Until a light rail (or any passenger rail, for that matter) manages to work its way out of the greater Denver area and into Northern Colorado, the most prevalent and obvious solution for public transit remains an old standard: the bus.
Yet many residents don’t realize how many transportation options are available in Northern Colorado’s largest cities—Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley—and just how connected they are to each other as well as the rest of the state. And while the bus remains the most viable and popular option for public transit in our region, questions inevitably come up: Is there a cost advantage over driving myself? How much longer will it take to get to my destination on the bus? How close is the bus station to my home? Will the bus still be an option when I’m ready to return home, or will it have stopped operations for the day?
As it turns out, Northern Colorado municipalities are working diligently, together and separately, to try to address these challenges.
One of the MAX buses in downtown Fort Collins. Photos courtesy of City of Fort Collins.
Fort Collins
Fort Collins’ public transit system, Transfort, features one amenity others in the area don’t have: MAX Bus Rapid Transit. What sets MAX apart is its own dedicated road with no other vehicles, meaning the buses avoid traffic jams, crashes and other issues that would cause delays in parts of town that are already notoriously congested. The road runs along the Mason Corridor (parallel to College Avenue), from the South Transit Center just south of Harmony Road to the Downtown Transit Center north of Laporte Avenue.
Transfort buses without dedicated lanes are available all over the city, including ones that go east to I-25 and west to Overland Trail. Riders can also catch a connection to the FLEX regional bus at the Downtown Transit Center, South Transit Center, Colorado State University and all MAX stops.
FLEX, operated by Transfort, offers rides to Loveland, Berthoud, Longmont and Boulder, according to Anna Russo, public engagement specialist for Transfort. FLEX passengers can transfer to the City of Loveland Transit (COLT) or even the Regional Transportation District in Boulder, connecting them to Denver and other destinations to the south.
Transfort services are free and have been since March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, funding hasn’t necessarily been the greatest hurdle facing public transit in Fort Collins. Ridership numbers are down, and a big reason for that is the limited number of buses Fort Collins can run throughout the day.
“The most common reasons we hear for people not riding Transfort is the infrequency of buses and buses not running late enough,” Russo says, adding that it’s hard to find bus drivers, many of whom have retired or taken work-from-home jobs.
Officials are also fighting history when it comes to buses. Many people still think of black diesel smoke belching out of massive exhaust pipes, coating the sides and backs of buses in muck. That’s not the case anymore as municipalities focus on cleaner options. Fort Collins, for instance, operates a compressed natural gas fleet and has already started making the move toward electric.
“We have two battery electric buses, which went into service in April 2022,” Russo says. “Our fleet electrification plan outlines converting the entire 53-bus fleet by 2040, with hopes to have 11 battery electric buses in service (or 21 percent of the fleet) by the end of 2025.”
The Loveland Transit Center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in January. Photo courtesy of City of Loveland.
Loveland
Loveland faces the same bus shortage and ridership issues as Fort Collins, with a focus on increasing frequency as well as updating all current stops with sidewalks that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. COLT routes spread across the city and link to FLEX routes.
One trend Loveland officials have noticed is an increase in youth ridership, meaning riders age 17 and younger. In 2022, Loveland had 13,927 youth rides, says Illianna Milldrum, communications and engagement specialist for the City of Loveland’s public works administration, and that statistic increased by another 20 percent in 2023.
“From conversations with parents and seeing the cost of goods going up, we are offering alternative ways to get around Loveland other than driving a car,” Milldrum says.
According to Milldrum, Loveland has expanded its routes in recent years and has already added a new route in 2024, connecting COLT to the Poudre Express, a bus service operated by Greeley Evans Transit that previously only connected Greeley, Windsor and Fort Collins.
“This regional connection is important because it expands the opportunities for Lovelanders who seek employment, continuing education or medical services,” Milldrum says.
Loveland has focused mostly on compressed natural gas, diesel-hybrid and zero-emission buses. The city added compressed natural gas vehicles in 2013 and, according to Milldrum, it’s currently looking into diesel-hybrid and zero-emission options.
Biking and bus routes are just two components of Greeley’s public transportation plan. Photo courtesy of City of Greeley.
Greeley
Like its Northern Colorado neighbors, Greeley has compiled a transportation master plan while gathering public feedback. Greeley is hoping to collect a ton of information from the Australian-developed app, TripGo, according to Will Jones, public works deputy director for the city. The app allows users to pull in real-time feeds for different types of transportation, including buses, ride shares, bikes, scooters, cars and on foot.
