[mr1138]

^ In response to all of the above... TakeFive rightly points out that I was simplifying the economics - there isn't a one to one switchover of bus funding to rail, simply that RTD's overall budget is requiring cuts anywhere they can find them. I don't claim to know where all of their budget shortfalls are coming from, but RTD has been very clear that they are extremely strapped for cash. My personal perception is that they will likely continue to focus in on their rail lines, because those are permanent physical assets with better real estate assets attached to them than commuter bus Park-n-Rides. In theory, this is one of the advantages of rail over buses (the more permanent investment), but in fairness they have also cut service on the W and R lines.

Wong is definitely correct that this all means that Boulder's buy-in doesn't go as far. Boulder can afford to increase this, but I think there are politics at play for sure - it's hard to ask Boulder citizens to increase the buy-in when all they see from RTD is service cuts and no B-line. And with a board of directors that includes diverse competing interests from all around the metro area, and a staff that seems focused on maximizing the efficiency of a hub-based system at Downtown Denver, one does start to wonder if something like Boulder's CTN could be better handled by a locally based agency.

In terms of the full scope of what that agency could do - I suppose it's anyone's guess how ambitious City Council or neighboring communities would like to be. I'm not sure it's out of the question that BRT lines to Louisville, Lafayette, and Longmont could be part of the conversation if those towns were interested in bringing their own funding to the table - their workforce is more linked to Boulder's employment hub in a lot of ways than it is to Denver.