Colorado's RTD rider survey shows improvement in reliability, on-time performance, shortfalls in trust in services

Colorado's Regional Transportation District, also known as RTD, shared a new report that focuses on how customers feel about their services.

The report shows mostly positive results when it comes to reliability, cleanliness, and on-time performance. The full breakdown of the report includes:

Bus Customers

• 78% of respondents are reliant on RTD's services
• 85% agree or strongly agree that RTD provides value to the community
• 71% use RTD's services three or more days a week
• 8% year-over-year increase in overall satisfaction
• 11% increase in customers feeling safe and secure while waiting at a stop
• 13% increase in customers indicating the vehicles are clean
• 7% increase in customers satisfied or very satisfied with the frequency of service
• 3% increase in customers indicating bus operators are courteous
• Bus exceeded the national average across all 16 comparative categories
• Bus's NPS is +26, and the national average is -16
• The factors of most importance to bus customers are (1) frequency of service, (2) hours of operation, (3) stop location, (4) fare price, and (5) timely arrival of buses 

Rail Customers

• 65% of respondents are reliant on RTD's services
• 59% use RTD's services three or more days a week
• 12% year-over-year increase in overall satisfaction
• 17% increase in customers indicating the trains are clean
• 7% increase in customers satisfied or very satisfied with the frequency of service
• 10% increase in customers indicating the trains run on time
• 14% increase in customers feeling safe and secure while riding the train
• 12% increase in customers feeling safe and secure while waiting at a station
• 5% increase in customers indicating rail operators are courteous
• Rail exceeded the national average in 15 of the 16 comparative categories
• Rail's NPS is +31, and the national average is -3
• The factors of most importance to light rail customers are (1) frequency of service, (2) station location, (3) fare price, (4) hours of operation, and (5) timely arrival of trains 

Paratransit Customers

• 85% of Access-a-Ride customers are satisfied or very satisfied
• 96% of Access-on-Demand customers are satisfied or very satisfied
• Access-a-Ride's Net Promoter Score is +54
• Access-on-Demand's Net Promoter Score is +81

Community

• Getting to work is the No. 1 reason people use RTD's services, up 7% from 2024
• 11% increase in the community indicating that RTD provides value to them personally
• 82% believe their investment in RTD provides value
• 83% indicate RTD is valuable or extremely valuable at reducing pollution and achieving sustainable practices
• 90% feel that RTD vehicles are mechanically safe
• 80% feel RTD is valuable or extremely valuable at reducing traffic congestion

When it comes to full safety and trust in services, many customers are still on the fence. RTD says they are working to show customers that the problems they endured have been fixed. The agency is asking customers to try out the service.

For months, customers dealt with delays and cancellations due to maintenance. Even projects like the Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project, 16th Street and Bus Rapid Transit Project on Colfax have customers frustrated. RTD says they continue to be up-to-date on everything to make it easier for customers. 

RTD says when it comes to safety, their transit police have increased their patrols to 2 You can find more than 85 officers on their transit services and around stations to keep everyone safe. The department is budgeted to have at least 150 officers by the end of 2025. 

Back in May 2025, RTD received 27,000 more service hours to have their bus and rail services more frequently. This helps the on-time performance and reliability issues they once had. If a system goes down temporarily, they have backups to get you to your destination on time.

"We are listening, Stuart Summers, Chief Communication and Engagement Officer for RTD. "We are taking action. We are adopting plans and tactics based on what customers are telling us. Those pain points they are experiencing; we want to do better. Give us a chance. Help us help you."

RTD says anytime there is a disruption in their system, you can find it on their RTD app.