Ten communities in Northwest Colorado will be able to travel by bus to the Front Range, and vice versa, at the turn of the New Year, thanks to a temporary partnership between the Colorado Department of Transportation and Greyhound. 

“The route will be transitioning to Bustang Outrider sometime early in 2021,” David Krutsinger, head of CDOT’s Division of Transit and Rail, said in a statement Monday. “And because we wanted to get this line up and running and serving northwestern Colorado as soon as possible, we decided it’s best to partner with Greyhound Lines in the interim while we continue making our final preparations to implement our latest Outrider route.” 

Bustang Outrider is part of the state service that connects rural Colorado cities with public transit. 

Starting Jan. 1, 2021, scheduled stops will include Craig, Hayden, Steamboat Springs, Kremmling, Hot Sulphur Springs, Granby, Tabernash, Fraser, Winter Park, Idaho Springs, the Denver Federal Center and Denver’s Union Station. 

Bus stop locations along Highway 40 will be marked with temporary blue and white Bustang Outrider signs, officials said. 

The service will operate every day, including holidays and weekends. Tickets are priced at 17 cents a mile, with a trip between Craig and Denver’s Union Station costing $34. 

Ticket prices are half-off for patrons who are 65 years and older, disabled or 11 years or younger. 

Outrider operators are taking “increased precautions” in response to COVID-19, as required by Colorado’s health department, officials said. Safety measures include expanding sanitation practices, required face masks for drivers and riders and blocked seats onboard to ensure social distancing, among others.

More information on purchasing tickets is available at www.ridebustang.com.