Lyons Community Eco Pass Program

About the Program

Category: Transportation (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

Some communities across the nation speak up in demand for better public transportation. However, existing transportation routes are typically not used enough to warrant a public transportation expansion. In December 2010, Boulder County and the Town of Lyons implemented the first-ever community-wide Eco Pass program to address the expansion dilemma. An innovative and cost-effective approach to increasing transit ridership, the Lyons Community Eco Pass Program provides every town resident with a free Regional Transportation District Eco Pass that can be used on any route within RTD’s vast service area (covering the entire Denver metropolitan region). The Lyons Community Eco Pass Program is open to all full-time residents of the Town of Lyons, including its low-income and elderly residents who often have difficulty accessing adequate transportation. The program provides approximately 1,800 Lyons residents with an RTD-issued card that allows for unlimited transit use on all RTD services throughout the district. Eco Passes were first distributed to Lyons residents for use in 2011 and the program is currently in its second year of implementation. Eleven months after 1,100 residents received their Eco Passes, ridership on the RTD Y route between Lyons and Boulder increased 30 percent. Because of its success, the Lyons Community Eco Pass program now serves as a model program and is being replicated in other communities throughout the region, including the Town of Nederland.