Commuters to and from Telluride will likely soon have a new way to get to work.
The San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation, or SMART, has invested in buses to move people from Montrose to Telluride, for those who work in the resort communities of Telluride and Mountain Village.
Though it is hard to exactly how commuters there are that travel between Montrose and our neighbors to the south, SMART Operations Manager Kari DiStefano told the Montrose Business Times the transportation authority believes the service will be utilized by Montrose residents.
She said it’s tough to pin down the exact number of commuters between the two communities, as much of the data available has a high margin of error, but there are SMART services currently being utilized that suggest a larger bus would also be used.
“We have two van pools that leave Montrose around 7 (a.m.) to get to Telluride,” she said. “Those van pools are always full. Those are 14 passenger vans, so right there is 30 people.”
The van pools will remain in service. DiStefano said those operate on a per-month subscription service and have had riders for decades.
“(The bus) probably won’t replace the van pools right away,” she said. “That’s the ultimate goal, but those van pools have a long history.”
Montrose City Council will need to approve the bus service at its Dec. 3 meeting, but SMART has worked the bus route into its 2025 budget and has already purchased the new buses (one to be utilized, and a backup).
Montrose City Council heard the pitch for the bus route at its Nov. 18 work session meeting. Among the positives the route would provide are minimization of impacts on the road, fewer emissions from individual vehicles commuting, and the fact that the bus would be cheaper for commuters than driving to and from Telluride five days a week.
The bus fare will likely be around $4 one way, though DiStefano said the fare has not yet been set by SMART’s board of directors.
“It’s our desire to make it affordable and convenient for folks,” DiStefano said.
The bus route likely won’t begin until 2025. DiStefano said SMART prefers not to start the new route in the winter and likely won’t commence with rides until spring of 2025, but she acknowledged they could begin in late winter.
Currently, there is no bus route between Montrose and Telluride, by any bus service. DiStefano said the organization has been eyeing a route to Montrose for some time.
Currently, SMART transports commuters to and from many smaller communities in the area, like Placerville, Sawpit, Rico, Norwood, Redvale, Naturita and Nucla.
SMART worked with the City of Montrose to determine the best carpool areas to pick up passengers. They landed on the lot at North 2nd Street and Cascade, which the City determined is currently underutilized.
SMART also hopes to have a second stop at Target on the south end of town.
The plan is for the bus to leave Montrose at 6 a.m. and to leave Telluride to return at 5:05 p.m.
DiStefano said SMART believes others will utilize the service, too. Currently, the other bus routes, such as the one to Rico, are used by a variety of different riders.
“They use it for a variety of reasons,” she said. “It’s a lot cheaper to ride the bus than it is to drive.”
The buses hold a maximum of 40 riders, according to DiStefano. The lot at North 2nd and Cascade holds between 30 and 40 vehicles and is currently not coming close to approaching that maximum capacity.
SMART is funded mainly by sales tax in Telluride and Mountain Village but has some other sources of funding as well.
The bus route to Montrose won’t come at any cost to the City of Montrose.
Justin Tubbs is the Montrose Business Times editor. He can be reached by email at justin@montrosebusinesstimes.com or by phone at 970-765-0915 or mobile at 254-246-2260.
