Public transit options get Colorado students to Rocky Mountain Showdown in Fort Collins

Thousands of students are preparing to attend the Rocky Mountain Showdown where Colorado State University takes on the University of Colorado on Saturday afternoon.

As many students live in Fort Collins, others live in areas including Boulder and Denver and might not have easy access to Fort Collins. CBS Colorado's First Alert Traffic Tracker Reporter Brian Sherrod did some research and has you covered on ways you can get there. 

Sherrod met up with CSU's Transit Center and provided these details. If you live in Fort Collins, you have the following options:

Active transportation options to the game:

• On-campus students or those who live nearby – walking is a great way to get to the game. Our campus is set up to be conducive to walking with underpasses to get onto campus and dedicated pathways for people to use once they get to campus.
• Biking, Scooting – traveling by bike or scooter can be an efficient way to get to campus. Once on campus people can travel using the dedicated bike infrastructure and park at any of the 18,000+ bike parking spaces available. Scooters should also be parked at the bike racks. We recommend using a sturdy lock like a U lock for locking bikes and scooters. Note that bikes and scooters cannot be parked right next to the stadium, but can use any of the nearby racks in surrounding areas. 
• SPIN – Spin is the shared micromobility service in Fort Collins. Users download the Spin app and pay a $1 unlock fee and a per-minute rate to rent the e-bikes or e-scooters. The per-minute rate is $.40 for trips started off campus and $.30 for trips started on campus. All Spin devices should be parked at bike racks on campus.

Transit Options:

For the Rocky Mountain Showdown, we will have increased frequency on MAX:

MAX Northbound from the South Transit Center

• 20-minute frequency from 5:33 a.m. – 10:33 a.m.
• 10-minute frequency from 10:33 a.m. – 9:53 p.m.

MAX Southbound from the Downtown Transit Center

• 20-minute frequency from 5:20 a.m. – 11 a.m.
• 10-minute frequency from 11 a.m. – 10:20 p.m.

Taking MAX to campus is a great way to save on parking!  MAX park n' ride options (free) are available at the South Transit Center, Troutman Station, Swallow Station, and Drake Station. However, we expect these free parking options will fill up quickly.  Another option is to park downtown in the Civic Center Parking Structure at Mason and Laporte ($1/hour) and take MAX to University or Prospect Stations.

The Transit Center does want to remind attendees that during stadium events, on-street parking is restricted in some neighborhoods near CSU. Vehicles parked in these neighborhoods without the appropriate permit may be issued a parking citation of $100. Parking enforcement in these neighborhoods begins four hours before the official start time of the stadium event. You can find more information here: https://www.fcgov.com/parking/residential-parking-permit/stadium-events.

FLEX is a service of Transfort and all Transfort services are currently fare-free. This includes MAX in Fort Collins and FLEX from Boulder, Longmont, Berthoud or Loveland. FLEX buses are blue and silver and operated by Transfort: https://ridetransfort.com/routes-flex/. The last southbound FLEX departure from the South Transit Center in Fort Collins is at 4:39 p.m. on Saturdays. Boulder football fans would be able to take FLEX northbound to Fort Collins but would need to find another way to get back to Boulder after the game. The schedule can be viewed here: https://ridetransfort.com/routes/flex-boulder-express/   

Anyone living in Denver can use Bustang to get to Fort Collins. A single ride from Denver Union Station to Fort Collins Downtown Transit Center would cost about $10. CSU's Transit Center says no matter what team you play for, they want to keep you safe. You can find more information here: https://ridebustang.com/bustang/.

"Rams take care of Rams," Leticia Madrigal, Community Outreach Coordinator for CSU said. "Obviously, safety is always going to be our priority regardless of if there is a football game going on. That also crosses borders, regardless of whether they are Buffs or Rams. We are here to take care of one other and making sure that we are all safe that night."

"We want to support both CSU students and CU students who want to get around town," Lindsay Mason, Director of Off-Campus Life for Colorado State University said. 

Anyone planning to stay in Fort Collins after the game has options to keep themselves safe. Ramride is a Colorado State University late night safe program to get students around town safely from 10 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night. The fleet size will be increased from 15 vehicles to 18 vehicles for the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Any student can request a ride.

• sedans can take three people, minivans can take five people 
• if you are CSU student, request though Ramride app
• if you are a CU student, call (970)491-3333
• students are paying about $7 a semester for Ramride, no cost to ride and no tips 

No matter which option you choose, make sure you are using the Flex, Transfort Max and Bustang apps and websites to check on your rides. This will update you on delays and changes throughout the day.