A Guide to Car-Free Skiing in Colorado: The Growing Ways to Get from the Denver Region to the Slopes Without Your Personal Car February 2017 For years, the only real way for people to get from the Denver region up to the ski slopes has been to drive their personal car. While the number of people who carpool along the limited roads that lead to our slopes is high, relying on personal vehicles to move hundreds of thousands of people from the Front Range to the ski slopes during the winter is inefficient, unsafe, and has a negative impact on our health and the environment. Only a handful of roads connect the Denver region to the slopes, including Highway 119 from Boulder to Eldora; and Highway 6, Highway 9 and Interstate 70 from Denver to slopes in Clear Creek, Summit and Eagle County. Relying on personal vehicles to traverse along these roads is inefficient and puts an incredible strain on corridors that also must carry local vehicles and the trucks that supply our state. Depending on personal vehicles to carry people to the slopes increases the number of vehicles on the road that might be poorly equipped to handle winter driving and can contribute to preventable crashes. Large numbers of personal vehicles also emit pollution that can impact the public health of communities and contributes to climate change, which increasingly threatens the ski slopes that Coloradans are travelling to use. The use of personal vehicles to get to the slopes also creates an economic strain on Coloradans. For mountain communities, personal vehicles from outside their community put a strain on their local infrastructure often requiring significant investments in parking lots that can also damage the local aesthetics. For people commuting from Denver, especially those who that are increasingly living in walkable, bikeable and transit-friendly communities, the overreliance on personal vehicles to reach the slopes provides a final barrier for saving money by going car-free. Coloradans should not be forced to choose between owning a car and enjoying Colorado’s ski country. Colorado needs a transportation system that provides safe, convenient, affordable options that connect the Front Range to the ski slopes. In the short term, we need to ensure that the personal vehicles that are travelling to the slopes are maximizing carpool opportunities in each vehicle. In the long term, we need a lot more options so people can ditch their car for shuttles, vans, buses and trains. The good news is that over the last few winter seasons, options for getting to the slopes without driving your personal car have increased and smart phone technologies have made ride sharing and carpooling an increasingly efficient option. As these technologies advance, the ability to leave your car at home should only increase as long as Colorado is making smart investments that fuel new transportation options. This guide highlights the available options that our researchers found for travelling from the Denver metro region to the ski slopes without your personal car. Currently, available options include airport shuttles, multiple vans and bus programs, rideshares, and two train lines. The costs and convenience varies widely among the options but we included every option that our researchers found that we thought the public could access. The research was done between January 31st and February 6th. We also include some of the policies that ski resorts are implementing to incentivize carpooling including providing preferred parking. While the number of options have grown dramatically over the last few years, current trends suggest that Colorado needs to find ways to rapidly expand options further, including identifying additional funding. Since launching in July 2015, the Bustang that connects Denver with communities along I-70 is at capacity even after adding a new line. Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train has been sold out 4 of the first 5 Saturdays since beginning operations on January 7th. In addition, the number of vehicles travelling in I-70’s general purpose lanes during winter weekends is increasingly at capacity. Finally, previous CoPIRG Foundation studies have found more and more Coloradans, especially Millennials, are reducing their driving habits in favor of car-lite or car-free lifestyles. In conclusion, Colorado needs a transportation system that provides safe, convenient, affordable options to connect the Front Range to the ski slopes. Maximizing existing carpooling and expanding ways for people to ride a bus, a shuttle, a van or a train to the ski resorts so they take a ride down Colorado’s world class slopes will increase the overall efficiency of our system. While we have seen a dramatic rise in new services and additional options, Colorado needs to find ways to improve the options we have and add even better ones, including identifying more funding. In the meantime, this guide offers a look at the options available this winter. To ensure accurate, up to date information, please contact the services directly. Other helpful resources: www.cotrip.org – Real time information on drive times, road construction, and driving conditions www.GOI70.com – Information related to I-70 including local transportation information www.flydenver.com – Information on available transportation options from DIA NAME STOPS COST (one way) DEPARTS RETURNS WEBSITE Daily Access* Skiing in Colorado* A Guide to Car-Free Bustang RTD ski-n-ride (Route N) Frisco – with access to Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper