Clear Creek County launches app to make free Roundabout shuttle more flexible for riders in Colorado

For many people living in Clear Creek County, getting around isn't as simple as hopping in a car. The county's free Roundabout bus system is a lifeline for residents traveling between mountain communities. Now, county officials are hoping to make those trips even easier with a new mobile app that gives riders more flexibility over where they're picked up and dropped off.

"The Clear Creek Roundabout, which is our free bus service that takes our residents around the county, now has an app," Megan Hiler-Wilson, the county's public information officer, said. "Super exciting day here in Clear Creek County."

The county partnered with Nemi to launch the service, allowing riders to request pickup and drop-off locations beyond the system's traditional bus stops. Those requested stops must be within three-quarters of a mile of the existing route. County staff identified several locations riders frequently walked to and added them as approved "deviated stops."

The goal is to make the service more useful without adding additional routes or buses.

"We want to get people where they want to go and where they need to go, whether that's an appointment or the grocery store or things like that," Hiler-Wilson said. "These are places where people are wanting to get dropped off, but not necessarily enough to maybe add a complete stop."

The app also allows riders to request route changes outside normal county business hours. Previously, those requests had to go through dispatch, which is only staffed during regular weekday hours.

"If you call on a Saturday because the Roundabout runs over the weekends and nobody's there on dispatch, you can't request a deviated ride," Hiler-Wilson said. "With this app, no matter if somebody is a dispatcher or not, you can get where you need to go."

The county said the added flexibility is especially important because many residents rely on the Roundabout as their primary form of transportation.

"A lot of Clear Creek County's population don't have a car," Hiler-Wilson said. The service is popular with teenagers for that very reason and residents in communities like Dumont, where walking to existing bus stops can require crossing busy highways.

For Amy Hinkle, the Roundabout isn't just convenient; it's essential.

"It's my primary source of transportation, actually," Hinkle said. "I don't know if I could get by without it, honestly."

She said she's already using the deviated stops, and the app would be helpful in maintaining that level of control on the shuttle.

"They took me straight there instead of having to do all the other stops in Georgetown. So I actually got there early, and that was nice," Hinkle said.