The city of Durango plans to expand its DuranGO! Microtransit program this summer by providing on-demand rides to parks, trailheads and river put-ins and takeouts. But cuts to state grant funding could jeopardize the program before it takes off.
The new service is called DuranGO! Outside and is specifically tailored to connect residents and visitors with outdoor amenities such as Lake Nighthorse, Horse Gulch and Animas River access points, including those found at 33rd Street and Santa Rita Park, said Sarah Hill, transportation director.
DuranGO! Microtransit launched in October 2023, offering curb-to-curb rides to any destination within city limits at the low, fixed rate of $2 per ride. It was a new alternative transportation option for workers without vehicles who worked evening and late-night shifts after regular daily bus services ended.
Seventy-six percent of Durango Transit’s riders are dependent on the public bus service, and 71% of riders use the service daily, according to a 2024 ridership survey. While DuranGO! Microtransit operates between 5 p.m. and midnight everyday, neither it nor regular transit connects to certain locations such as Lake Nighthorse, and it only operates after the traditional workday ends.
DuranGO! Outside will operate from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., June 1 through Sept. 30. Like the evening microtransit service, the recreational service will cost $2 per ride.
Hill said the new service also aims to reduce congested and dangerous parking that occurs during the summer in areas near Lake Nighthorse and along Animas View Drive near Oxbow Park.
Locations the new service will take riders include:
- Lake Nighthorse
- East 33rd and east 29th streets
- Cundiff Park
- Santa Rita Park
- High Bridge
- Dallabetta Park
- Colorado Trail/Junction Creek
- Horse Gulch
- Dalla Mountain Park
- Animas Mountain
- Smelter Mountain
Hill said the city received a $50,000 Innovative Mobility grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation to implement the new on-demand ride program. However, here is one potential obstacle.
She said the Colorado Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee slashed nearly $72 million in local transit program funding across the state last week, and she is unsure whether programs like DuranGO! Outside will bear the brunt of the repercussions.
“It’s unclear whether this project is actually going to be impacted or not,” Hill said. “We’re still trying to get some direction from CDOT about that.”
She said CDOT has told municipalities it will try to continue supporting projects already underway or scheduled soon for implementation.
“I’m going to cross my fingers,” she told City Council members at a study session on Tuesday.
Durango’s free transit summer program is scheduled to return June 1 through Aug. 31. Hill said she doesn’t know if other transit or multimodal programs could face funding cuts.
“None of our critical operating grants are impacted by this, but there are some state-funded projects that could possibly be impacted,” she said.
The state funding cuts come at a time when Durango Transit already faces a budget shortfall projected for 2026. The state cuts were made to pad the state’s landing in its own budget shortfall for 2026, according to a March 27 legislative update.
The state budget cuts include the transfer of $71.8 million in local grant funds “not contractually encumbered” from the Multimodal Transportation and Mitigation Options Fund to the General Fund.
The legislative update said local grant funds will primarily be impacted by the budget sweep, and some projects might have to be delayed or grant awards reduced in coming years to account for funding already awarded for 2025.
“Over the next few weeks, CDOT will be reviewing the status of awarded MMOF projects and developing a plan to constrain the MMOF program to the reduced amount of funding now available,” the update said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
