Front Range Express (FREX - stylized frex) was a commuter bus service that began in 2004 and operated between the cities of

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, with stops along the way in Greenwood Village,

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

and Castle Rock in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, USA. FREX operated on

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

except when exiting to make stops at each city. FREX served the southern portion of the Colorado

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountere ...

and during its tenure was operated via different contracts by

Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

& Laidlaw Transit. It was added as a part of

Mountain Metropolitan Transit Mountain Metropolitan Transit is the public transportation operator for the metro area of Colorado Springs, Colorado, providing service to downtown Colorado Springs and surrounding areas within city limits and to the city of Manitou Springs, Wi ...

, which serves the Colorado Springs and El Paso County areas. In 2005, annual ridership was 118,389 and daily ridership was 464. In 2007, nineteen Gillig BRT suburban buses were bought. Before 2007, FREX used many different models of buses including the GMC RTS, MCI 102-C3, MCI 102-D3, MCI 102-DL3 and NovaBus RTS WFD suburban. However, the older buses were prone to breaking down. To provide a more efficient service, standard Mountain Metropolitan Transit buses were used from December 2006 until the new Gillig BRT suburban buses entered service in mid-2007. FREX buses included amenities such as free Wi-Fi available to passengers throughout the route. Due to the lack of funding, FREX faced the likelihood of being eliminated after February 12, 2010. As a last resort, FREX put up for sale nine out of the nineteen

Gillig BRT The Gillig Low Floor (originally named Gillig H2000LF and also nicknamed Gillig Advantage) is a transit bus manufactured by the Gillig Corporation. The second low-floor bus introduced in the United States (after the New Flyer LF), the Low Floor ...

suburban buses. The first two attempts to sell the buses failed. On February 8, a successful bid of $1.44 million, an average of $160,000 per bus (a substantial loss), was made by York County Transportation Authority in Pennsylvania. These funds enabled FREX to continue for the remainder of 2010 with a reduction in service, including service times. The city of Castle Rock did not wish to help fund FREX any longer, so they lost the service at their stop. With the budget being higher than expected for 2011, FREX service continued through 2011 and most of 2012. However, due to the Colorado Springs new mayor's wishes, the FREX service was discontinued completely on August 31, 2012. On May 5, 2014 the Denver Post reported that the

Colorado Department of Transportation The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT, pronounced See Dot) is the principal department of the Colorado state government that administers state government transportation responsibilities in the state of Colorado. CDOT is responsible f ...

(CDOT) was in the process of planning a replacement for FREX that would run along the Interstate 25 corridor and add new service into the mountains along the

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

corridor as part of their statewide transportation plan. The service is now in operation, known as

Bustang Bustang is an intercity bus service in the U.S. state of Colorado. Service began in 2015 and originally traveled between Denver and Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Glenwood Springs. Service has since been expanded to connect Grand Junction, ...

, and includes new buses with lavatories. However, it doesn't stop at Castle Rock like the FREX did. CDOT buses will find a home at Union Station
,

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

, May 5, 2014

Service along the Front Range

The FREX bus service made many stops along the Front Range, including many in the Denver metropolitan area. The list below shows the stops, ordered from south to north. * Colorado Springs ** Fountain Park and Ride (Southern Exit) - was discontinued in 2008 ** Tejon Park and Ride ** Woodmen Park and Ride * Monument Park and Ride * Castle Rock - Outlet Mall Park & Ride - was discontinued in early 2010 * Greenwood Village - Arapahoe at Village Center Park-n-Ride (Gate H) * Denver ** Northbound *** Lincoln & Virginia *** Lincoln & 7th *** Lincoln & Colfax *** 18th & California ( Light Rail transfer) *** 18 & Champa *** 18th & Arapahoe *** 18th & Larimer *** Blake St. (Mid-block between 17th & 16th St.’s) (Market St. Station and

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

transfer) ***

Elitch Gardens Elitch Gardens was a family-owned seasonal amusement park, theater, and botanic garden in the West Highland neighborhood in northwest Denver, Colorado, United States, at 38th and Tennyson streets. For more than a century Elitch's was one of the m ...

– Little Raven St. off 15th ** Southbound ***

– Little Raven St. off 15th *** Market & 16th (Market St. Station and

transfer) *** 19th & Market *** 19th & Arapahoe (Greyhound bus station transfer) *** 19th & Stout ( Light Rail transfer) *** Broadway & Court Pl. *** Broadway & 14th Ave. *** Broadway & Speer *** Broadway & Alameda

References

{{Colorado public transit Bus transportation in Colorado Transportation in Colorado Springs, Colorado Transportation in El Paso County, Colorado Castle Rock, Colorado Transportation in Denver Transportation in Douglas County, Colorado

Service along the Front Range

See also

References