Greeley to Loveland bus service to begin in early 2008, other transit improvements on horizon

Greeley residents will soon be able to take a bus to Loveland, but a bit later than originally thought.

Starting in March 2008 or earlier, a bus will run hourly between the Greeley Mall and Centerra in Loveland as a part of a three-year trial the Tribune first reported in November 2006.

The city of Greeley will not have to put any money into the plan. The money for the service -- $400,000 for three buses -- is coming from the state and the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization. The planning organization also will pay the $380,000 yearly needed to operate the buses.

John Daggett, planning manager for the planning organization, said if after the three-year trial period there aren't enough riders on the buses, the program will be stopped. The planning organization expects more than 74,000 people to ride the bus every year.

"Every route in a transportation system should have a mission," Daggett said adding that the organization's goal is to primarily serve workers.

Nearly 5,000 jobs are based at the intersection of U.S. 34 and Interstate 25, Daggett said.

Despite the service to people who work near Centerra, Daggett said everyone who rides the bus will benefit.

"It'll help both Greeley and Loveland," he said. "The bus runs both ways."

Brad Patterson, Greeley transit services manager, said people shouldn't be worried about people using the bus to go shop at Centerra.

"Those people that shop at Centerra have their own car," said Patterson, who added that people also will use the bus to seek medical care in Loveland and to bring students from Loveland to Greeley to attend Aims Community College or the University of Northern Colorado.

In addition, Patterson said he hopes to negotiate with the Fort Collins and Loveland bus systems to allow riders to transfer onto their buses for free and vice versa. That means, in theory, a rider could pay for the bus in Greeley, transfer buses and end up in Fort Collins.

If all the cities agreed to share riders through transfers, it could be the beginning of a regional transit system, an idea that some officials are warming to.

Don Williams, Loveland's city manager, told northern Colorado leaders at a meeting this week that Loveland would like to get out of the bus business altogether. Some officials at the meeting agreed that a solution to that problem might be having the planning organization run a transit system among northern Colorado cities.

"It's stupid to have four little tiny systems," Williams said, referring to bus programs in Loveland, Larimer County, Fort Collins and Greeley.

If a proposal to fund transportation improvements through a sales tax increase passes in November, a portion of the money -- $1 million to $1.6 million per year -- would be used to further improve public transportation in northern Colorado, and would probably fund a bus route from northern Colorado to Denver's Union Station.

A new bus route from Greeley to Loveland will begin operation in March 2008. Here are the specifics of the plan:

» Two buses will run from Greeley Mall to a transit center in east Loveland near Centerra with stops in between.

» The buses will operate 12 hours a day during the week and 10 hours on Saturdays. There will be no Sunday service.

» Each stop will be served by a bus each hour.

» Officials haven't decided on fares, though Brad Patterson, Greeley transit services manager, hopes it will be $1.25.