Ridership on the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority’s free bus service between Aspen and Snowmass Village has proven to be popular.
RFTA saw a 70 percent increase in ridership on buses out of Snowmass Village in June 2008 compared to June 2007.
The figure is for the segment of the trip between the Snowmass Mall and the transit facility at the intersection of Brush Creek Road and Highway 82 (also known as the “intercept lot”).
Dan Blankenship, RFTA’s CEO, said it made sense for RFTA to look at the segment between the mall and the intercept lot when trying to gauge the response to the free bus service. “I’m assuming that the increase on that segment is largely attributable to the free service between Snowmass and Aspen,” Blankenship said.
In June of last year, a total of 18,881 people rode the bus from the mall to the intercept lot; in June of this year, 32,072 jumped on the free bus in Snowmass and rode down to Highway 82.
“That’s a pretty healthy increase,” said Blankenship.
He added that there was a 10 percent increase in ridership between June 2007 and June 2008 on bus routes throughout the Highway 82 corridor, which is why he believes the 70 percent growth on the Snowmass Village to Brush Creek segment must be due primarily to the free bus service.
“It is hard to beat free,” Blankenship said. “It represents a pretty good deal.”
The free bus service between the two resort communities was implemented last July on an experimental basis.
After some starts and stops in the decision process, elected officials from Aspen, Snowmass Village and Pitkin County agreed earlier this year to fund the free bus service this summer and through next spring.
The service is estimated to cost approximately $370,000 a year. The buses are free in both directions between Aspen and Snowmass Village, and are also free to either destination from the Brush Creek park-and-ride lot, where parking is free.
Blankenship said he suspects that much of the increase in ridership is from locals and visitors in Snowmass Village who travel to Aspen, especially as lodges there are informing their guests about the free service.
“Vacations, no matter where you go, are sometimes pricey, and this is a value-added benefit,” Blankenship said. “And it gives the community and the lodges something to market to their guests.”
And hotels in Snowmass Village have been happy to inform their guests there is a free bus to Aspen every half hour.
“We do tell our guests about the free transportation, and they are very pleased with it when thinking about going into Aspen,” said John Quigley, a senior vice president at Silvertree Properties, which manages the Silvertree and Wildwood hotels and Village Property Management condos in Snowmass Village.
Quigley also thinks free bus service from Aspen was a factor in the big crowds at this year’s Chile Pepper and Brew Fest, which started on June 6, the same day the free service began. “So it works both ways,” he said.
The free bus service between Snowmass Village and Aspen is scheduled to remain in place through next spring, at which time local government officials are expected to analyze cost relative to ridership levels and decide whether to continue the service.