Colorado Springs to pilot free bus route to Manitou Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado Springs’ public transportation service, Mountain Metro, will pilot a free bus route between downtown Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs starting March 29.
Free fare will be offered on Route 3, which travels in a loop from downtown Colorado Springs through Old Colorado City and the west side of town, ending at Old Man’s Trail.
“It’s sometimes hard for me to get transportation from point A to point B,” said America Klopfenstein, 30, a frequent Route 3 bus rider. Klopfenstein said she spends about $20 to $30 every week on bus fare.
“My financial situation is kind of difficult right now. So, having that route free would help me a lot.”
While a free route is the city’s step towards making its buses more accessible, the city still faces gaps in providing adequate public transportation throughout Colorado Springs.
Bus ridership in Colorado Springs has increased in the past five years. Last year, Mountain Metro recorded more than 3 million rides, said Elaine Sheridan, the senior public communications specialist at Mountain Metro. But the rapid spread of suburban areas have left gaps in the city’s ability to provide ample public transit in the northern and eastern parts of Colorado Springs. The city does not have the funding to buy more buses, hire more bus drivers and create more routes in those areas, Sheridan said
Mountain Metro updates its bus routes and services about twice a year, typically in the spring and fall, but this spring’s changes are some of the biggest the city has seen in a while because of how many changes are being made to services, Sheridan said. The buses ran fare-free during the past four summers through the statewide summer ozone reduction program called Zero Fare for Better Air, but the state is not offering the grant money for this program this year.
The Cities of Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs will cover the free fares on Route 3 for the next year, with the possibility to extend the program annually, Sheridan said. This faced backlash online with some Facebook users commenting they don’t want their taxpayer money going towards free bus fares.
Veronica Lopez, who lives in Manitou Springs and commutes to the Circle K on 28th Street in Colorado Springs for work, said she appreciates the free route.
“All the community here, we all look forward to it being free,” Lopez said. “I ride my bike down [to work] and then I’ll take [the bus] back up in the morning after my shift, especially when it’s snowing like this.”
Michael Barsotti, the owner of CK Comics and Collectibles in Manitou Springs, is also excited about the free route.
“I think it's great because it means Manitouians or Manitoids … can get downtown easier. And people from downtown can now come into Manitou without having to worry about parking,” Barsotti said.
The free route is one of many service changes the Mountain Metro is making this year, which include increasing bus frequency on multiple routes and consolidating other routes.
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