RTD committee to consider $9.06 million radio-replacement plan
Staff is seeking a recommendation to replace 1,709 vehicle radios in three phases. RTD says only the 2026 phase has budget available.
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RTD staff is asking its Operations, Safety, and Security Committee to recommend that the Board approve up to $9,059,566 to replace 1,709 vehicle-mounted radios. The committee is scheduled to consider the proposal Oct. 14, with Board consideration scheduled for Oct. 27.
The proposed schedule calls for replacing 450 radios in 2026 for $2,241,000, 748 in 2028 for $3,900,296 and 511 in 2029 for $2,918,270. The total includes purchase, programming and installation. RTD says it has budget available for the 2026 phase; the 2028 and 2029 phases would require future annual budget approvals.
The proposal covers part of a fleet of more than 2,000 vehicle-mounted two-way radios. RTD’s report to the committee says the radios were bought in 2010 and 2011, have a 15-year useful life, and that replacement began in 2025. RTD describes the equipment slated for replacement as aging and unserviceable. The radios are the primary way operators communicate with control and dispatch; RTD says they are also the only legal means for light-rail trains to communicate with the control center and fixed-route buses to communicate with dispatch.