Kevin Flynn's Inside Lane » Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority

KKTV: FREX commuter bus service between Springs and Denver to cease Feb. 15 due to budget shortfalls

Kevin Flynn — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:11:17 +0000

KKTV News reports that FREX service will be terminated February 15th because of a budget shortfall for Colorado Springs and reduced funding from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA).

Here the offical press release:

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) approved a proposal to use the proceeds from the sale of up to nine surplus FREX buses for operating expenses in 2010. With the informal support of Colorado Springs City Council, an invitation for bid was posted in early January and closed today at 2:00 p.m. with no response.

As a result, FREX service is expected to discontinue in its entirety effective February 15th. “We are certainly disappointed in the result of the sale,” said Craig Blewitt, Interim Transit Services Division Manager. “FREX has been extremely successful in terms of average daily ridership and meeting its original objectives including reducing auto emissions and traffic congestion along the I-25 corridor and providing a viable transportation alternative between Colorado Springs and Denver, the state’s two largest employment markets.”

FREX tickets will be pulled from sale effective immediately, and passengers are reminded that existing tickets must be used by the termination of service on February 15th as there are no refunds, credits, or exchanges of FREX tickets.

FREX is operated by the City of Colorado Springs, Transit Services Division/Mountain Metropolitan Transit.

For more information, please visit www.FrontRangeExpress.com or call 719-636-FREX (3739) or 877-425-FREX (3739).

Colorado Springs backs off plan to use its own employees RTD work

Kevin Flynn — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:42:28 +0000

The city of Colorado Springs on Wednesday decided not to pitch a plan to hire its own employees to do work on Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority road projects now being done by consultants and temporary workers, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

City staffers asked the Rural Transportation Authority board to withdraw the proposal from its Wednesday meeting agenda. The city could ask the proposal be put back on the RTA board’s agenda next month.

Currently, a RTA policy prevents member governments of the authority from using money raised by a one-cent sales tax to hire regular employees to work on RTA-funded road projects.

The city said it can save $1.7 million a year to fund more capital and road maintenance work if it could either pay existing employees or hire “at will” employees to work on RTA projects. The city estimates it spends twice as much to hire consultants and up to 30 percent more to hire temporary workers than it would cost to do the work in-house.

Read the entire article at the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Kraemer wins contract for Woodmen widening in Springs

Kevin Flynn — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:56:32 +0000

Edward Kraemer and Sons has been chosen as the contractor for the Woodmen Road widening project, which will widen Woodmen to three lanes in each direction from east of Interstate 25 to Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs. The project also will include an interchange at Woodmen and Academy, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Funded with $35 million in federal stimulus money and more than $7 million from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, the project is scheduled to last two years. The city said Kraemer had the best technical proposal and its bid came in less than the estimated cost.

“They offer an aggressive schedule and real recognition of the obligations to neighbors, businesses and commuters during and after construction,” added Dan Krueger, city engineering project manager.

Read the full story at the Gazette.