BOULDER, Colo. — Thousands of people in the Boulder Junction neighborhood now have easier access to public transportation after the Regional Transportation District (RTD) reopened its bus station near 30th and Pearl Streets on Tuesday.
The Boulder Junction at Depot Square Station closed in 2020 due to low ridership across the region during the pandemic, RTD told Denver7. It was the only station to close during COVID-19, according to RTD.
Now the station is back open with routes across Boulder, to downtown Denver, and to the Denver International Airport. The reopening is meant to better serve the Boulder Junction neighborhood, which was intentionally built around the public transportation hub. City of Boulder leaders created the plan for the transit village area in 2007, which laid out a vision for more affordable and high-density housing near the Boulder Junction bus station.
After its closure in 2020, several groups, including Boulder Chamber Transportation Connections (BCTC), pushed to reopen the transit center.
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"The reason that we were pushing so hard to restore transit service to the station is because it is the middle of a transit oriented development. You can't have transit oriented development without having transit," BCTC Executive Director Darcy Kitching said. "It's so important to me that we make good on our promises to people who live in these neighborhoods."
RTD said the station's reopening is part of their efforts to expand transit service in Boulder and reconnect residents with more regional travel options.
Crystal Stephens, a resident living in the Boulder Junction neighborhood, said when she moved into her apartment during the pandemic she was disappointed to see the bus station had closed. Stephens said she is disabled with no car and relies on public transportation to get around.
"We do a lot of walking to the bus stations to get around Boulder and Denver so having the RTD station here opening up again is just wonderful," Stephens said. "It’s exciting to know that if we have people come out to visit us that we have easy access to the airport, to Denver without having to go downtown with our health and everything... so having it more accessible here will really help I think a lot of people here."
Data from the City of Boulder shows Boulder Junction currently has 1,386 residential units and has added nearly 500 units since the bus station closed in 2020.
RTD said it's also expanding services at its station in downtown Boulder near 14th and Walnut Streets. The station will have five new bus gates to address capacity and to be able to serve more passengers in the future.
The following service changes are taking place at the following stations, according to RTD:
Boulder Junction at Depot Square Station
- Route AB2 will shift service to Boulder Junction at Depot Square Station. The AB2 will now operate along 28th Street, serving US 36, Table Mesa and US 36, Flatiron stations, and Denver Airport Station.
- Reinstatement of Flatiron Flyer 4 (FF4) service from Boulder Junction at Depot Square Station to Civic Center in Denver.
- The City of Boulder has made adjustments to its HOP route to align with the return of RTD services to Boulder Junction at Depot Square Station.
Downtown Boulder Station
- Bus Routes 208, 225 and JUMP at Downtown Boulder Station will now board on 14th Street between Canyon Boulevard and Arapahoe Avenue.
- While Route AB2 will shift to Boulder Junction at Depot Square Station beginning Sept. 2, Route AB1 will continue to serve Downtown Boulder station.
- Route AB3 will operate two morning and two evening trips from Downtown Boulder Station to Denver Airport Station via 28th Street to US 36. This route will operate only on Saturdays.
