City Council to evaluate RFTA service in Glenwood at special meeting Monday
The Glenwood Springs City Council is expected to vote Monday whether or not to suspend local RFTA bus service in the ongoing effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
At a special meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, city councilors will consider an emergency order that would potentially terminate RFTA service in Glenwood Springs altogether.
“It’s a tough decision,” Mayor Pro Tem Shelley Kaup said Thursday night. “I think that RFTA has made every effort to clean their buses and to keep their drivers safe and to have policies in place to keep the riders safe.”
City Council already discussed the issue at its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday, but did not take any action.
Instead, a majority of council wanted to see if the RFTA Board would make any additional service cut decisions at its own special meeting the very next morning.
“I think that the RFTA Board really should do some soul searching and do the right thing,” Councilor Steve Davis said Thursday.
The RFTA Board decided to maintain its current level of “bare-bones” service at its special meeting Friday.
RFTA board members Godes and Basalt Mayor Jacque Whitsitt supported ending service altogether. However, the board’s six other members, including New Castle Mayor Art Riddile, did not.
Glenwood Springs already shut down its Ride Glenwood service on March 23.
“Two weeks ago was a different world,” Godes said.
Godes commended RFTA on all it was doing to keep its drivers and riders safe, but still favored shutting it down.
RFTA will not allow more than 10 passengers per bus and has temporarily suspended bus fares to limit in-person exchanges.
Additionally, RFTA has said it disinfects in-service buses every 24 hours, at the least, in addition to cleaning and sanitizing its bus stops and stations frequently.
Last Wednesday, in a 4-3 vote, Rifle City Council voted to temporarily suspend RFTA bus service to stops there, effective April 4.
RFTA service will continue to New Castle and Silt.
Whether Glenwood Springs will decide to temporarily suspend RFTA service remains to be seen Monday.
“This is an opportunity to hear from people that are going to be impacted,” Godes said. “Pick up the phone, send us an email — let us know.”
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