Roaring Fork Transportation Authority earns nod from feds

The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority is one of five winners of the 2014 Federal Transit Administration’s Administrator’s Award for Outstanding Public Service.

RFTA was informed of the honor this week and invited to attend a presentation of the awards at the National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation in Monterey, California, next month.

“This year’s award features rural transit providers who improved the mobility of Americans in rural areas, allowing them better access to employment, training, education and other services that provide ‘Ladders of Opportunity,’” said a letter from the federal agency to RFTA CEO Dan Blankenship.

RFTA’s application outlined its service as a whole, with special emphasis on its bus rapid transit expansion. RFTA launched more buses and ran them more frequently last September. The expansion included improved bus stations with additional parking.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., congratulated RFTA for the recognition.

“The RFTA bus system is an important economic driver for the Roaring Fork Valley and an asset for commuters and tourists in the region,” Bennet said in a statement. “It’s an example of the innovative infrastructure development going on in our state, and we’re pleased to see a Colorado entity nationally recognized.”