Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday approved a sweeping overhaul of the Regional Transportation District, signing a bill that reshapes the agency’s leadership and seeks to reverse years of stagnant ridership and eroding public trust in metro Denver’s transit system.

Senate Bill 150 — sponsored by Sens. Iman Jodeh of Aurora and Matt Ball of Denver, along with Reps. Meg Froelich of Englewood and Jamie Jackson of Aurora — continues a multi‑year push to rebuild public confidence in the regional transit system, which operates bus and light‑rail service across 40 municipalities in eight counties.

Ridership numbers have stalled since the pandemic, even while similar-sized transportation districts in other cities have returned or even surpassed 2019 levels. Riders have complained about delays, unreliability, and concerns about safety and cleanliness for years.

Senate Bill 150 reduces the RTD Board of Directors from 15 to nine members, with four appointed by the governor. The bill also sets term limits for members, adjusts member salaries, and requires the Office of Legislative Legal Services and Legislative Council to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the new board beginning in 2044.

“Coloradans deserve affordable, reliable, convenient transportation to get where we want to go, and that starts with more efficiency, accountability and transparency, especially in our largest metro area,” said Polis. “This new law will modernize RTD and deliver stronger and better transportation options that save people money and get Coloradans where we want to go.”

A 2025 measure established an RTD Accountability Committee, the second of its kind in recent years, which submitted a report to the governor and General Assembly last January detailing recommendations for addressing workforce retention, accessible transit for riders with disabilities, and agency governance structure.

While stakeholders admit the resulting bill is not perfect, they believe it’s necessary to pass some kind of legislation to move things forward.

“A robust and highly functioning RTD is an essential element to achieving a strong, viable and accessible metropolitan area,” said Maria Garcia Berry, who chaired the Accountability Committee. “This is an important step to achieve that goal on behalf of all the taxpayers of the district, and its current and would-be riders. There is work to be done, but this act will give us critical tools to ensure RTD’s success.”

Senate Bill 150 passed on a 21-13 vote in the Senate and a 39-26 vote in the House.