In 2018, Denverite staffers embarked on the Great Denver Transportation Race, to test once and for all which mode of transit gets you across town faster.
I’ve been looking for a reason to do something similar, and I finally found it when the first-ever public transportation to Red Rocks Amphitheater debuted on Memorial Day weekend. For years, Denverites have cried out for alternative ways to get to Red Rocks, wanting to avoid pricey ride-shares, impaired drivers or maddening post-concert traffic.
The new shuttle won’t solve all those problems. The new Westracks shuttle only runs on weekends and holidays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., too early for shows — but at the end of the two-year pilot, there’s a possibility it extends its hours to serve the nearly 2 million people who attend Red Rocks concerts each year.
We figured we’d help test it out: How does the bus to Red Rocks stack up against cars and bikes?
The rules:
I met fellow Denverite reporters Kyle Harris and Kiara DeMare at Union Station on a busy Saturday morning. The goal? Get to Red Rocks on the double.
Kiara (also joined by photographer Kevin Beaty) was the clear frontrunner. She had the relatively easy task of driving a standard-issue automobile to Morrison — simply getting onto the interstate and booking it west.
Kyle planned to get there on a bicycle — specifically, a rentable e-bike from Veo, the city’s new micromobility contractor — testing out the bike-ability of the metro Denver area.
As for me, I took the daunting task of being one of the first people (alongside digital news fellow Hazel Feldstein) in Denver history to get to Red Rocks entirely on public transit. I would have to take the W Line to the Jefferson County Government Center and board the new Westracks shuttle.
After a brief confab at Union Station — and a gentle reminder to stay safe —the race was on.
The start:
Paolo: My race got off to a poor start. I opened the Transit app on my phone and saw the closest train was half an hour away. While everyone else was moving, I was at a standstill. No matter — I strolled around the downtown Whole Foods to pick up some Burt’s Bees and snacks and opened my book. If I’m lucky, I’ll get there within 1.5 hours.
Kiara: Right after I hopped into the car, I put Red Rocks into Apple Maps. From Union Station, it’s only a 27-minute drive. While Paolo and Kyle brave the elements, I’m blessed by the climate-controlled interior of Colorado Public Radio’s Toyota Rav4. I tuned into Indie 102.3 to enjoy some tunes for the ride.
Kyle: Downtown Denver has hundreds of Veo rides available, but I already settled on taking their Apollo model — which has pedals for the traditional bicycle feel. It isn’t the most comfortable, as my knees are practically going up to my chin. GPS tells me I’m two hours away — but maybe the motor on this thing will get me there faster than Paolo.
10 minutes in:
Kyle: I am having a lovely ride up 23rd Avenue. It's beautiful. I am not convinced this is the safest way to get to Red Rocks, as this appears to be all roads and all streets.
24 minutes in:
Kiara: I turned into Morrison. I took an unexpected detour after missing an exit, which thankfully only added two minutes, but I was still way ahead of the competition. Traffic was pretty smooth, but then I had to find parking.
26 minutes in:
Paolo: I have just boarded the W line going to Jefferson County. Boarding was free, thanks to the RTD pass I have through work, but a day pass is normally $5.50. I still have a couple of minutes until we leave, but we’ll be rolling soon, and hopefully, I can overtake Kyle.
30 minutes in:
Kyle: My race ended rather prematurely.
As I was crossing Sheridan Boulevard into Edgewater, my Veo started yelling at me: “This is a no ride zone. Please use the map to navigate away from this area.”
Denver is the only city in the metro to contract with Veo, and here at this intersection, there’s a collection of other vehicles, presumably from others who tried and failed to cross the border. It charged me $11 to make it this far, and it looks like I am not going to Red Rocks today — at least not by bike.
I figured this would be the case, but I was curious just how far a Veo would take me — since not everybody has their own bike. (Ed. note: I think we could have predicted this outcome.)
36 minutes in:
Kiara: I’ve officially won the race to Red Rocks, and Kevin has taken off to grab snacks and a drink at the trading post.
To kill time, I spoke to a few people visiting Morrison this afternoon to see how they got here.
Binny Gosal arrived in Colorado last night for a wedding and wanted to see Red Rocks. After paying $60 for an Uber to get there, she was waiting for an Uber to take her back into central Denver — another $70. For her, public transit just wasn’t viable for this trip.
