RTD sued over plan to start charging for Access-on-Demand rides for people with disabilities

Bruce Finley, The Denver Post on Dec 8, 2025

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DENVER — Metro Denver residents with disabilities gathered outside the federal courthouse Monday after asking a judge to block the Regional Transportation District’s restructuring of its Access-on-Demand service, which has provided free rides using commercial services such as Uber and Lyft.

Their lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, seeks a preliminary injunction to stop RTD from implementing a $4.50 base fare for riders who use the system because it would embody what the plaintiffs allege is illegal “disparate” treatment.

Attorneys representing the Atlantis community and American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, an advocacy group known as ADAPT, argue that transit officials have increased fares and reduced the hours for Access-on-Demand service for riders with disabilities while reducing fares by 10% to 33% for riders without disabilities.

They contend this violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. They also contend RTD has violated the will of metro Denver voters who last year approved Ballot Measure 7A, allowing RTD to retain revenues that otherwise should have been refunded in part to sustain transit for riders with disabilities.

RTD’s changes unfairly target “the people who need transit most of all,” attorney Mari Newman said. Public transit with equal access for all residents “is not a privilege. It is a right.”

RTD officials said they’ve received the complaint and are reviewing it.

“The agency remains committed to serving the transit needs of all customers who rely on its bus, rail, and paratransit services,” agency spokeswoman Tina Jaquez said.

District Judge S. Kato Crews on Monday granted a motion to expedite consideration of the request for a preliminary injunction, finding that “good cause exists.” This means RTD must submit a legal reply by Dec. 19.

It’s the latest development in a multi-year struggle between RTD and riders with disabilities. Despite a barrage of public opposition, RTD directors in September voted to implement the restructuring starting Jan. 1.

The directors set a base fare of $4.50 for the rides, reduced the maximum per-ride subsidy from $25 to $20 for up to 60 rides per month, and cut the 24/7 availability by two hours across RTD’s 2,342-mile service area.

“Let’s make RTD relevant for everyone. After all, everyone is paying for it,” said Dawn Russell, organizer for ADAPT and a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that, due to RTD’s changes, “many Coloradans with disabilities will be completely unable to access RTD’s services. Access-on-Demand is the only way that many Coloradans with disabilities are able to utilize RTD’s public transit system. RTD is singling out riders with disabilities by drastically increasing the costs and cutting the services of Access-on-Demand while at the same time enjoying revenue that is supposed to be used to maintain services for disabled riders and even reducing the cost of services for Coloradans without disabilities.”

Five years ago, RTD officials launched Access-on-Demand as a pioneering program to improve mobility for metro Denver residents with disabilities — building on an existing, legally required “paratransit” minibus system called Access-a-Ride that began in 1997.

The minibuses were for people who, due to disabilities, could not use buses or light rail trains. They require day-before reservations with a standard fare of $4.50. Riders have complained that these often fail to reach their destinations on time.

The Access-on-Demand alternative quickly proved popular, giving thousands of people with disabilities free taxpayer-subsidized rides on Uber and other commercial services — one of the first comprehensive programs of this sort in the nation. Other transit agencies are exploring publicly funded rideshare options.

RTD Chief Executive and General Manager Debra Johnson recommended the changes to make Access-on-Demand financially viable. She had commissioned a peer review of RTD’s program by officials at other U.S. transit agencies. They concluded that RTD should restructure it to ensure financial sustainability. Access-on-Demand costs about $17 million out of the RTD’s annual budget of around $1.5 billion.

In January 2004, RTD officials lowered fares systemwide. The fare reductions increased discounts by 50% for monthly passes and made those passes available for Access-a-Ride customers.

Monthly rides taken using Access-on-Demand have increased to more than 70,000, according to RTD records. That’s more than 10 times the ridership when agency directors launched the program.

“We need to stop RTD’s gravy train,” said lawsuit plaintiff Claudia Folska, a former RTD board member.

The looming imposition of base fares in January “is sending absolute fear” to riders with disabilities who count on the rides to be able to live independently, Folksa said

“It’s causing anxiety and panic. People have to figure out what to do. They are counting on us to secure an injunction. A lot of them don’t even have a job. A lot of them are living on a tight, fixed income.”

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