and Keystone via Summit Stage Bus Vail – with access to Vail Mountain, and Beaver Creek via ECO Transit Bus Glenwood Springs – Access to Aspen Eldora Greyhound Bus Frisco – with access to Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper and Keystone via Summit Stage Bus Vail – with access to Vail Mountain, and Beaver Creek via ECO Transit Bus Glenwood Springs – Access to Aspen Amtrak California Zephyr Fraser-Winter Park, CO Granby, CO Glenwood Springs, CO Route 730: Departs - 3:10pm from Union Station; 3:40 from Denver Federal Center Route 700: Departs - 5:40pm from Union Station; $12-$28 6:10 from Denver Federal Center Route 731: Departs - 7:05am from Vail Transportation Center; 7:40 from Frisco Transfer Center Route 701: Departs - 8:40am from Vail Transportation Center; 9:15am from Frisco Transfer Center Departs - multiple times daily in the $4.50 winter, check RTD schedule Departs - Multiple times each day, check RTD schedule Bustang RTD Route N Departs - multiple times daily, check $14-$32 website for schedule specifics Departs - multiple times daily, check website for schedule specifics Greyhound Denver $35-$168 Departs - 8:15am from Union Station Departs - multiple times daily, check website for schedule specifics California Zephyr Weekend Access* SnowStang A-Basin, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, and Winter Park Departs - Denver Federal Center between 6 to 6:30am. Check website for specific $45-$60 (round trip) times for each route. Departs - 3:30pm from each mountain SnowStang Departs - 3:30pm from Copper at the base of the American Flyer chairlift; 3:45pm from Loveland at the base, where the shuttles drop off. Front Range Ski Bus Departs - 4:30pm from Winter Park Winter Park Express Check website for specifics for each weekend. CU Ski Bus Program Departs - multiple times daily, check $49-$120 *** website for schedule specifics Departs - multiple times daily, check website for schedule specifics Colorado Mountain Express Departs - multiple times daily, check $63† website for schedule specifics Departs - multiple times daily, check website for schedule specifics Fresh Tracks Transportation Departs - multiple times daily, check $44-$99† website for schedule specifics Departs - multiple times daily, check website for schedule specifics Peak 1 Express Departs - multiple times daily, check $249-$299‡ website for schedule specifics Departs - multiple times daily, check website for schedule specifics Powderhound Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone, Frisco, Departs - multiple times daily, check Dillon/Silverthorn $65† website for schedule specifics * Information subject to change by the organizations and companies that run the service. Check website for latest information. ** Only shared shuttle options presented unless otherwise noted ‡ Non-shared service *** Discounts for children †† Only available for students and alumni † Discounts for 3+ people and kids Departs - multiple times daily, check website for schedule specifics Summit Express Front Range Ski Bus Loveland Ski Area, Copper Mountain (check out website for lift ticket deals) Amtrak Winter Park Express Winter Park University of Colorado, Boulder Ski Bus Program †† Keystone, A-Basin, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Vail -different each weekend Departs - 7am from Union Station; 7:30am from Woolly Mammouth Parking Lot exit 259 I-70, Wednesday through $45 (round trip) Sundays in the winter Departs - 7am from Union Station on Saturdays and Sundays from January 4th th $59 (round trip) to March 26 Check website for specifics for each $5-$15 (round trip) weekend Access from Denver International Airport** Colorado Mountain Express Fresh Tracks Transportation Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Frisco, Vail, Beaver Creek, Avon, Edwards, Eagle, Glenwood Springs, Aspen & Snowmass Village Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Frisco and Silverthorn/Dillon Peak 1 Express Breckenridge and Summit County & Vail Valley Powderhound Transportation‡ Aspen Snowmass, Beaver Creak, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone, Steamboat, Vail, Winter Park Summit Express NAME NOTES WEBSITE Ride Share Options* WaytoGo SkiPool Program SkiCarpool is a nonprofit organization that facilitates carpooling to Colorado resorts using an active rideboard on their website. International ridesharing website with an active rideboard of people driving from Denver Metro Area to the mountains. Between December 2014 and March 2015, members of a vanpool through the Way to Go program received one free rideshare trip to the mountains per week. Way to Go members should contact DRCOG to see if SkiPool options are still available. Craigslist Rideshare General resource board where individuals can post requests and find people to carpool with. SkiCarpool.org Skiing in Colorado* A Guide to Car-Free Carpool World skicarpool.org Carpool World WaytoGo Craigslist Rideshare Mountains with Carpool Incentives* Limitted priority parking for a car of three or more. Discount tickets with a car of four or more. Carpool Incentive Details Carpool Incentive Copper Mountain Resort Priority parking for carpools of four or more Details Breckenridge Parking Breckenridge Ski Resort $5 discount on parking with car of four or more Details Keystone Parking Keystone Resort Priority parking for carpools of four or more Details * Information subject to change by the organizations and companies that run the service. Check website for latest information. Arapahoe Basin