System Optimization Plan (SOP)

Adopted by the RTD Board of Directors July 26, 2022

Background


What is a System Optimization Plan (SOP)?

The System Optimization Plan (SOP) is a detailed evaluation of travel patterns, demographics, and transit routes in the RTD District. The SOP recommends modifications to routes to best meet the region's near-term mobility needs within the existing workforce and financial constraints.

Why conduct an SOP?

RTD completed the SOP to respond to changing travel patterns, bolster ridership, and capitalize on the region's FasTracks investments in a fiscally constrained manner. The SOP seeks to:

  • Increase ridership​​
  • Improve transit service performance​ / efficiency​
  • Live within RTD’s budget​​
  • Address changing travel needs​ resulting from the pandemic ​
  • Remain a competitive transportation service provider​​
  • Improve transit service quality​

Process


The System Optimization Plan was developed over approximately two years and was informed by travel patterns and public sentiments. The SOP development process included five steps to inform decisions and recommendations.

A comprehensive assessment of RTD’s existing services was conducted to establish a baseline understanding of the agency’s recent performance, policies, and standards. Key elements of this assessment included route-level system performance, rider demographics, origin/destination, equity zone travel patterns, fleet and facility conditions, and current service development standards. The findings of this assessment, combined with a financial analysis, consideration of agency and regional goals, and input from stakeholders and the community, informed development of the SOP. The full report can be found here [ LINK 1 ], and the appendices here [ LINK 2 ].

Regional travel demand modeling of scenarios was used to understand how differing investment strategies would influence ridership, cost, and efficiency.

Social Equity – Focusing resources on services that improve transit to areas with high low-income and minority populations. Service design prioritizes improvements to neighborhoods with high density equity areas, and provides service that best addresses observed travel patterns from those neighborhoods. 

Service Productivity – Focusing resources on travel markets and patterns that will achieve the highest potential ridership in a cost-effective manner. Service design tailors service to the travel market, with less frequent fixed-route service and mobility-on-demand options for geographic areas with low ridership potential, and additional fixed route services and frequency improvements in geographic areas with high ridership potential.      

Geographic Coverage – Spreads service relatively evenly across the district to maximize accessibility to transit. Service design includes new fixed routes to fill-out the network and new FexRide areas in low-density portions of the district.

Service Quality – Focusing resources on very frequent and fast service in high density, transit-supportive corridors and to major activity centers. Service design prioritizes improvements to frequencies, speeds, reliability, span of service, and maximizing one-seat rides to provide travel time competitiveness.

Location-based services data from cell phone applications was assembled and evaluated to detail travel patterns throughout the region and inform the analysis of social equity population's travel patterns and needs.

 Note: Mandatory trips are typically work or school related trips 

Substantial public and stakeholder engagement was conducted throughout the process to understand how the recommended SOP can best serve communities in the District. Engagement occurred in person and digitally to support safety precautions through the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Majority of comments received on the SOP requested additional service that exceeded SOP resources
  • Many identified areas that will be monitored for future consideration​
  • Other comments focused on safety, reliability, and workforce issues

Comments

Public and Stakeholder Comments

On January 10, 2022, the Reimagine RTD project team launched an online System Optimization Plan (SOP) comment tool. The tool provided an interactive way for the public and stakeholders to see the proposed SOP route changes and to provide comments on specific routes or geographic locations. The tool was promoted through a press release, News Stop article, emails, social media updates, public meetings, collateral on buses and trains, English and Spanish radio ads and interviews and with assistance from Technical Working Group and Advisory committee members. Collateral in both English and Spanish was provided to all Technical Working Group and Advisory Committee members to share through their communication channels.

 Directions on how to use the tool and an overview of the SOP were included on the website in English and Spanish (including videos in both languages). Comments could also be provided to RTD via email ( communityengagement@rtd-denver.com ), phone call (303.489.7792), or through various public meetings that were advertised through press releases and social media updates.   

The online tool was active for approximately two months. During this time, RTD received over 1,600 comments on the SOP via the online tool and other methods, and provided responses for each. Click  HERE  to review all of the comments received on the SOP.

Title VI Equity Whitepaper

As a recipient of federal financial assistance, RTD must ensure that major service changes – both increases and reductions – comply with the Federal Transit Administration Circular 4702.1B: Title VI Requirement and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration recipients (Circular). This Circular ensures transit agencies adhere to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states:

“No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Click  HERE  for a white paper that outlines the requirements and process that RTD has utilized to ensure that the Reimagine RTD System Optimization Plan (SOP) complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This white paper also identifies additional analyses conducted by RTD to evaluate the impacts of the SOP changes to equity communities throughout the District.

SOP Analysis

The SOP provides many fundamental improvements to the RTD network of services including increased ridership, improved access, and improved service quality.

Continued and ongoing dialogue with RTD's regional partners and local agencies is also recommended as part of the SOP. These conversations will be supported through the development of Subregional Service Councils and an enhanced partnership program administered by RTD.

The illustrations below show how the recommended System Optimization Plan meets the mobility needs of the  five Subregional Service Councils .

SOP


System Optimization Plan creates a new travel-market based network of services that has the potential to better meet the mobility needs of equity population groups, increase overall ridership, and can be implemented within RTD financial resources.

The new travel-market based service categories are the foundation of the SOP.  These categories help define RTD's core services (backbone of services), the supporting services and regional connections, and those services that focus on local community-based needs.  

A report describing the SOP recommendations and the process for developing in them in more detail can be found at this  Link 

ALL SOP ROUTES

CORE ROUTES

Routes serving the region's largest employment centers, highest density housing, and major trip generators with a demonstrated demand for a minimum of an 18 hour span of service, 15-minute peak period and midday frequency, and service seven days per week.

Examples: Flatiron Flyer, 15, E, 30/31

CONNECT ROUTES

Local bus routes with a minimum 14-hour span of service (6AM to 8PM)

Examples: 100, 24, 92

COMMUTE ROUTES

Regional bus with limited stop spacing focused on serving a unique travel market (e.g., downtown workforce, Denver International Airport workforce and travelers)

Examples: SkyRide, P, LX

COMMUNITY ROUTES

Community-focused local routes with custom-built span of service, frequency, and days of service to meet local needs.

Examples: 16th Street Mall Ride, Longmont local routes, Boulder local routes, 402L, FlexRide services, demand response parternerships

RAIL ROUTES

Light rail and commuter rail routes that create a backbone of rail service that many bus routes and other services connect to.

The tool below is designed to allow users to determine how far they will be able to travel via transit when the SOP network is implemented. Stop locations, frequencies, and service spans from the SOP are built in. You can also explore service metrics and other statistics for specific SOP routes by selecting them in the box on the left.

To start using the tool, zoom to the portion of the district you would like to look at. Then drag the ‘Jane’ icon in the bottom right corner to a specific spot on the map and drop it. The resulting color areas represent how far someone is able to travel via transit in various time increments, including pedestrian travel time to and from transit stops. The pop-up box on the right allows you to toggle settings for time of day, weekday vs. weekend, and travel time increments; the ‘Coverage’ drop-down will show you demographic and land use information for the covered areas.