“I think it's worth it if someone has the time,” she said. “We have to get ready for the wedding and go back.”
41 minutes in:
Paolo: I just heard from Kyle and Kiara, and it seems I am poised to finish second. I still have a ways to go until we hit the end of the W Line, but so far, the experience is pleasant. The train is quiet, giving me a great opportunity to make headway on my book ("The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" by John le Carré).
47 minutes in:
Kyle: I’ve decided to take the bus and intercept the W Line in hopes of catching up with Paolo. In a way, I’m testing out a different facet of the public transit experience — how can Denverites who live away from major transit lines get to Red Rocks via RTD?
I've been here for 13 minutes. This is getting really boring, and the sun is baking my bald head.
1 hour in:
Kyle: I am at the Sheridan station along RTD’s W Line. I'm sure Paolo has smoked me at this point, but I am running down the stairs and hoping to board the next train soon.
Paolo: I’ve just passed the Garrison station (Ed. note: Three stops ahead of Kyle). I have to find the shuttle and then it to Red Rocks. Weather's actually looking pretty good. Some nice cloud cover, so it should be a pleasant rest of the journey.
Kiara: I took a nice walk and Kevin took some photos of deer. We had time to hike up to the amphitheater and down — and back up again to the visitor center after I realized I left my purse — and the Rav4 keys.
Good thing we found it, or we all would’ve had to take the shuttle back down, and the newsroom would’ve been without a car.
1 hour, 15 minutes in:
Paolo: At long last, I am at the Jefferson County Government Center and have located the Westracks shuttle stop. Once I'm on the shuttle, it should be a pretty straight shot. There are six stops on the shuttle, so it shouldn't be too long until I'm at the Red Rocks.
At the stop, I met Taeyoun Kwon, a student from Seoul here in Denver for a conference. He heard about the world-famous Red Rocks and wanted to visit, so he was actually on the same train as me. He wasn’t exactly impressed with Denver’s public transit. Seoul’s trains are cleaner, faster and are easier to use, he said.
1 hour, 30 minutes in:
Paolo: The shuttle is idling at the Dinosaur Ridge visitor center. The ride has been pretty smooth, and less than half of the roughly 20 seats are occupied. The driver recommended checking out a few restaurants in downtown Morrison, which is a good shout since I haven’t actually had lunch yet. All that’s holding me over is an RXBar that I grabbed during my lengthy wait for the train.
The driver also told me that since this launched on Memorial Day weekend, passengers have been asking about whether the shuttle would eventually expand to operate on weekdays and during concerts.
“Right now we're kind of just doing the weekends and the holidays just to kind of get everybody used to it and familiar with what's going on,” he said.
1 hour, 49 minutes in:
Paolo: At long last, I have arrived at Red Rocks Amphitheater. It is a stark difference to the beginning of our journey at Union Station. The weather has certainly turned: It's a lot windier up here and there's a light drizzle. Second place has never felt better.
2 hours, 18 minutes in:
Kyle: I deboarded the Westracks shuttle and finally met up with my hungry colleagues. We’re off to downtown Morrison in Kiara’s car to get some grub.
The verdict:
The resounding winner, at least in terms of time, was Kiara and the car, beating me by over an hour. Even if she had to deal with bad traffic or concert parking, she had a big enough buffer to win either way.
As for the bike, Kyle remains adamant he could’ve beaten transit if Veo didn’t stop at the city’s border. Still, he learned a good lesson: Never ride a rentable bike outside Denver city limits. (Ed. note: Again, could have seen that coming.)
Transit came down to timing. Trains to the end of the W Line just don’t have enough frequency, so missing one was like a death sentence. Unless your timing is exquisite, you could be waiting half an hour for a train to get you to Golden, on top of the wait for a shuttle.
But still, there were benefits. My ride was free, while the cost of driving a car extends beyond fuel costs; drivers have to consider depreciation, insurance and maintenance. Plus, I was able to avoid the stress of traffic and unhinged drivers.
All that to say, even if Westracks is eventually expanded to cater to nighttime and weekday concertgoers, they’re still facing a long journey to and from Red Rocks. And whether sacrificing timeliness for the convenience and safety of public transit is worth it is in the eye of the beholder.
