LAKEWOOD, Colo. — RTD is reinstating six of its pre-pandemic routes after seeing an increase in ridership.
RTD is reinstating the zero limited, three limited, 116-X, E.V., C.V. and P routes.
Christina Zazueta, RTD's community engagement manager, said this is all thanks to more people leaving their homes.
"A lot of the reason that we're bringing them back is because we see some ridership growth. We're seeing people come back to the central business district and that's as offices are growing, as school goes back into service. It's important for us to add back what we see is needed," Zazueta said. "We've seen about 11.8% growth since January."
Jarod Hardrick is one of the many who've taken RTD public transportation for years.
On Sunday morning, he sat at the Oak Station Park and Ride stop waiting for his ride.
"I had to drop off a rental car to the rental car agency and because this is a busy weekend, all the rental cars are sold out in Denver so I'm going to take the RTD back to downtown Denver," he said.
Hardrick said waiting for a quick RTD ride beats the alternative for him every time.
"I'm going to pay $10.50 for the ticket versus paying for a $35 Uber to get down there," he said.
Zazueta told Denver7 bringing back even more routes is all dependent on whether there are enough drivers.
"Right now, we're hiring and hiring and hiring," she said.
Hardrick said having even more routes available only makes taking a RTD ride even more appealing.
"It's pretty convenient, it's pretty awesome. I definitely appreciate it," he said.