July 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver. On Monday, RTD will throwback to 1969, the year of the moon landing, Woodstock – and the transit agency’s establishment. RTD will host rider appreciation events in each of the transit agency’s 15 districts during the morning and evening rush hours. Staff will hand out giveaways, answer questions and invite the public to share in the official celebration Friday, July 12, when we will party like it’s 1969.
RTD was established on July 1, 1969, by the 47th session of the Colorado General Assembly. In 1973, RTD began acquiring privately owned bus companies in the Denver-Boulder metro area, improved service frequencies and expanded routes in numerous metro counties. By 1976, annual ridership had grown to 35.2 million riders. Currently, RTD serves approximately 100 million riders per year.
Today, RTD is a multimodal transit agency with 140 bus routes, eight light rail lines and three commuter rail lines across eight counties covering 2,342 square miles.
“RTD is proud to celebrate 50 years of service – and we’re just getting started,” said RTD General Manager and CEO Dave Genova. “Like the communities we serve, RTD has experienced exceptional growth, innovation and development. RTD is committed to leading the dialogue about regional mobility as we look toward delivering the next half century of transit.”
Since its inception, RTD has worked to meet and exceed the present and future transit needs of the Denver metro population. Milestones include the voter-approved transit expansion program FasTracks, mobile ticketing, real-time capabilities, collaborations with Lyft and Uber, the pilot launch of autonomous vehicle service and the rebranding of the agency’s microtransit service, FlexRide.
RTD has built a tradition of excellence in providing its customers with safe, clean, reliable, courteous, accessible and cost-effective service. It continues to work closely with riders, local governments and stakeholders to identify and develop ways to improve service.
