A new and inexpensive way for people to travel around Highlands Ranch will launch later this spring.
Aiming to build on the success of Lone Tree’s Link on Demand service, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners approved a $2.9 million contract with Via Transportation Inc., for microtransit services in Highlands Ranch.
“When it’s too far to walk and it’s really not far enough to drive their own vehicles, I think this is the way forward,” said Commissioner George Teal.
In Highlands Ranch, Via, which is the service provider of microtransit in Lone Tree, plans to have up to 15 vehicles available each day during peak hours, including ADA accessible vehicles. There will also be a call center for multilingual customer service.
As the county anticipates 2,200 to 2,400 rides per week, the proposed operating hours mirror Lone Tree. Hours would be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays.
“Via will provide microtransit service throughout all of Highlands Ranch with points into and out of Lone Tree,” said Ryan Author, Douglas County community programs coordinator.
For example, connections can be made to commercial areas along Highlands Ranch Parkway, County Line Road and the Park Meadows Retail Resort. The rides can also connect people to parks, recreation centers, local hospitals, medical centers, RTD bus stations, and the County Line and Littleton/Mineral light rail stations.
County Commissioner Abe Laydon added that it’s also a safety solution.
“It’s a safe ride for people that may not be in a condition to drive, (it’s) for them to be able to get into a rideshare and go throughout the county safely,” Laydon said.
To use the service, Highlands Ranch residents can download the Link on Demand mobile app and when the service is launched, they can use the app to book a ride.
A decade of service in Lone Tree
Last fall, elected officials from Douglas County attended the 10th anniversary celebration of Link on Demand in Lone Tree, and they learned more about its services and community impact.
Lone Tree’s Link on Demand started out as a shuttle service to connect riders to and from the County Line and Lincoln light rail stations. But over the years, it grew into a free, on-demand service that utilizes four full-time vehicles, and one backup vehicle during peak hours, to transport people throughout the city.
From 2023 to 2024, the ridership increased by 77%, according to the city, and in August 2024 alone, there were more than 6,000 rides.
The city also heard from riders who said that the service saves them money, and because of having the service available to them, they tend to travel around the city more.
What the county is hearing
Knowing that many residents across Douglas County utilize rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, and other transportation methods like bikes and RTD, the county has been conducting an integrated transit and multimodal study.
The Denver Regional Council of Governments gave $2.5 million to Douglas County for the study and pilot programs, and the commissioners previously budgeted $3 million in the Capital Improvement Plan funds for these types of services in the county.
Through various focus groups with people who represented a diverse population, the county learned that common priorities include the desire for free or low cost transit, frequency, connectivity and ease of use.
The ongoing study has found so far that about 67% of daily trips made in the county occur within the county, while approximately 33% extend beyond the county. This led the county to believe that local transit could assist commuters, and potentially alleviate local traffic.
Additionally, when looking at how people commute to and from work, about 6% use public transit or carpool and nearly 67% drive alone.
“One thing we know for sure is that the citizens of our community are not getting the return on investment for RTD dollars,” said Laydon. “People are not riding the bus, people really do not ride the light rail.”
While there are multiple hourly bus stops throughout Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree, as well as light rail stations, the commissioners believe that a microtransit service would be more expansive and would be more readily available for residents.
They also hope to expand the service to communities such as Castle Rock and Parker.
“I think the hope might be to expand this service, if it’s successful, to those municipalities if they have interest and some willingness to partner,” said Laydon.