What We’re Planning
Eight Service Goals
YVRTA has adopted eight service goals. These are the projects we're building the YVRTA to deliver, subject to funding and community priority-setting. The goals below are not listed in priority order.
01. More frequent buses on U.S. Highway 40
Connecting Craig, Hayden and Steamboat Springs with more trips, more reliably, all year.
Why this helps: More buses mean flexibility in schedules, you can use public transportation at a convenient time for your needs whether that’s arriving at work on time, getting to your mid-day doctors appointment, making the high school game, or coming home after an evening out. More frequent routes mean everyone benefits.
02. A new Craig local circulator
A local bus route inside Craig that also connects to the Highway 40 regional service.
Why this helps: A Craig circulator would help residents get around town to work, school, appointments and errands, and connect to Highway 40 regional service for jobs and opportunities across the valley.
03. New CO-131 service to South Routt
Bus service connecting Steamboat Springs, Oak Creek, and Yampa — potentially seven days a week.
Why this helps: Bus service, possibly seven days a week, would give South Routt residents a dependable way to get to jobs, school, medical care, shopping and services in Steamboat Springs. It would also help Steamboat Springs residents and visitors reach South Routt businesses and recreation. Seven-day service matters because resort, hospitality, health care and service jobs don't stop on weekends.
04. New routes to unserved areas
Stagecoach, Oak Creek, Yampa and West Steamboat Neighborhoods like Steamboat II, and other corridors currently without any transit option.
Why this helps: Residents in areas with no transportation options today spend a lot of their time in the towns that will be serviced by YVRTA. New routes would connect these communities to jobs, services, recreation and entertainment in surrounding areas, so where you can afford to live doesn't limit where you can go.
05. Airport ground transportation
Service between Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN), Steamboat Springs, and Craig for workers and visitors.
Why this helps: Bus service between the airport, Steamboat Springs and Craig helps workers get to their jobs without a car (often on early-morning and late-night schedules), saves residents airport parking fees and gives visitors a safer, easier way to travel on winter roads.
06. Better bus stops and first/last mile connections
Shelter, safety, sidewalks, and connections to bike paths and walking routes.
Why this helps: A bus trip is more than the ride. It's also the walk, bike or roll to the stop, the wait and the trip from the bus to where you're going. In the Yampa Valley, that can mean standing in snow, wind or summer sun with nowhere to sit, or getting off the bus with no sidewalk or path. When the first and last mile works, more people can count on the bus to get them all the way there.
07. Park-and-ride lots
Places to leave your car and hop on a bus, especially along U.S. 40 and CO-131.
Why this helps: Not everyone lives near a bus stop. Park-and-ride lots along U.S. 40 and CO-131 let rural residents and commuters drive a short way, then ride, which saves money, cuts winter driving and eases traffic and parking in town.
08. Safer streets around transit
Crosswalks, pedestrian improvements, and safety upgrades near every stop.
Why this helps: Every transportation trip starts and ends on foot. If getting to a bus stop means crossing a busy highway, walking along a road with no shoulder or waiting in the dark, many people won't ride. Safe crosswalks, sidewalks, lighting and other upgrades near stops protect riders.