Transit

Creating a Transit-Friendly City

Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) is working with the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to develop a public transit system that is fast, frequent, and reliable. 

As Denver continues to grow, the City must provide safe and dependable mobility options to move more people more efficiently. To achieve this, DOTI is working on seven transit initiatives that establish programs and services aiming to make Denver a transit-friendly city.  A transit-friendly city organizes its streets to allow everyone to get around efficiently and safely by prioritizing people riding buses and trains, as well as walking and rolling. DOTI's Transit Initiatives provide the multimodal infrastructure, services, and programs to make this happen.  

Slide the bar over the image below to watch Denver transform into a transit-friendly city.

Before: A street with cars and a bus stuck in traffic. People walking and riding have no protection. After: a transit friendly street with full rapid transit buses and space for people walking, riding and scooting

 

Denver's Transit Initiatives

The following seven initiatives are guiding DOTI's work toward becoming a transit-friendly city.  Scroll down to learn more.

Graphic showing Denver’s transit initiatives including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to make citywide transit more reliable, frequent, and convenient.
The number 1 BUS RAPID TRANSIT

Revolutionizing High Quality Transit
BRT is a high-quality, high-frequency transit experience comparable to light rail. BRT corridors include dedicated bus lanes, off-board fare collection, and full-service stations that provide the fastest and most reliable bus service possible.

The number two. BUS PRIORITY
Moving Buses Quickly and Reliably
Bus Priority corridors allow for faster and more reliable bus service.  Design features may include bus-lanes, bus boarding bulbs or islands, transit signal priority, or transit signal queue jumps.  Bus Priority corridors can be implemented with quick-build treatments at relatively lower cost, which is why Bus Priority projects often precede BRT projects on corridors with a long-term vision for BRT.  Please see the DOTI Bus Priority Treatments Toolkit(PDF, 5MB) for more information.

 

The number 3 BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM

Improving the Transit Experience One Bus Stop at a Time
The 
Bus Stop Improvement Program seeks to bring all Denver bus stops to a baseline standard of comfort by providing passenger amenities including shade, lighting, boarding pads and seating.

The number 4 15 MINUTE BUS NETWORK

Bringing 15 Minute or Less Service Throughout the City
T
he 15 Minute Bus Network is the system of core transit routes that work to ensure people never have to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus.

Connecting Communities with Flexible, On-demand Shared Rides
Connector Transit Service provides free on-demand rides within designated boundaries to neighborhood destinations as well as regional transit hubs such as rail stations.

Providing More Choices to Complete Your Trip
Other than fixed-route transit, Denver offers convenient alternative options to get around the City without a car. The primary service, Shared Micromobility, consists of a bicycle- and scooter-share system. Additional partner resources such as Carshare, VanPool, and RideShare offer services that increase connectivity throughout the city, and can also serve as a first or final mile option to connect with transit trips
.


The number 7 TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM)
Designing Places to Offer an Abundance of Travel Options
TDM includes strategies to expand travel options and create attractive alternatives to driving. These strategies can include encouraging developers to subsidize transit passes, install bike amenities such as high-quality racks and storage options, install and maintain bus stop improvements, and offer innovative transportation options such as carshare.

Transit Program Evolution

Denver Moves: Transit establishes the City’s vision and goals for its transit system, along with guiding framework to improve the quality of transit options in our city. The following maps show Denver’s transit network and the planned evolution over time.

Transit Projects Map

Interactive Transit Webmap

Denver Moves: Transit establishes the City's vision and goals for a convenient, safe, reliable and frequent transit network. This map displays planned transit network enhancements, as well as the existing transit network, active projects, and completed infrastructure. Information is subject to change and will be reviewed and updated regularly.

Interactive Transit Webmap