Fort Collins officially rolls ahead with Sunday bus service

Fort Collins is rolling ahead with 365-day bus service.

The City Council on Tuesday approved additional funding for Transfort, the city-owned and operated transit system, to provide service on Sundays and holidays.

Regular Sunday service will be a first in the 41-year history of Transfort. It has provided occasional service on the popular MAX route for special events.

The option for service approved by council includes MAX and five supporting routes beginning in August. Other options proposed by city staff would have offered fewer routes at lower costs.

The council voted 6-1 in favor of the proposal, with Councilmember Ross Cunniff opposed. Cunniff said he was concerned about the long-range cost of the service and would prefer to see it offered as a pilot program.

Mayor pro tem Gerry Horak said the city should be “bold” in establishing Sunday service. It shouldn’t be considered a pilot, he said, but rather a part of Transfort’s baseline service.

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The city doesn’t know yet how much the service will be used, he said, but it will be able to collect data and make adjustments as needed.

“I just think it makes sense,” he said. “We ought to move ahead with this.”

Members of the disabled community spoke in favor of the expanded service, saying residents who rely on transit to get around town would benefit.

Michael Devereaux, who uses a wheelchair, said the city's approach to Sunday service should be “build it and they will come.”

“We don’t disappear on Sundays,” he said of transit-dependent residents. “We find other options or just stay home.”

The council approved $375,000 a year for Sunday service in its 2017-18 budget with the goal of getting matching support from funding partners such as Associated Students of Colorado State University and the CSU administration.

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ASCSU and CSU are already major funding sources for Transfort. CSU students, faculty and staff may ride Transfort for “free” using their RamCards as passes.

While support was offered, it came up short of $375,000. The city must come up with an additional $140,000 to cover the service for the remainder of 2017 and all of 2018.

Where that funding will come from and whether cuts to other services would be required is not yet clear, said City Manager Darin Atteberry.

ASCSU pledged $40,000 for expanded service this year and $105,000 in 2018. The funding is intended to cover the cost of running routes 2 and 3, which serve the West Elizabeth Street corridor.

The ASCSU contribution is contingent on MAX service being part of the package.

CSU pledged $40,000 for 2017 and $52,500 next year for the service.

In a letter to city officials, CSU President Tony Frank stated he was “disappointed” that the city’s funding request was focused only on Sunday service, which is not the highest transit priority for the university.

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Of greater interest would be late-night and early-morning service, expanded service and facilities on campus, bringing MAX-like service between the main and Foothills campuses, and increasing the number of regional transit routes.

Nevertheless, Frank stated, the university would contribute to Sunday service in the spirit of being a "good neighbor."

Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan senior reporter covering local government. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg, and on Facebook at Coloradoan Kevin Duggan.