Front Range Express
Front Range Express (FREX - stylized frex) is a commuter bus service operating between the cities of Colorado Springs, Denver, Greenwood Village, Monument, and formerly Castle Rock in Colorado. FREX operates on Interstate 25 except when exiting to make stops at each city. FREX serves the southern portion of the Colorado Front Range and is operated by Veolia Transport. It is a part of Mountain Metropolitan Transit, which serves the Colorado Springs and El Paso County areas. In 2005, annual ridership was 118,389 and daily ridership was 464.
Currently FREX operates 26 northbound buses and 26 southbound buses daily. Of the 26 buses in each direction, some make limited stops or do not travel the entire route.
In, 2007, nineteen Gillig BRT suburban buses were bought. Prior to 2007, FREX used many different models of buses including the GMC RTS, MCI 102-C3, MCI 102-D3, MCI 102-DL3 and NovaBus RTS WFD suburban. However, the older buses were prone to breaking down. To provide more efficient service, standard Mountain Metropolitan Transit buses were used from December 2006 until the new Gillig BRT suburban buses entered service in mid-2007.
FREX buses include ameneties such as free Wi-Fi available to passengers throughout the route.
Due to the lack of funding, FREX faced the likelihood of being eliminated after February 12, 2010. As a last resort, FREX put up for sale, nine out of the nineteen Gillig BRT suburban buses. The first two attempts of selling the buses failed. On February 8th, a bid of $1.44 million dollars, an average of $160,000 per bus, was made by York County Transportation Authority in Pennsylvania. York County Transportation Authority bought the nine buses. These funds enabled FREX to continue for the remainder of 2010 with a reduced service, which does not include stops at Castle Rock.
Due to the budget being higher than expected for 2011, the FREX will continue to run through 2011 and will continue run through August 31, 2012.[1]
Service along the Front Range
The FREX bus service makes many stops along the Front Range, including many in the Denver metro area. Below is a list of current stops on the FREX route, ordered from Southern-most to Northern-most.
- Colorado Springs
- Tejon Park and Ride
- Woodmen Park and Ride
- Monument Park and Ride
- Greenwood Village - Arapahoe at Village Center Park-n-Ride (Gate H)
- Denver
- Northbound
- Lincoln & Virginia
- Lincoln & 7th
- Lincoln & Colfax
- 18th & California (Light Rail transfer)
- 18 & Champa
- 18th & Arapahoe
- 18th & Larimer
- Blake St. (Mid-block between 17th & 16th St.’s) (Market St. Station and Union Station transfer)
- Elitch Gardens – Little Raven St. off 15th
- Southbound
- Elitch Gardens – Little Raven St. off 15th
- Market & 16th (Market St. Station and Union Station transfer)
- 19th & Market
- 19th & Arapahoe (Greyhound bus station transfer)
- 19th & Stout (Light Rail transfer)
- Broadway & Court Pl.
- Broadway & 14th Ave.
- Broadway & Speer
- Broadway & Alameda
- Northbound
References
- ^ Mayor Bach To Request Termination Of FREX Service, KKTV, Jun 12, 2012