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Road Runner off and running to Grand Junction

A ribbon cutting was held about noon today at the Durango Transit Center for the Road Runner Stage Lines, the inter-city bus service connecting Durango with Grand Junction through Cortez and Telluride.

Road Runner Stage Lines is a service operated by the Southern Ute Community Action Programs through its Road Runner Transportation program division. It also operates Road Runner Transit routes connecting Bayfield and Ignacio with Durango, Ignacio with Aztec and dial-a-ride services in the Ignacio area.

Peter Tregillus, program developer at SUCAP, said there is regional need for alternative transportation. Not everyone can afford airfare, he said, and some residents have had difficulties commuting when the Greyhound Lines ended its service in Durango in 2011.

Low-cost alternatives allow people to explore different job markets and for students to commute, he said. The Durango-to-Grand Junction service started July 15 and operates daily. During its first week, the 50-seat bus has been 20 to 30 percent full, he said.

This particular service is key because Grand Junction offers amenities that are not found locally, including certain veteran services and a bankruptcy court. Also, Grand Junction is a gateway to other locations because it hosts low-cost transportation alternatives such as the Amtrak train and the Greyhound Lines, he said.

“Having these local and regional connections is important,” he said. “Transportation alternatives make the regional economy work.”

SUCAP has spent the last couple of weeks working out kinks within the transportation service, he said. Bus drivers will also be receiving satellite phones for emergencies.

The Durango-Grand Junction route is the result of a partnership of SUCAP, the Colorado department of Transportation and Greyhound, with support from Durango’s Transit Center.

vguthrie@durangoherald.com



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