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Winter Park shuttle schedule swerves slightly

Reid Armstrong
Sky-Hi Daily News
Grand County CO Colorado

The Lift Resort Shuttle, which runs seasonally between Winter Park Resort, downtown Winter Park, Fraser, and Granby, will start service again Nov. 18, with a few changes from last year.

Day routes between downtown Winter Park, Fraser and the resort will remain mostly unchanged, said Laurie Mason, head of parking and transportation for Winter Park Resort. Buses will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., making stops every hour pre-season and every half-hour during the peak season.

The Black Line Shoppers Express will only run on weekends and during holiday periods this year starting Dec. 19.



The Winter Park Resort-Granby bus will continue making runs every few hours from 7:30 a.m.-11:45 p.m. Peak travel times on this route are reserved for employees only, so be sure to check the schedule, Mason said.

Some night routes in Winter Park will be changing to an on-call system, according to Mike Fudge, general manager of First Transit/The Lift Shuttle.



The night bus service will start Nov. 19, departing from Cooper Creek Square and running roughly every half-hour as needed.

The new Winter Park express, which takes the place of the former Black and Green lines, will make stops every half hour, from 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m., along U.S. Highway 40 between the resort and Safeway in Fraser.

The Purple Night Line through the county and residential Fraser will remain unchanged, Fudge said.

Night riders traveling to and from Winter Park’s residential communities will see some changes to their routes, Fudge said. From 5:30-11 p.m., passengers will be required to call The Lift’s headquarters to schedule a pick-up along the former Yellow Line (Beaver Village area), Orange Line (Silverado area), Brown Line (Elk and Moose Trail area) and Blue Line (High Country Haus Condos). Shuttles will continue to only pick up and drop off passengers at designated stops.

Some of these stops were not previously serviced by the night route, so this will be an improvement in service for those areas, Fudge said.

“We are hoping to provide a better service for our guests moving around the valley,” he said.

On weeknights, the Winter Park express shuttle will service the on-call route during its return run. On Fridays, Saturdays and holidays, a dedicated shuttle will service these on-call night routes. There will also be a new night shuttle within the resort, running between the resort’s lodging areas and the village.

The new schedule is still tentative, and the Winter Park town council plans to finalize the details when it meets at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 3, said town manager Drew Nelson.

The town expects to save some $25,000 over the course of the winter season if the new night schedule is approved as proposed, he said.

The Winter Park/Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce will assist the town with marketing the new on-call night schedule to resort communities and lodging area, said director Catherine Ross. The Lift’s phone number will be readily available and signs will be posted at all the shuttle stops, she said.

The finalized schedule will be printed in the 2009-2010 Winter Park guest guide, due to be release Nov. 14. It will also be available online via skiwinterpark.com and http://www.winterpark-info.com/maps.

Stops can be scheduled by calling The Lift at 970-726-4163 beginning Nov. 19.

– Reid Armstrong can be reached at 970-887-3334 ext. 19610 or rarmstrong@skyhidailynews.com.


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