Colorado Springs Democratic Rep. Stephanie Vigil won approval Thursday for her bill that would extend last year’s free transit program, designed to get people out of their cars during high ozone season.

The program, first established under a 2022 bill known as “Zero Fare for Better Air” made transit options – buses throughout the state and light rail along the Front Range – free during the month of August, traditionally part of the metro area’s high ozone watermark.

House Bill 1101 won a party-line 8-3 vote from the House Energy and Environment Committee Thursday. The bill now heads to the full House for review.

Sixteen transit agencies from around the state participated in the 2022 program, according to the Colorado Association of Transit Agencies, although another 17 provide free transit year-round, mostly in mountain communities. The program comes with an annual cost for 2022 and 2023 at $28 million, although not all transit agencies participated, including two of the state’s largest: the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and Grand Valley Transit, in Grand Junction. A spokesperson for Roaring Fork said they are still evaluating their driver workforce to see if they will participate this year.

Many of the participating transit agencies reported increased ridership during August 2022 compared to August 2021, with Pueblo reporting a 59% increase. Ridership in Colorado Springs went up 62%, said Vigil, who said she is a regular rider. 

But ozone season isn’t strictly limited to summer, so the 2023 bill – House Bill 1101 – provides flexibility to transit agencies to designate a different time during the year as their peak ozone season. That’s particularly a problem for the Western Slope, where the worst ozone problems are in the winter, not summer, said Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs. Her home county of Garfield has earned an “F” for ozone, she said.

The 2023 version doesn’t come with a price tag. The 2022 bill provided for a second year of the program, although the 2023 bill changes some of the grant rules to allow agencies more latitude in how those grants are spent, including rolling over funds into future years to continue the free service or marketing the program to area residents. 

The bill was amended to address concerns raised by the Regional Transportation District around continuation of the grant funding. 

Rep. Ken DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs, raised a number of questions about the program’s efficacy and whether it’s accomplishing what taxpayers are paying for. Is this just a good idea to spend money on, or does it actually lower ozone levels in a given community? he asked.

RTD did look into some of those benefits, according to Cindy Copeland, air and climate policy advisor for Boulder County, but looking only at a month doesn’t exactly provide that kind of data.

“Recognizing regional differences in peak ozone seasons, this legislation provides additional flexibility to transit agencies to improve and expand the free rides program this year,” Vigil said in a statement Thursday.

Co-sponsor Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, said they were excited to see the significant ridership increases statewide. Strengthening the program “will further reduce passenger car trips, cut down on harmful emissions and support communities by saving passengers money on fares.”