MAX Bus Rapid Transit (Colorado)

MAX Bus Rapid Transit is a bus rapid transit system serving Fort Collins, Colorado. The service, operated by Transfort, consists of one route serving 12 stations on the 5-mile-long (8.0 km) Mason Corridor Transitway between South Transit Center and Downtown Fort Collins, with stops near the Colorado State University campus.^[3][4] The MAX route includes sections of new dedicated bus guideway, as well as shared city streets; in some cases, the bus has priority signal access.^[5]

MAX Bus Rapid Transit
A MAX bus at the West Prospect Road station.
Overview
Locale	Fort Collins, Colorado
Termini	South Transit Center Downtown Transit Center
Stations	14
Website	ridetransfort.com/max
Service
Type	Bus rapid transit
Operator(s)	Transfort
Rolling stock	NABI 60-BRT
Daily ridership	4,680 (Sep. 2015)[1]
Ridership	451,063 (2023)[2]
History
Opened	May 10, 2014 (2014-05-10)
Technical
Line length	5 miles (8.0 km)[3]
Route map Downtown Transit Center Mountain Olive Mulberry Laurel University (Colorado State University) Prospect Spring Creek Drake Swallow Horsetooth Troutman Harmony South Transit Center

It opened on May 10, 2014, at a cost of $87 million, as the first bus rapid transit system in the state of Colorado.^[6] Service was free for the first three months, with fare collection starting August 25.^[7] Fares must be pre-paid online or by using a ticket machine at any stop. Tickets and passes may also be purchased at each of Transfort's transit stations.^[8] As of August 27, 2017, MAX and several supporting routes also operate on Sunday.^[9] In its first five years, the route provided 6.2 million rides^[10] and was lauded as a top-notch service for a city its size.^[11]

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has given MAX a preliminary classification as a "Basic BRT" corridor.^[12]

Stations

• South Transit Center
• Harmony
• Troutman
• Horsetooth
• Swallow
• Drake
• Spring Creek
• Prospect
• University (Colorado State University)
• Laurel
• Mulberry
• Olive
• Mountain
• Downtown Transit Center^[3]

Service

MAX operates daily year-round, frequency depending on time of day, generally every 10–15 minutes Monday through Saturday, with no Sunday service.^[13]

Each full-size (60' articulating) MAX bus can carry four bicycles inside—two standing and two hanging. Smaller MAX buses have a triple bike rack on the front, with room for one bike inside.^[14][15]

See also

• List of bus rapid transit systems in the Americas