Residents who use the city’s buses may have fewer route options in April because the city needs to cut up to $1.5 million from the transit budget.

The city will hold an open house tonight to gather feedback from riders that will help shape the new services, Assistant City Manager Amber Blake said.

At the meeting, city staff members will present heat maps that show when people are using city bus services, she said. This data will help guide the city’s decision.

“What that data doesn’t tell us is, if we cut a certain route, how is that going to impact certain riders?” she said.

Staff members want to know how people use Durango Transit so they can mitigate negative impacts that result from service reductions, she said.

More than 70 percent of the riders that use Durango Transit are dependent on the service, and the city wants to make sure those people are informed about the changes.

“With that number of transit-dependent riders, we really want to get out there and figure out if there are other transportation options for them,” Blake said.

In addition to feedback about service cuts, the city is open to revenue-generating ideas, but those would have to be introduced in 2019, Blake said.

The cuts to transit services are necessary because the Colorado Department of Transportation is revising how it grants money to transit agencies, which will result in five years of cuts for Durango.

City estimates show grant funding will fall from $826,300 in 2017 to $299,000 in 2023. Before CDOT cut grant funding, the city already faced regular shortfalls, even after it made changes in recent years to increase revenue.

Most recently, parking ticket fines increased from $12 to $25.

After the cuts in 2018, the city expects its system will be sustainable into the future, said Assistant Transportation Director Sarah Dodson. Blake described it as the foundational transit service the community will build from.

In preparation for the cuts, the transit department surveyed riders in person and conducted an online survey.

If city transit service was not available, those who took the online survey said they would most likely walk or bike, drive a car or ask a friend and family member for a ride.

After the open house, the city plans to hold stakeholder meetings with organizations that work in health and human services, education, business and transportation.

The Durango City Council will discuss the budget cuts in December.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

If you go

The city will host an open house focused on cuts to Durango Transit from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Transit Center.