Colorado commission shifts $2.17 million to keep expanded Bustang service running
The Transportation Commission also revised its FY 2026-27 multimodal budget and tapped contingency reserves for wildfire remediation and a highway interchange project.
The Colorado Transportation Commission approved a $2,173,355 budget transfer July 16 to keep expanded Bustang service running after one-time federal relief and pilot funding ran out.
The money shifts from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality line to Bustang. CDOT staff said the transfer was needed to preserve expanded service levels after ARPA and expansion-pilot funds were exhausted and operating costs rose with inflation.
Commission records reviewed do not identify which Bustang routes or frequencies would be affected. The resolutions packet also does not include a roll-call vote or record any dissent.
At the same meeting, the commission approved the first FY 2026-27 budget supplement, adding $6,112,553 for the US 6 and Wadsworth interchange project in Region 1 and $24,151,000 for Region 2 fire remediation from the Transportation Commission contingency reserve. The packet says that would leave the reserve at $11,058,536.
The meeting also reshaped CDOT's FY 2026-27 multimodal budget assumptions.
Under HB 26-1398, the retail delivery fee split in the Multimodal Transportation and Mitigation Options Fund changes from 85% local and 15% state to 70% local and 30% state, increasing Bustang's share. HB 26-1399 temporarily eliminates the annual $10.5 million General Fund transfer into the fund.
CDOT's March final FY 2026-27 MMOF budget totaled $55.6 million, including $51.7 million for the local multimodal program and $4.0 million for Bustang. The revised FY 2026-27 MMOF budget is $45.1 million, with $40.3 million for local multimodal uses and $4.8 million for Bustang.
The agenda packet says that amounts to a $10.5 million overall reduction, driven by an $11.3 million drop in the local program and partly offset by an $0.8 million increase for Bustang.
The broader transportation budget also absorbed a $5.7 million reduction in forecast State Highway Fund revenue tied to HB 26-1102, HB 26-1289 and HB 26-1430. CDOT said it offset that loss with a $1.2 million cut to the administration line and another $4.5 million in agency operations and maintenance levels of service, including money previously set aside for a planned 3.1% statewide salary increase that the Joint Budget Committee did not fund.