“It’ll help with data collection and just getting a better grasp of what we’re facing,” Jones says. “It should help a lot when it comes to planning for infrastructure.”
Each user can set their own priorities in the app, from cost to time efficiency to calories burned to environmental impact. Jones says this information has allowed the city to create a plan.
“We’ve learned that providing fixed routes isn’t the only solution,” Jones says. “We’re focused on strategically placing service in areas of need, then using micromobility and microtransit to meet the needs of the community.”
Jones describes micromobility as personalized transport, such as scooters, bikes and e-bikes. “These are meant for trips that are less than a mile,” he says.
Microtransit means using vehicles, just on a smaller scale, such as vans and small buses, or taking shorter trips, like from the University of Northern Colorado to downtown Greeley.
“Addressing the first-mile, last-mile issue is more for micromobility,” Jones says. “Microtransit is a good alternative for lower density areas that may not warrant a regular stop but still face transport needs.”
Jones says the city is implementing a pilot program this year focused on micromobility. The city’s Speak Up Greeley website outlines a 12-month pilot program that will enable the public to rent e-scooters and e-bikes through an app on their phone. Users will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the website. Jones also says that a pilot program for microtransit options can be expected in the next couple of years.
From an environmental standpoint, Jones says the city’s entire fleet has converted to compressed natural gas, but other changes will also have a positive impact.
In a typical gas-powered vehicle, starting from a standstill is what burns the most gas. Improvements are in the works to keep traffic moving and eliminate starts and stops in two major Greeley intersections, U.S. 34 at 35th and 47th avenues, which currently have standard intersections with stoplights in each direction. The improvements will turn those intersections into mobility hubs with more highway-like interchanges, meaning traffic on U.S. 34 won’t have to stop for red lights. The hubs will also feature center-lane access to buses.
“Couple that with biking, walking and everything else, and that will have a significant impact on air quality,” Jones says.
CDOT’s premier transit service, Bustang. Photo courtesy of CDOT.
Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
When it comes to transportation in Northern Colorado, look at CDOT like The Big Lebowski’s rug. It really ties the region together.
CDOT’s bus service connects Sterling to Durango and Craig to Trinidad. Its premier service, Bustang, features routes from Fort Collins to Denver. Fort Collins residents can catch a Bustang ride at the Downtown Transit Center as well as the Harmony Transfer Center at the Harmony Road exit off I-25.
CDOT has recently made big investments in its Northern Colorado Bustang routes by tackling projects along I-25, one of which is a mobility hub in the median of I-25 just north of where it intersects with U.S. 34 at the Greeley-Loveland interchange. This improvement allows easier access for riders as well as buses.
“When building those hubs, we worked with locals in each area,” says Jared Fiel, communications manager for CDOT, Region 4. “For the Loveland-Centerra hub, Loveland, Greeley and Fort Collins were all kept in the loop on timing, and it is our belief that Loveland and Greeley will eventually have connections at the hub’s Park & Ride area.”
The Park & Ride at that location is just west of I-25. There’s a plan in place to extend Kendall Parkway under I-25 for easy access, but drivers can access the lot from a nearby side street off East County Road 24 until that project is complete, according to Fiel.
Fiel adds that CDOT has a goal to reduce the amount of time people spend in their cars by a million hours this year. He says CDOT hopes easier access to Bustang buses is a part of this solution, and adding an Express Lane along I-25 should also make an impact by shortening the length of time commuters spend on the road.
Regardless, the need for reliable and consistent public transportation for many in Northern Colorado is more than a luxury. It’s a necessity.
“The response to Bustang on the North Line (Denver to Fort Collins) has shown the need for this service,” Fiel says. “Our ridership has increased 23 percent every year. We had about 5,000 riders each month on that line last year. There is definitely a need.”
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For more information on how to get around without your own personal vehicle, check out the following sites:
Fort Collins – ridetransfort.com
Loveland – lovgov.org/services/public-works/bus-service
Greeley – greeleyevanstransit.com
CDOT – ridebustang.com
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Ross Maak is, in newspaper parlance, an ink-stained wretch with 30 years in journalism and a couple forays into the copywriting world. He lives in Weld County with his wife and their dog, Bailey, who actually runs the house.
