The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) board started the year with reviews of 2025 accomplishments and the 2026 organization work plan. The group also heard a detailed presentation on the data from the October and November Zero Fare pilot program and held board officer elections for the next year.
During the public comment period, community member Kathleen Brehm spoke to the board about electric bicycles. She described herself as a victim of a reckless e-bicyclist, having been hit by an e-bike. “It is my belief that micromobility devices can coexist on the Rio Grande Trail with monitoring.” Brehm told the board that she is still physically recovering from an e-biker colliding with her over 18 months ago, and called for the board to establish a stronger strategy for monitoring electric bicycles and enforcing safety standards.
During board member comments, Aspen Mayor Rachel Richards provided an update on conversations around the entrance to Aspen. Richards raised a question as to whether community taxes originally used to construct upvalley RFTA bus lanes might be reappropriated as monitored commuter lanes. Her impression is that RFTA will play a significant role in eventual solutions for that traffic area. She proposed the possibility of using artificial intelligence modeling to identify possible solutions.
Board member Erin Zalinski of Glenwood Springs proposed looking into using trail cameras on the Rio Grande to gather more data on the types of e-bikes being used. David Knight of Basalt thanked the board for the memo about the Zero Fare pilot program. Carbondale’s Colin Laird suggested having the RFTA and other groups come present to the board. CEO Kurt Ravenschlag noted that the Transportation Coalition is scheduled to present at RFTA’s February board meeting.
The board then quickly passed the consent agenda with approval to public notices of RFTA meetings at the Blake Street Offices in Glenwood Springs. Ravenschlag proceeded to share RFTA’s 2025 year-in-review. In 2025, RFTA had 5.1 million annual riders, nearly back to pre-pandemic ridership levels. It also saw a 2% increase in Rio Grande Trail users, to over 309,000, and a 20% increase in WE-cycle use to over 311,000. Ravenschlag shared additional data, including the increase in city-based microtransit use of the Downtowner and Connect services in Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. The board noted the popularity of the new Glenwood Ride-on-Demand service, which started in June of 2025.
Ravenschlag presented an overview of the 2026 Strategic Work Plan, which the board saw a preview of in October. One major objective is working to ensure accessibility and mobility on the Rio Grande Trail corridor. RFTA has internally evaluated its efforts there as in progress but behind schedule. Another objective is financial sustainability; Ravenschlag said the organization aims to complete a capital improvement plan by the second quarter of 2027 and take other steps to maintain a balanced long-range budget. Environmental sustainability also remains a priority for RFTA, which has been working on gradually phasing its operations to utilize renewable and efficient energy sources.
Following Ravenschlag’s presentations, the board heard a detailed update on the Zero Fare pilot program. The pilot attracted new and “discretionary” riders to RFTA services, and the program increased demand by 20% to 30%.
Providing the fare-free services increased operating costs, since it eliminated fare revenue. A survey of riders showed that 50% did not change their bus use based on the pilot, while 31% said they used RFTA services more often than they would have without the pilot. RFTA concluded that it does not recommend running any additional fare-free programs in the near future.
The next board meeting will occur on Feb. 12 at 8:30am at Carbondale Town Hall. The public can also join online via Microsoft Teams. An agenda will be available at www.rfta.coma week ahead of the meeting.