RTD

During the systemwide fare study and equity analysis, some community members asked RTD why they were not proposing to reduce fares more signi cantly or eliminate them altogether.

RTD’s fare study website says they are not reducing fares more than proposed because customers expressed “a preference for maintaining current service levels more than reductions in price.” It says their teams conducted extensive fare modeling to create a recommended structure that lowered fares and maintained existing service levels and nancial sustainability.

Other programs

To increase equity and a ordability, RTD is also recommending a one-year Zero Fare for Youth pilot program that will o er no-cost transit for youth ages 19 and under.

“ at’s probably one cohort or group that it makes sense to consider a zero fare option, because … most of them can’t a ord (current fares),” said Brian Welch, acting assistant general manag- er of the planning department at RTD.

In addition, the recommended plan would expand the LiVE Income-Based Fare Discount Program. It proposes to remove the requirement to reside within RTD boundaries and increase the qualifying income threshold from 185% to 250% of the federal poverty guidelines.

At the current level, a family of four with a household income of $55,500 or less would be eligible for the LiVE program discount, according to RTD’s fare study website. With the program expansion, a family of four could make a household income of $75,000 or less