Colorado Lawmakers Move to Protect BRT Funding

Colorado lawmakers are working to create a bus rapid transit (BRT) grant program to keep up with its BRT expansion plan if federal funding is cut, reports Nathaniel Minor for Colorado Public Radio. 

According to Minor, the fund would direct revenue earned from rider-hailing and delivery fees to a BRT fund. “The money, however, won’t be enough to offset the potential loss of federal funding. CDOT officials have requested nearly $150 million in federal ‘Small Starts’ grant funding for just one BRT project — a planned $320 million line along about 18 miles of Federal Boulevard in Denver and nearby suburbs including Englewood and Westminster.”

CDOT is also exploring ways to cut costs on the BRT project while continuing with its plans. Cuts could affect station design and amenities, said retired transportation planner Debra Baskett. “In an email to stakeholders, CDOT said a non-federally funded project would need to be smaller and potentially broken into smaller phases but that it and its local partners are ‘committed to delivering high-quality BRT.’”