Fort Collins' TransFort receives $10.7 million for Elizabeth and CSU bus service expansion

The Department of Transportation is giving the city of Fort Collins more than $10 million to help expand its services and capabilities along its most heavily traveled corridor. TransFort will use federal money, and local tax dollars, to build out a new transit center and add additional service to the West Elizabeth Street corridor.  

"Transportation in our community provides vital connectivity to essential services," said Kaley Zeisel, interim director of TransFort. "The West Elizabeth corridor is our busiest corridor within the city." 

TransFort has seen average hourly ridership in the community peak at more than 11,000 riders per hour. The pandemic did cause that number to dip, but the amount of riders is increasing over time.  

West Elizabeth Street is the main thoroughfare for those commuting between Colorado State University's main campus and the foothills campus. A majority of students who attend CSU reside in apartments, condos and homes along Elizabeth.  

"It is predominantly the student population (that uses the corridor.) This connects the foothills campus to the main campus of CSU. There is also a lot of housing," said Drew Brooks, Deputy Director of Planning Development and Transportation with the city of Fort Collins.  

"Students often don't come to the city with vehicles. They rely on public transportation to get to employment and school," Zeisel said.

Fort Collins and TransFort have been conducting studies and formulating plans on how to improve the Elizabeth corridor for years now. The details are still being finalized, but the plan does include a transit center being built on CSU Foothills Campus property. CSU has offered to help the city in the project.  

"The need for transit on West Elizabeth is one of our highest priorities," Zeisel said.  

Brooks said they believe expanding services and adding a transit center along the corridor will only increase the popularity and usage of their services.   

"These bus rapid transit routes have a multiplying effect across the entire system," Brooks said.  

"We anticipate ridership almost doubling on that corridor," Brooks said.       

TransFort plans to have the project finalized and built by the end of 2025 or early 2026.