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Blog Entry 59 of 95 Charmaine in the city

I've called the Denver area home for more than two
decades now. But this urban/mountain city is still full of surprises. I'll be posting my adventures here, as I explore local eateries, shops and sharing birthday and vacation photos. And once in a while, I'll throw in a music, movie or food review. I hope to keep this blog interactive, so don't be shy to suggest places I should visit. And check it out: I'm on Brendan's List. Rock on!

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A costly commute?

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Contributed by: Charmaine Robledo/YourHub.com on 7/11/2007

I am an avid user of RTD public transportation. I ride the light rail every day to work, because A) it's cheaper to park for free in one of their lots than paying for (and trying to find) parking downtown, B) I save on gas because I don't drive everywhere and C) It's better for our environment (again emphasizing less usage of polluting vehicle).

I remember when bus fare used to be less than a dollar, I think 75 cents or so. When my family and I moved nearer to the Denver area in 2000 after livingin the San Luis Valley, bus fare went up to $1.10. Nowadays, it's $1.50 locally and $2.75 if you ride regionally. I live in Englewood, which means my monthly bus pass is about $54 for local zones AB.

Even with the increasing costs, I still calculate bus fare to be less than downtown parking expenses and buying gas every week. However, I read with great interest (and worry) a couple articles the other day about RTD proposing to raise the price of transportation to $1.75 in 2008 in the wake of expensive fuel costs.

Read the Rocky Mountain News article.
Read The Denver Post article.

The change won't happen until next year, but that does make me think about how much my monthly bus pass will cost then. Let's see ... I pay $54 now, which is $1.50 each way. I ride the light rail in the morning to work and then later in the afternoon back home ... I ride it five days a week (sometimes weekends) and four weeks in the month. If the price went up a quarter to $1.75 each way, then my monthly pass would be ... about $64. So a $10 increase. Not drastic, but still a hike in one of my many expenses.

The increase probably won't stop me from riding the light rail. I prefer it as my main mode of tranportation, and I can't stand driving. There are way too many road rage incidents and I don't want to be angry behind the wheel.

But this may pose a problem for some who are more dependent on public transport than I am. What do you think? Do you use RTD? Would raising the price on bus fare change your commute? Post a comment below.

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Submitted By: Rebecca Zimmerman

posted on 7/11/2007 @ 3:02:53 PM

Rated Blog Entry

Right now I pay $5 a day round trip and ride the light rail for the same reasons you do, Charmaine. It does make me sick to think about paying even more money just get to work! But, like you, the increase probably won't make me quit riding. It's so much better than driving and trying to park downtown.

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Submitted By: Eric Lubbers

posted on 7/11/2007 @ 2:57:57 PM

Rated Blog Entry

I have the distinct pleasure of being able to ride the bus/light rail for free thanks to my handy dandy UCD pass, but I took a semester off last year and had to pay for the bus myself, and I can feel your pain. The increase is probably necessary, but that won't change the fact that it's going to make it that much harder for people to get around.

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Submitted By: Karen Groves

posted on 7/11/2007 @ 2:57:23 PM

(Not Rated)

If it goes up 75 cents per ride for me, that's an $8 per day ride. I like using RTD, am rarely disappointed and figure like everything else, eventually the cost is going to go up. It certainly isn't going to go down.

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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

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