Overview:
The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) is experimenting with free bus service in October and November.
“I like that I can just sit on the bus, listen to my music and not worry about traffic or bad drivers,” said 18-year-old Ailani Quintanilla-Salido, reflecting on her Aspen commute on Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) buses. “I can just have a peaceful time in the back by myself.”
Born and raised in Aspen, Quintanilla-Salido has relied on RFTA buses for much of her life. Her father spent over a decade as a driver for the agency.
“I take them because it cuts through most of the traffic and gets me home on time,” Quintanilla-Salido said. “And it’s free, so I can use it to get to work, hang out with friends, go into town—it’s just a great thing the city does for us.”
RFTA serves as the regional transportation authority for the mountain communities of Aspen, Snowmass Village, Pitkin County, Basalt, and a portion of Eagle County, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, and New Castle—providing residents, visitors and commuters with essential services to get around the area for a multitude of purposes.
In operation since 1983, RFTA runs multiple commuter bus routes spanning a 70-mile corridor from Aspen through the greater Roaring Fork Valley to the Colorado River Valley towns of New Castle, Silt and Rifle, areas where many employees of Aspen live.
John Taylor, 53, has been living in the Roaring Fork Valley for 30 years, consistently utilizing the RFTA bus system in the area to get up and down the valley.
“I would drive if need be, but it’s just more convenient for me to take the bus. As a whole, for downvalley workers, I think it’s enormous,” he said. “It’s six bucks a day, only three dollars each way. If I was to drive up in my truck and pay for parking, I would be spending two or three times that…not to mention the mileage.”
As the largest rural transit agency in the United States and the second-largest public transit agency in Colorado (second only to the Regional Transportation District serving the Denver metropolitan area and surrounding counties), RFTA served more than 5 million riders in 2024. Jamie Tatsuno, a public information officer for RFTA, explained the importance of the organization’s service to its local and visiting communities.
“I think what sets RFTA apart is our ability to provide high-quality, rural public transit service that feels more like what you’d expect from a larger urban system,” Tatsuno said. “We continue to lead with innovative programs like our climate action plan, the management of our Rio Grande Trail Corridor and our upcoming zero-fare pilot program this October and November.”
The upcoming pilot could serve as more than just a local experiment in a rural mountain area—it has the potential to be an example for other areas in Colorado aiming to improve overall transportation equity, reduce car-related emissions and assist families and workers alike in better accessing jobs and opportunities.
With Aspen’s seasonal influx of skiers, reliable local transit plays a critical role in keeping the community safe in the winter months. Quintanilla-Salido noted the potential impact expanded free transit could have.
“I know people like to drink and go skiing, and they still drive after, which is not a good idea, but they still do it,” Quintanilla-Salido said. “I feel like free buses would show people they can just take buses instead of driving, whether they want to drink or not.”
The agency currently offers free bus service within specific areas of the valley. Government contracts and subsidies, combined with private agreements, have given RFTA the financial backing needed to make this possible.
Although this may appear to benefit all riders equally, regional routes like the Highway 82 Local, VelociRFTA BRT and Hogback I-70 lines still require fares—and these are the very routes that serve the more affordable communities where most of the resort’s workforce lives.
“I think that it’s a great idea, just because in the mornings, there’s so much traffic, and it’s horrible. You would have to leave two hours earlier to get to school,” Quintanilla-Salido said in response to the upcoming fare elimination program. “I feel like a free bus would just make things easier for low-income families who need to pay for their family to get places.”
However, not all riders are on board. Some citizens, including Taylor, see the fare structure as a reasonable trade-off that helps prevent overcrowding and potential misuse of the system.
“I think the problem with no fare is, as our vagrant population increases, you’d have to have more security with RFTA and getting people off the bus,” Taylor said. “If they could just sit on a bus all day in the cold weather and just ride a bus all around the valley to stay warm, they’re going to do that. So you’d have more security issues, which is already becoming an issue.”
Regardless of the hesitations voiced by some users like Taylor, RFTA will launch its zero-fare pilot program, running from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30. The program will extend the elimination of bus fares to all RFTA routes, including the VelociRFTA BRT, Valley/Local and Hogback routes. Only the Maroon Bells shuttle and ski bus service will be excluded.
To prepare for the expanded service, Tatsuno explained that the agency is taking a proactive approach to operations, staffing and safety during the pilot period.
“RFTA’s cross-departmental planning team has been working closely on logistics, and our operations team is fully staffed heading into the fall, with some surplus bus operator capacity available if demand increases,” Tatsuno said. “We’re already using real-time dispatching tools to monitor passenger loads and will be able to adjust service as needed. On the safety side, we’re staying closely coordinated with our drivers and operations teams, and we’ve built in additional measures through our contracted security services.”
The pilot is specifically planned for the fall off-season, when overall ridership numbers are lower. The Aspen City Council and the Elected Officials Transportation Committee will each commit up to $275,000 to offset the estimated $550,000 in lost fare revenue the program is expected to cost RFTA during the duration of the program.
“This pilot will give us a real-world test to study what happens when we remove fares. Do more people ride? Where do they go? What’s the impact on service levels and staffing?” Tatsuno said. “By collecting data across the board, from ridership trends to park and ride use to customer feedback, we’ll be in a much stronger position to evaluate future fare structures and programs.”
As communities continue to deal with transportation gaps, programs like RFTA’s could offer valuable insights into how to use public transit as a tool for overall community benefit, not just simple travel convenience.
“I think it will limit traffic and promote people taking the bus more,” Quintanilla-Salido said. “And it will help lower-income families who don’t need to pay for gas. I think it would benefit them because it would be free for the whole family to take the bus. And for our environment as well, the gas emissions and things will be better.”
