DENVER — What started as a graduate school assignment is now on the fast track to changing the future of transit in the Denver metro area.
“I was tasked with coming up with a policy that in some way improves our city's transportation system,” said University of Denver environmental policy grad student Joel Cox.
Cox looked at his own experiences using the RTD light rail.
“Most days it's just too far of a walk," he told Denver7. "I could drive there, but that feels like it's defeating the purpose. I could take an e-bike or an e-scooter there, but the cost of that added to the cost of transit just doesn't really make sense financially."
RTD data shows that 39 percent of Denver residents report not using public transit due to a lack of accessibility. That's how First Mile Free came about.
Under the program, the cost of the first mile on an e-scooter or e-bike will be covered when riders end the trip at a transit stop.
“Since we're leveraging an existing infrastructure that the city doesn't have to maintain, we can get people to transit for less than $4 a person,” Cox explained.
Cox told Denver7 he spent the last 18 months advocating for his project, including pitching the idea to nonprofits and creating public surveys.
First Mile Free is now the latest pilot program being funded by RTD, which is investing $123,000 into the trial over the next two years. It'll be tested at two locations: the University of Denver and Decatur-Federal transit stops.
“I think there's an appetite for more service and more innovative ideas that really help leverage all these tools we have at our disposal to move around safely and efficiently throughout our region,” said Cory Schmitt, RTD partnerships manager.
The process is still the same if you're a rider: just open your app and unlock your e-bike or e-scooter. The transit centers will have geo-fencing, so the savings will apply automatically.
Integrating geo-fencing into the transit centers is a solution to another issue, according to RTD.
“Not only does this help support and promote access to taking micro-mobility to these two stations, it also helps us internally create a process and kind of an approach to designating parking zones [for scooters and bikes] more formally at these stations across the system,” said Schmitt.
First Mile Free will be the first-of-its-kind program in the United States.
“I’m not surprised that it's happening here in Denver first because of that collection of just that culture of the community that really values these mobility options, the funding streams that were available through the partnership program to start up services just like this, and just that commitment of all parties to come to the table and do something cool,” Schmitt added.
Cox said he will work alongside the nonprofit West Corridor Transportation Management Association to help oversee the pilot program and gather data.
“We're shooting for a 4x increase in the number of rides that end at transit stations," Cox said. "Once we hit that metric, then we're hoping to scale city-wide, and we hope that other cities replicate this idea because this is something that, you know, there's no reason another city wouldn't be able to do this."
The pilot is expected to take off sometime in early 2026.
“I think it's also going to feel even more real when I can take an e-bike or an e-scooter to the University of Denver station,” Cox said. “To be able to use this program to actually reach the transit stop closest to me is just going to be incredible.”
