Flatiron Flyer
Flatiron Flyer is an express bus system between Denver, Aurora, and Boulder, Colorado, traveling along U.S. Route 36. Different levels of service are available, including a non-stop from Boulder to Union Station in high-occupancy toll lanes, and all-stop, which serves six park-and-rides along U.S. Route 36 in normal highway lanes. The line branches out to different destinations in Denver, Aurora and Boulder. The Regional Transportation District operates the line, opened on January 3, 2016. The ITDP classified the system as "not bus rapid transit", due to the use of lanes shared with private cars along US 36, lack of street level boarding/alighting and the lack of an off-board fare system. This new system has been criticized as bus rapid transit creep.
Route
A branching route system is employed, with the backbone of the system being the HOT lanes along U.S. Route 36. High-occupancy vehicles and buses travel free in the HOT lanes, while single-occupancy vehicles must pay between $1.25 to $7.60, depending on time of day, or up to $13.68 without an electronic toll collection pass. The HOT lane will be managed to ensure that traffic will flow at 50 to 55 miles per hour. Union Station and Civic Center in Denver and Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora serve as the southern termini, while Downtown Boulder and Boulder Junction are the northern termini.Given that the Flatiron Flyer travels with other vehicles in the HOT lanes, the lack of street level boarding and alighting, and the lack of an off-board fare system, it has been classified as "Not BRT" by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, which promotes construction of BRT systems.
Subsequent plans to give buses the right to use the shoulder as a travel lane during traffic jams required a change in law; RTD buses got the go-ahead in March 2016, and took effect in April.
Stops
There are six park-and-rides along U.S. Route 36 from Denver to Boulder, which have been dubbed "stations", that will be served by Flatiron Flyer:- US 36 – Sheridan
- US 36 – Church Ranch
- US 36 – Broomfield
- US 36 – Flatiron
- US 36 – McCaslin
- US 36 – Table Mesa
Service
Express service between Boulder and Denver is expected to take slightly under an hour, which is about 10 to 15 minutes faster than current bus routes.There was some opposition to the proposed consolidation of routes between Boulder and Denver. Buses along the most popular routes would come more frequently under the new service plan, but Boulder Junction would receive less service.
Service plan
Headways along different routes vary based on the time of day.| FF route | AM peak eastbound | Midday eastbound | PM peak eastbound | AM peak westbound | Midday westbound | PM peak westbound |
| FF1 - Union Station to Downtown Boulder Station | 15 min | 15 min | 15 min | 15 min | 15 min | 15 min |
| FF2 - Union Station to Downtown Boulder Station Express | 10 min | – | 10 min | 10 min | – | 10 min |
| FF3 - Union Station to US 36 and Broomfield Station | 15 min | – | – | – | – | 15 min |
| FF4 - Boulder Junction to Civic Center | 15 min | – | 15 min | 15 min | – | 15 min |
| FF5 - Downtown Boulder Station to Anschutz Medical Center | 30 min | – | 3 trips | 3 trips | – | 30 min |
| FF6 - Boulder Junction to Union Station | – | – | 3 trips | 3 trips | – | – |
Future service changes
On January 14, 2018, the previous peak-period, peak-direction Route 90L shuttle between Civic Center Station and US 36 & Sheridan Station was rebranded as another Flatiron Flyer route, FF7.History
Flatiron Flyer was constructed as part of the FasTracks program, which built six new commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit lines in the Denver metropolitan area.Widening U.S. Route 36 to accommodate the bus line was a joint project between the Colorado Department of Transportation and RTD, termed the US 36 Express Lanes Project. The highway was widened by in each direction, adding a high-occupancy vehicle lane, which the buses will use when possible. To accommodate the lanes, several bridges were replaced and shoulders were widened. As part of the multi-modal commitment, a concrete trail was added between Westminster and Table Mesa, the U.S. 36 Bikeway. The project was completed in two phases. The first phase, from Federal Boulevard to 88th Street in Louisville/Superior, took three years and cost $317 million. Phase 2 of the project extended the HOT lanes from 88th Street to Table Mesa Drive in Boulder through a public–private partnership; it opened in January 2016, with toll collection starting in March.
Fleet
In June 2015, RTD announced the $35 million purchase of 59 Motor Coach Industries D4500CL buses for the route. Each bus can carry up to 57 passengers.In August 2015, the University of Colorado paid $5 million over five years to place advertisements on Flatiron Flyer buses, with an option to extend for another five years. The deal also included the naming rights for the DIA rail line, dubbed the University of Colorado A Line.