Mountain Metropolitan Transit

Mountain Metropolitan Transit

Parent	City of Colorado Springs
Founded	September 16, 1972
Headquarters	1015 Transit Drive Colorado Springs, Colorado
Locale	Colorado Springs Manitou Springs Security-Widefield
Service type	Bus Vanpool Paratransit
Routes	34
Stops	979 (2024)
Fleet	143 (2022)
Daily ridership	12,100 (weekdays, Q3 2024)
Annual ridership	2,991,300 (2023)
Fuel type	Diesel, Electric
Operator	Transdev
Website	mmtransit.com

Mountain Metropolitan Transit (MMT) is the primary public transportation operator for the Colorado Springs metropolitan area. It provides bus service between Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, and Security-Widefield. There are currently thirty-four local routes. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,991,300, or about 12,100 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

History

Springs Transit

For the first hundred years of the city's existence, transportation services in Colorado Springs were provided solely by private companies. On September 16, 1972, the city bought out Colorado Springs Transit and began operating a public transportation system. Rebranded as Springs Transit, it operated buses with weekday services, Saturday service (implemented in 1989), & evening service (implemented in 1992). Springs Transit spanned the city between Chapel Hills in the north to Widefield in the south, Manitou Springs in the west to Peterson AFB to the east. In 1992, there were 10 routes.

In 2004 voters approved the creation of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA). This intergovernmental partnership established a new sales tax across participating regions for the purpose of funding transportation projects.

Mountain Metropolitan Transit

Perhaps reflecting the new regional funding, on November 2, 2005, Springs Transit was renamed Mountain Metropolitan Transit. It also introduced bus service on Sundays for the first time in Colorado Springs history. It also added evening service for Saturdays as well. Evening service was also expanded to include more routes. Sunday service was hourly and used the same routes that ran evening service.

By early 2006, the number of transfer stations increased from two (Downtown Terminal and Citadel Mall) to eleven stations throughout the city. This allowed more direct bus service and allowed more routes to be created that didn't have to go to the Downtown Terminal to transfer.

In 2007, seasonal bus service to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was added. It ran from Memorial Day to Labor day, but only on weekends. Also, a couple of new express routes were added. The first one (route E-4), serviced the north section of the Powers corridor and the Northgate area. The second one (route 94), provided service to Schriever AFB from Fountain & Security/Widefield.

Financial Decline

Colorado Springs was deeply affected by the budget crisis. In January 2009, the fare increased from $1.50 to $1.75. In April 2009, several routes were eliminated, including most express routes. At least six transfer stations were closed, and many routes saw cuts in service hours. The free downtown shuttle (DASH) was eliminated altogether due to lack of funding.

During this year, Mountain Metropolitan Transit received $8.8 million in ARRA funds. This money was used for many things, including allowing subcontractors to provide bus service, preventative maintenance, a new transit facility, 29 new paratransit vehicles (for Mountain Metro Mobility), three new service support vehicles, security cameras installation on the buses, and more improvements to the downtown terminal.

All evening and weekend bus services were terminated on January 1, 2010, along with the elimination of the Fort Carson and the Schriever AFB express routes due to the failure of 2C among voters. As a result, from January 1, 2010 to March 7, 2011, Colorado Springs was the largest city in the United States that had no public transit service on weekends.

Recovery

It was announced that partial weekend service would return for 2011 due to the city's budget being higher than expected. On March 12, 2011, Saturday service was added to nine routes.

On October 31, 2011, the service for Ute Pass Express, which was an express service for the city of Woodland Park, Colorado, was cut due to the federal grant expiring & low ridership.

On April 2, 2012, route 31 was eliminated due to the city of Fountain, Colorado not contracting with Mountain Metropolitan Transit any longer since the City of Fountain began their own transit service. Along with these spring changes, its ADA paratransit (Metro Mobility) increased its fare from $0.36 a mile to $0.38 a mile.

Front Range Express (FREX) had its final service to and from Denver on August 31, 2012. The popular service was decommissioned due to the city of Colorado Springs pulling its funding for the service. One of the reasons FREX was eliminated was to help restore the local bus service.

