Green & Gold Late-Night Routes

As Trevor Hughes and Jason Pohl report, a late-night “Green & Gold” bus route held its debut this weekend. The one-year pilot program will operate in the Old Town area running every 15 minutes from 11:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights at $1 a ride.

In Pohl’s article for the Collegian, a detailed summary of the funding for the pilot program indicates that Fort Collins Police Services is the largest contributor of the project.

“The one-year trial project is being funded largely by Fort Collins Police Services, who have contributed $50,000 through red-light traffic tickets. An additional $17,000 of the project is coming from student fees each semester, and the remainder will be generated by ticket sales and advertising.”

The route was meant to alleviate the demand on RamRide and taxis in the area. From the police’s standpoint, the goal is to curb late night debauchery and driving under the influence.

Hughes for The Coloradoan described the happening of Old Town on Friday night when the route began. College students and attendees of the First Friday gallery walk took advantage of the bus route; altogether 260 people were transported by on Friday night.

“..the Green route transported 74 passengers, and the Gold route transported 186, said David Mullin, general manager with Veolia Transportation On Demand.”

As the program begins to catch on, perhaps it will cover larger portions of the Fort Collins in addition to areas heavily populated by CSU students.