return on their investment for the additional taxes they would have paid.” 

Rietmann was a member of the technical committee during the new RTA’s formation process. Gypsum Town Council member Tom Edwards was also involved as part of the formation committee.

Overall, this vote will not have “any negative impacts to existing ECO Transit service to and through Gypsum,” Allen said.

“Gypsum can expect to continue receiving value from their existing half-cent contribution to countywide transit,” she added.

Romer added that while the current service in the town won’t be impacted, “any new service will be at the discretion of the RTA board and is to be determined.”

“Given this proposal’s emphasis on workforce transportation, I expect Gypsum to still see benefits from RTA funding, such as additional express service. Efficiencies created by an RTA structure may also free up additional resources from the existing half-cent tax for use countywide,” Allen said. “On the other hand, Gypsum-specific projects included as part of the original RTA proposal such as funding for a new I-70 interchange near the airport may have less support without a representative from Gypsum on the RTA Board to advocate for them.”

Rietmann said that he didn’t feel that not having a voice would be detrimental to the town’s residents.

“The voters of the community have spoken and this is the outcome the majority of residents desired. That’s how democracy works. If a majority of Gypsum voters want to enter the RTA in the future, I fully expect the RTA to be open to that possibility down the line; can’t worry about what might have been,” he said.

Romer, on Election Night told the Vail Daily, that as the RTA moves forward, he was hopeful Gypsum might join in the future.

“I’m hopeful that when they are ready, the RTA will be ready to welcome them in and truly build a completely valley-wide operation that helps everybody,” he said.

Financially, Gypsum rejecting the half-cent sales tax will result in around a 10% loss of the projected funds for the new regional transit authority. Overall, based on 2022 sales tax estimations, the authority anticipates the bulk of its revenues to come from Vail (with an estimated 39.71% coming from the town), unincorporated Eagle County including Beaver Creek (30.79%), and Avon (11.22%).  

Romer said that he didn’t anticipate this revenue loss would have a large impact on the new authority’s ability to reach its service goals.

“The service goals — increased express services, more frequent service, fare-free zone Edwards to Vail, peak workforce hour service, air service support, etc. — can be achieved by the RTA,” he said.

“The new RTA board and technical committee will need to determine the exact details and routes as well as the free fare zone between Eagle-Gypsum, but I am confident they will ensure Eagle residents are rewarded for opting into the RTA.”

Overall, Allen said that she was “equal parts excited and terrified,” to begin the process of establishing the new transit authority.

“The best and most effective rural transit agencies in the United States —including our award-winning neighbors at RFTA (Roaring Fork Transit Authority) — operate with truly regional management and scope. This decision to move in this direction is a potentially transformational one for Eagle County that I am confident will improve our regional economy and help us further our climate goals,” Allen said.

However, this doesn’t mean it will be easy to get there.

“It’s also an enormous and potentially disruptive undertaking that we need to get right. Making such a big transformation as seamless as possible is going to take an incredible amount of work behind the scenes. Taking care of customers and minimizing uncertainty for transit agency staff has to be a top priority,” Allen said. “This journey needs everyone on board.”