The community became the first rural area to offer BRT service last week, according to the Federal Transit Administration.
The service connects residents in around Glenwood Springs, Col. to Aspen -- about 40 miles away -- in about an hour. Until now, bus trips took twice as long.
The $46.2 million project received a $25 million FTA grant, with the rest coming from voter-approved bonds and a voter-approved sales tax colleged by the Rorarking Fork Transportation Authority.
The cleverland-named VelociRFTA system (its logo is a Velociraptor dinosaur) runs buses every 10 minutes and stops at nine stations. Officials say it -- like other BRT servies -- "combines the convenience of rail with the lower cost of bus service."
