The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) in Aspen, CO, celebrated the opening of VelociRFTA—the first rural Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line in the U.S.—on Sept. 3. The new service allows commuters from Glenwood Springs and surrounding communities to reach Aspen, about 40 miles away, in an hour, roughly half the time the trip takes by regular bus service.

The $46.2 million project received almost $25 million in federal Very Small Starts Capital Investment Grant funding, with local funding for the remainder of the cost.

“The goal in developing BRT has been to shave seconds off the travel time wherever we can—20 seconds here, 30 seconds there—so we can make the travel time comparable to driving your own automobile,” said RFTA Chief Executive Officer Dan Blankenship. “The people of the ­valley who have supported RFTA are really going to appreciate the quality of the transit services that are going to be deployed here.”

The buses operate every 12 minutes during peak hours on a route that combines travel in mixed traffic with designated bus lanes and provides traffic lights timed to improve efficiency.

VelociRFTA offers free Wi-Fi on board its buses and at the nine stations along the route. The stations also feature signs that report the arrival time of the next bus, ticket vending machines that provide discounts compared with cash fares, and parking.

RFTA’s website provides bus arrival information and allows visitors to track buses moving on a map.

FTA Regional Administrator Linda Gehrke joined state and local officials at the opening day event.

In a statement, DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx said: “Residents living in rural Roaring Fork Valley need and deserve an affordable, reliable way to travel to work, and we are committed to investing in more good transit projects like this one to ensure that everyone—including residents of rural areas—has the chance to get ahead in the 21st-century economy.”

Crowds line up as the first VelociRFTA bus prepares to drive through the ribbon to launch service.