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FRISCO — Changes to the Summit Stage summer schedule will increase bus service for main route riders in the middle of the day by moving buses from less popular lines in Silverthorne.
The new summer schedule, which will provide pick-ups every half hour at stops on the Silverthorne to Keystone, Silverthorne to Frisco and Frisco to Breckenridge lines from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the summer, was cheered by county transit board officials for solving a number of summer service problems without much additional cost.
“What we found is that we've been scaling back when people really wanted to get out and go,” Summit Stage director John Jones said of past summer schedules that have reduced bus service in the middle of the day. “By shifting this … we will provide those people with the services they need when they need them.”
In the past, all Summit Stage bus routes have dropped to hourly service from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the summer months.
Officials say the new schedule will be easier for riders to understand and will provide more bike racks on the main routes in the middle of the day.
“Convenience is what makes people want to ride the bus,” Summit Stage Transit Board president Kent Willis said at a meeting Wednesday. “Having that half-hour service during the middle of the day creates that convenience factor and eliminates confusion.”
It will also decrease layoffs and provide bus drivers with a more manageable work schedule, officials said.
Under the old summer system, many drivers had a long, unpaid break in the middle of the day when service was reduced. Those who live outside the county couldn't go home and were stuck waiting around with nothing to do until it was time to go back to work.
“We had a talent drain,” Jones said. “Some of them wouldn't come back. This is going to give us better employee retention as well.”
But the benefits come at a cost for Silverthorne.
Rather than having half-hour pickups in the mornings and evenings like in previous summers, the Silverthorne Loop and Wildernest route will pick up once an hour all day.
To compensate for local riders, officials agreed to try having the Wildernest bus use down time to pick up at apartment complexes on the north end of Silverthorne, including the Blue River and Villa Sierra Madre apartments. If the plan doesn't work during the first few weeks of the summer schedule the extra service will be discontinued.
The first pick up on Boreas Pass at 6:10 a.m. and the last pick up out of Keystone at 2:15 a.m. — both of which have had poor ridership — will also be eliminated this summer.
The transit board, made up of representatives from the county, towns and ski areas, unanimously approved the proposed summer schedule at Wednesdays meeting, weeks earlier than in past years.
Summer transit service will begin April 22 and run through just before Thanksgiving.
The new summer schedule, which will provide pick-ups every half hour at stops on the Silverthorne to Keystone, Silverthorne to Frisco and Frisco to Breckenridge lines from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the summer, was cheered by county transit board officials for solving a number of summer service problems without much additional cost.
“What we found is that we've been scaling back when people really wanted to get out and go,” Summit Stage director John Jones said of past summer schedules that have reduced bus service in the middle of the day. “By shifting this … we will provide those people with the services they need when they need them.”
In the past, all Summit Stage bus routes have dropped to hourly service from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the summer months.
Officials say the new schedule will be easier for riders to understand and will provide more bike racks on the main routes in the middle of the day.
“Convenience is what makes people want to ride the bus,” Summit Stage Transit Board president Kent Willis said at a meeting Wednesday. “Having that half-hour service during the middle of the day creates that convenience factor and eliminates confusion.”
It will also decrease layoffs and provide bus drivers with a more manageable work schedule, officials said.
Under the old summer system, many drivers had a long, unpaid break in the middle of the day when service was reduced. Those who live outside the county couldn't go home and were stuck waiting around with nothing to do until it was time to go back to work.
“We had a talent drain,” Jones said. “Some of them wouldn't come back. This is going to give us better employee retention as well.”
But the benefits come at a cost for Silverthorne.
Rather than having half-hour pickups in the mornings and evenings like in previous summers, the Silverthorne Loop and Wildernest route will pick up once an hour all day.
To compensate for local riders, officials agreed to try having the Wildernest bus use down time to pick up at apartment complexes on the north end of Silverthorne, including the Blue River and Villa Sierra Madre apartments. If the plan doesn't work during the first few weeks of the summer schedule the extra service will be discontinued.
The first pick up on Boreas Pass at 6:10 a.m. and the last pick up out of Keystone at 2:15 a.m. — both of which have had poor ridership — will also be eliminated this summer.
The transit board, made up of representatives from the county, towns and ski areas, unanimously approved the proposed summer schedule at Wednesdays meeting, weeks earlier than in past years.
Summer transit service will begin April 22 and run through just before Thanksgiving.
