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Summit Stage starts winter bus schedule, just in time for ski season

The Summit Stage started its winter bus schedule on Monday. This season brings a new bus route through Blue River, as well as morning express routes for fast access to the slopes.
Special to the Daily |

The Summit Stage switched to its winter public transit schedule on Sunday, Nov. 22, with a few new additions in place this season.

At the request of Blue River, the Stage added a new commuter route between the town and Breckenridge, running twice daily in each direction. Morning buses depart Quandary Road in Blue River at 6:55 a.m. and 8:25 a.m. Returning buses leave Breckenridge at 4 p.m. and 6:10 p.m.

“We’re really excited to be able to provide service to the town of Blue River for the first time,” Summit Stage director Jim Andrew said in a statement. “For Blue River residents, this opens up a whole new option for commuting, and it serves as a free, reliable alternative to using a personal vehicle.”



The Blue River Commuter will run seven days per week, and so far, is just slated to run during the winter. The town of Blue River is funding half of the operating cost of the new route.

With ski season ramping up, Summit Stage’s morning express routes will return this winter, offering locals and visitors a shorter ride straight to the Breckenridge and Keystone ski resorts. With fewer stops along the way, the bus shaves off up to 15 minutes of travel time from the standard routes. Buses on the express routes run once every morning, seven days a week, from Silverthorne to Keystone and from Silverthorne to Breckenridge via Frisco.



“When we first launched these express routes last year, they were incredibly popular,” Andrew said. “This year, we’ve fine-tuned the schedule so that you can arrive in time to get fresh tracks.”

The Breckenridge Express departs Ptarmigan at 7:10 a.m., stops at Silverthorne Station at 7:25 a.m., Frisco Station at 7:40 a.m., School Road at 7:42 a.m., Granite Street at 7:45 a.m., arriving at Breckenridge Station at 8 a.m.

The Keystone Express departs Ptarmigan at 7:15 a.m., stops at Silverthorne Station at 7:30 a.m., Summit Place at 7:32 a.m., Lake Dillon Drive at 7:37 a.m., Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue at 7:38 a.m., arriving at River Run in Keystone at 7:50 a.m. Skiers and riders headed to Arapahoe Basin can catch the Swan Mountain Flyer to arrive at the Basin at 8:10 a.m.

The Swan Mountain Flyer will also resume service this winter, providing hourly daytime service between Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. The route also offers evening service on days that Keystone is open for night skiing

Daytime buses on the Copper Mountain route increased in frequency, running every 30 minutes rather than hourly. Winter rush-hour buses provide more frequent morning and afternoon service on the Silverthorne Loop, Wildernest Loop and Copper Mountain routes.

The Lake County Link, which provides service between Leadville, Copper and Frisco, is maintaining the usual morning departures from Leadville at 5:50 a.m. and 7:10 a.m. New mid-day service includes a Leadville-bound trip that departs the Frisco Transit Center at noon and a Frisco-bound trip that departs CMC Leadville at 12:45 p.m. The last bus to Leadville now leaves Frisco Station at 9 p.m., ensuring that Bustang riders returning from Denver are able to continue on to Leadville via the Summit Stage.

For more details on winter routes and schedules, visit http://www.summitstage.com.


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