On May 19, 2013, the restored free shuttle service began in Manitou Springs. The shuttle runs along Manitou Avenue and connect the Cog Railway and Manitou Incline along Ruxton Avenue.

On March 30, 2014, some major service changes took place, including the return of Sunday service. In addition, there is Sunday-level bus services for the spring and summer holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day). However, there is no bus service for the fall and winter holidays (Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day).

A Mountain Metropolitan Transit bus running on Route 3

Metro introduced 15-minute service on Route 5, the first time the transit agency has ever done so on a non-shuttle route.

Recent History

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impactacted Mountain Metro's services. Ridership fell from over three million annual riders in 2019 to under two million. As of 2023, ridership had still not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Mountain Metro has recently taken measures to increase ease-of-use of their system. MMT started to provide real-time schedules on Google Maps and through their My New Bus webpage. In 2022, the mobile ticketing app RideMMT was released. Riders are now able to purchase tickets and passes from their smartphones. Additionally, riders can now purchase a Metro Card, which can be refilled at select retailers or through the RideMMT app.

As part of a push to make downtown more accessible, in 2022 Mountain Metro started running the Zeb: a free shuttle that goes between Colorado College and the south end of downtown. With headways ranging from seven to ten minutes, the Zeb is the most frequent MMT route.

In 2023, Mountain Metro participated in the statewide "Zero Fare for Better Air" initiative. This program provided grant money to public transportation systems across the state in order for them to provide free trips for the months of July and August. MMT saw 366,922 boardings in August: an all-time record for the agency.

Service

Bus Service

Mountain Metropolitan Transit provides a variety of transportation services for the Pikes Peak region. They operate twenty-nine fixed-route bus lines, three free shuttles, and two deviated fixed-route bus lines. Riders on deviated routes can request service adjustments up to three-quarters of a mile from the regular bus route. Fares can be paid by cash, tap-to-pay, Metro Card, or through the mobile RideMMT app. Buses are equipped with bike racks, and MMT has secure bike storage lockers at selection locations across the city.

Paratransit

Mountain Metro Mobility is MMT's ADA paratransit service. This service is for residents and visitors with disabilities who are unable to access the regular bus routes. Paratransit service is available within three-quarters of a mile of any existing fixed-route. Metro Mobility provided 116,858 passenger trips in 2023.

Metro Rides

For areas not serviced by bus routes, Mountain Metro Rides offers three alternative transportation services. Carpool matches drivers with similar commutes for the purpose of sharing rides. Schoolpool connects parents with children attending the same school. Vanpool matches long-distance commuters and provides the group with a dedicated van.

