Wednesday marks the first birthday of the Road Runner Stage Lines, which has provided the public with reliable and relatively affordable means of transportation linking Southwestern Colorado communities with Grand Junction – and from there, national transit services.
The service, which stops in Durango, Mancos, Cortez, Dolores, Rico, Telluride, Placerville, Ridgway, Montrose, Delta and Grand Junction, is the result of a partnership between Southern Ute Community Action Programs, the Colorado Department of Transportation and Greyhound Lines. In 2015, it received $286,000 in subsidies from the federal government.
In the last year, it has ferried more than 4,504 riders to their destinations, providing more than 4,430 hours of service and travelling a distance of 171,237 miles.
According to a Road Runner Transit news release, service began July 15, with the 7:00 a.m. departure of the first bus, northbound to Grand Junction through Cortez, from the Durango Transit Center, delivering passengers to their destination at 12:43 p.m.
Since then, the southbound bus has departed from the Greyhound Station in Grand Junction daily at 1:45 p.m., returning to Durango at 7:44 p.m.
The news release notes that passengers can complete the Durango-Denver trip in one day in either direction without staying in Grand Junction. Whereas one-way airfares from Durango to Denver range from $253 to $396, a one-way ticket on Road Runner Stage Lines costs just $81 to $108.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
