Bus rapid transit project could advance across Denver metro area
The Denver Regional Council of Governments, also known as DRCOG, is kicking off a project to advance bus rapid transit implementation in the Denver region. This comes from a $1 million grant from the Build America Bureau, which is a part of the US Department of Transportation.
This grant provides funding for DRCOG to develop updated capital and operating cost estimates, create shared bus rapid transit design standards, identify potentially innovative partnerships, and develop a funding and financing plan for the next five bus rapid transit corridors. The places identified in their 2050 Regional Transportation Plan include:
- Colfax BRT Next from I-225 to E-740 in Aurora
- Speer/Leetsdale/Parker
- Broadway/Lincoln
- Alameda Avenue
- CO-119 Extension from Longmont to I-25.
Two of the planned bus rapid transit corridors, which are Colfax Avenue and CO-119, are already under construction. Others are in advanced stages of planning or project development, including Federal Boulevard, Colorado Boulevard, and Colfax BRT Next.
DRCOG says the goal of this project is to advance implementation of these transit projects, which are critical to meeting the region's mobility, equity and livability goals, as well as to help meet federal air quality conformity and state greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements. They say bus rapid transit provides better, more reliable service in the busiest corridors with the highest transportation demand.
According to DRCOG, the planned BRT network in the Denver region will make transit more competitive with other modes of travel, benefiting existing bus riders and attracting new riders. At a time when funding is a challenge for many local and regional agencies, this project offers a unique opportunity to think outside the box and identify new funding and financing sources to support the region's transit future.
The Advancing BRT Implementation Project kicked off in Jan 2026 and is anticipated to have an 18-month timeline.
More information about this project, the Regional BRT Partnership, and BRT planning and implementation throughout the region is available here.