List of Routes

Name	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	Ridership (2019)	Peak Frequency	Notes
1 Hillside - Hancock Plaza	Downtown Downtown Terminal	Southeast Hancock Plaza	241,039	15 minutes
2 Centennial Blvd - Garden of the Gods Rd		Rockrimmon Citizens Service Center	46,699	60 minutes
3 Colorado Avenue		Manitou Springs Memorial Park	218,448	30 minutes
4 8th Street		The Broadmoor	90,145	60 minutes
5 Boulder St - Citadel		Citadel Citadel Mall Transfer Center	384,918	15 minutes
6 Fillmore - Citadel	Roswell Cascade & Taylor		50,181	60 minutes
7 Pikes Peak Avenue - Citadel	Downtown Downtown Terminal		146,371	30 minutes
8 Cache La Poudre St	Colorado College Cache La Poudre St & Nevada Ave		26,390	60 minutes
9 Nevada Ave. - UCCS	Downtown Downtown Terminal	UCCS Austin Bluffs & Meadow Lane	148,595	30 minutes	Interlaced with route 19 to provide 15 minute frequency to UCCS
10 Highway 115 - PPSC		PPSC PPSC Centennial Campus	169,885	30 minutes	Interlaced with route 11 to provide 15 minute frequency to PPSC
11 World Arena - PPSC			262,500	30 minutes	Interlaced with route 10 to provide 15 minute frequency to PPSC
12 Palmer Park Blvd	Colorado College Cache La Poudre St & Nevada Ave	Cimarron Hills Palmer Park & Space Center	31,913	60 minutes
14 Chestnut - Garden of the Gods Rd	Downtown Downtown Terminal	Rockrimmon Citizens Service Center	75,349	60 minutes	Interlaced with route 2 to provide 30 minute frequency to the Citizens Service Center
15 E Fountain – Cheyenne Mountain Center	Downtown Nevada Ave & Rio Grande St	Cheyenne Mountain Center Venetucci Blvd & Lake Ave	26,101	60 minutes
16 Brookside St - Uintah Gardens	Ivywild Nevada Ave & Navajo St	Old Colorado City Uintah Gardens	30,146	60 minutes
17 19th St - Fillmore	Colorado College Cache La Poudre St & Nevada Ave	Roswell Fillmore St & Cascade Ave	26,109	60 minutes
18 Union Blvd – Montebello Dr	Memorial Park 1912 Eastlake	Montebello Montebello & Montebello Square	10,774	60 minutes
19 Nevada - Eagle Rock (UCCS)	Downtown Downtown Terminal	UCCS Nevada Ave & Eagle Rock	110,642	30 minutes	Interlaced with route 9 to provide 15 minute frequency to UCCS Last stop alternates between west UCCS campus and Nevada Ave & Eagle Rock
20 Downtown - Southgate		Southgate Shopping Center Southgate & Nevada	New route	30 minutes	Weekend service only
22 Southborough via Murray Blvd	Citadel Citadel Mall Transfer Center	Hancock Plaza Handcock & Jetwing	88,132	30 minutes
23 Barnes Rd - Tutt Blvd	Springs Ranch South Carefree & Tutt	Marketplace at Austin Bluffs Morning Sun Ave	99,245	30 minutes
24 Galley Rd - Tutt Blvd	Citadel Citadel Mall Transfer Center	Springs Ranch South Carefree & Tutt	New route	60 minutes
25 N Academy Blvd - Voyager Parkway		Chapel Hills Mall Voyager Parkway	320,617	15 minutes
27 S Academy Blvd - PPSC		PPSC PPSC Centennial Campus	203,362	15 minutes
32 Security-Widefield	Hancock Plaza Shopping Center Academy & Astrozon	Security-Widefield Grand Peak & Caballero	36,144	60 minutes
33 Manitou Shuttle: Incline/COG	Manitou Springs Memorial Park	Manitou Springs Pikes Peak Cog Railway	240,575	10 minutes	Free for all riders
34 Garden of the Gods Rd - Austin Bluffs Pkwy	Rockrimmon Citizens Service Center	Marketplace at Austin Bluffs Morning Sun Ave	51,399	60 minutes
35 Las Vegas - PPSC	PPSC PPSC Centennial Campus	Southeast Colorado Springs 4 Seasons Drive & Janitell	19,174	40 minutes	No Sunday service
36 Manitou Shuttle: Beckers Lane/Downtown Manitou Ave	Manitou Springs Fields Park	Manitou Springs West Manitou Roundabout	21,278	20 minutes	Free for all riders Runs only April through September
37 Hancock Plaza – Colorado Springs Airport	Hancock Plaza Academy & Astrozon	Colorado Springs Airport	New route	40 minutes
38 Montebello Dr. – Memorial North/Children’s Hospital	Montebello Montebello & Montebello Square	Briargate Memorial North/Children's Hospital	2,006	45 minutes	Weekday service only Deviated fixed route service
39 Corporate Drive - Voyager Pkwy	UCCS Nevada & Eagle Rock	Chapel Hills Mall Voyager Parkway	29,001	60 minutes
40 PPSC Rampart to Voyager Pkwy	Chapel Hills Mall Voyager Parkway	Northgate PPSC CHES Campus	8,034	40 minutes	Deviated fixed route service Does not run during the summer
The Zeb Free Downtown Shuttle	Downtown Cascade & Rio Grand	Colorado College Cache La Poudre St & Nevada Ave	New route	7 minutes	Free for all riders

See also

• List of bus transit systems in the United States

External links

• Official Website
• Route Map
• RideMMT App
• Real Time Bus Tracking