Bustang Exceeds Ridership, Revenue Projections as it Hits 3-Year Anniversary
DENVER—Bustang®, Colorado's first-ever state-owned and -operated interregional bus system, has exceeded ridership, revenue and fare box recovery projections during its first three years of service.
Since its inaugural run on July 13, 2015, Bustang's ridership has increased by more than 300 percent and provided service to more than 450,000 passengers. This year, ridership is averaging 17,000 passengers per month.
"Usually it takes about a year to build ridership within a new transportation system, but we actually exceeded our projected passenger numbers during our first year of operation," said CDOT Director of Transit and Rail David Krutsinger. "And we've continued to exceed expectations over the last couple of years. That speaks not only to public demand but to the quality of service Bustang offers passengers."
Original Bustang Routes |
August 2015 Ridership |
June 2018 Ridership |
| I-25: Fort Collins to Denver* | 2,992 | 8,133 |
| I-25: Colorado Springs to Denver* | 2,954 | 5,955 |
| I-70: Glenwood Springs to Denver* | 1,137 | 3,050 |
Bustang Routes Added (2016 – 2018) |
| I-25: Fort Collins to Denver Added Saturday and Sunday service due to demand |
| I-25: Colorado Springs to Denver added Saturday & Sunday service due to demand |
| Bustang to Broncos: To and from Mile High Stadium and Fort Collins |
| Bustang to Broncos: To and from Mile High Stadium and Colorado Springs |
| I-25: Fort Collins to Denver (Ramsroute) Weekend service to and from Colorado State University |
| I-70: Vail – Denver* |
| I-70: Denver – Grand Junction* *Roundtrip service seven days a week |
"Our mission is to not only provide transit services to urban locations but also to serve the more rural areas of the state," added Krutsinger. "We just started the Denver-to-Grand-Junction route and have introduced Bustang Outrider™, which gives people another travel option if they're traveling from other places in Colorado that aren't on the Front Range or I-70 corridor."
Bustang Outrider currently provides roundtrips on four routes: Lamar to Pueblo; Alamosa to Pueblo; Gunnison to Denver; and Durango to Grand Junction.
Later this year, CDOT expects to extend Bustang service to Pueblo. Other locations targeted for expansion include Greeley, Steamboat Springs, and one or two locations on the Eastern Plains, depending on funding and availability of other resources.
Bustang and Bustang Outrider help further CDOT's multi-modal mission, and fulfill a key responsibility to alleviate congestion and offer more travel choices for longer-distance commuters on the state's urban and rural corridors. For more information, please visit www.ridebustang.com.
Experiential ride-along:
Complimentary rides aboard Bustang are available for each route. Please contact Bob Wilson for more information.
