Public transportation belongs to us, and we pay for RTD with our sales tax dollars. The RTD should eliminate unnecessary overhead in its $1.3 billion budget so we can expand access for everyone. As Director, JoyAnn will fight for:

• • Reduced base rate for all riders – our fares are currently some of the highest in the country
  • Free bus passes for limited-income transit riders with disabilities, youth, and seniors 
  • Bringing back low-income discount fares for non-profits
  • Reducing the cost of EcoPasses
  • Creating bulk discounts for riders
  • Bring Access-a-Ride into compliance with the ADA so disabled riders can participate in the RTD’s low-income fares program

16% of RTD’s riders live in households making less than $25,000 a year.  Fare increases for transit-dependent riders (people living in a household without a car) could equal a week’s meal. Paying for multiple bus passes for kids in middle and high schools puts an undue financial burden on parents. As Director, JoyAnn will never vote for any proposal that disproportionately impacts low-income riders.

JoyAnn knows that RTD must be as low-cost as possible to to ensure long-term growth. Like other cities do, JoyAnn will push for free fares for kids, low-income seniors, and people with disabilities. The ultimate goal is free public transit for all. If elected, JoyAnn will work tirelessly with multiple government agencies and stakeholders to find a way to make that public policy goal a reality.

District B is the most under-served district in the area. JoyAnn believes that neighborhood-oriented transit planning is the key to RTD’s long-term successes. As Director, JoyAnn will:

• • Work with stakeholders to ensure that the outlying neighborhoods of Green Valley Ranch, Montbello, and other areas of District B have contiguous service – as well as transit options within the neighborhoods so people can access their grocery store, church, school, etc.
  • Fight to restore cut services in working-class neighborhoods
  • Push to bring more services in the Central Park neighborhoods, adding to ridership numbers for the surrounding neighborhoods and connecting communities to each other
  • Work with the RTD, Denver Public Schools, Aurora Public Schools, and other stakeholder groups to ensure the District’s youth are able to ride public transit to school safely and in a reasonable amount of time
  • Make sure that RTD is fully ADA-compliant and accessible to residents with disabilities

JoyAnn pledges to never vote for any rate increases that disproportionately affect low-income riders. She also understands that RTD is at its strongest when people utilize the service by choice. To ensure continued ridership, RTD must strive to always provide easy, convenient, and affordable service.

Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. As a disabled community member and longtime advocate, JoyAnn will be a champion for transit riders with disabilities by:

• • Working with RTD to improve services with Access-a-Ride and Access-a-Cab so that residents with mobility needs are adequately served
  • Fighting to include Access-a-Ride and paratransit services in the low-income fares program, so that low-income riders with disabilities aren’t discriminated against with our tax dollars
  • Identifying ways that the entire RTD fleet can be made more comfortable for those with wheelchairs, canes, walkers, and other mobility devices
  • Identifying RTD stops that aren’t fully accessible and working with municipal governments to allocate resources to fix them
  • Working with disability rights and seniors’ advocacy groups to ensure that everyone has a seat at the table and a voice in the room

The bulk of RTD’s budget comes from taxpayer dollars. As Director, JoyAnn will:

• • Increase accountability to the public by pushing for more audits and oversight of the Agency and its private contractors
  • Hold frequent community meetings on budgets and contracts, particularly as it relates to FasTracks
  • Ask for a review of contractors that are not fulfilling their promises
  • Push for stricter safety standards on future FasTracks developments

JoyAnn knows that kids who ride public transit as youth will be public transit users as adults. And for many kids, RTD is their lifeline to school or extra-curricular activities. As Director, JoyAnn will:

• • Be an advocate for youth ridership by working to ensure public school students ride for free and work with school districts to solve transit inequities
  • Help teach youth how to ride RTD
  • Increase safety measures on RTD to ensure our youth can ride freely and with confidence (and put parents’ fears to rest, too)

JoyAnn’s 17-year old is a frequent RTD user, and their family has depended on RTD for years. For so many of our youth, transit is freedom. Let’s make sure they can access everything the region can offer!

JoyAnn believes that we should focus on moving people, not cars. To accomplish this goal, RTD will need a long-term vision of providing safe, reliable, and convenient transit that can serve the Regional Transportation District’s 3 million people. In addition, RTD must do more to reduce its own carbon footprint.  JoyAnn will:

• • Push to reduce carbon emissions and pollution by advocating a transition from our diesel fleet to electric vehicles whenever possible
  • Advocate for more bike rack storage
  • Work with environmental advocacy organizations to identify ways RTD can be more green-friendly
  • Be a good steward to the community by actively using RTD and publishing ways the community can reduce their carbon footprint through alternative transit

JoyAnn is fully committed to equity and transit justice. She believes that:

• • High-quality RTD services should be provided to all residents and neighborhoods
  • Everyone should have a seat at the table to ensure equitable decision making
  • Language, income status, and/or disability status should never be a barrier to transportation services

RTD is at its strongest when its workers are treated fairly. The RTD employee family is also comprised of over 2,700 Amalgamated Transit Union workers. She will stand with the bus drivers and mechanics and advocate for their right to fair pay, benefits, and safe working conditions.