Save on gas with public transportation

Getting around in Boulder can be bothersome. Parking can be tremendously expensive and with skyrocketing gas prices, having a car in Boulder is becoming rarer among the student population. With this handy guide to public transportation in Boulder, you won’t have to worry about such things, allowing you to focus on … well, studying, ideally.

The Buff Bus, operated by CU transportation services, runs every 5-10 minutes Monday through Friday between Williams Village and main campus. It also runs on the weekends but at a somewhat reduced schedule. The Buff Bus can be used by all CU students and faculty who show a Buff One Card.

CU is a city focused on alternative transportation and as such, public bus routes in Boulder are numerous. All buses originate at the Boulder Station on 14th and Walnut Streets, with the exception of the Stampede that originates on East Campus at 30th and Walnut Streets. The Stampede runs between main campus and east campus every 10 minutes during the school year.

For residents that live south of campus, the routes 204, 206, the Skip and the Dash are good bets. There are stops available for each of these routes at Basemar Shopping Center, and along Broadway at Regent Drive, Euclid Avenue and University Avenue. If you’re going southbound, the 204 stops at Table Mesa and Broadway Streets. The 206 makes a loop to east Boulder and the Skip route runs as far south as Lehigh and Greenbriar Streets. The Dash route travels south down Broadway to Table Mesa, where it turns west, serves the Table Mesa park-n-Ride and continues west down South Boulder Road towards Louisville. It travels through Louisville and eventually ends up in Lafayette.

If you want to venture into north Boulder, the 201 or the 205 can be used. The 201 travels north down 13th Street to Alpine, turns left and makes a loop of Maxwell Avenue, 4th Street, Hawthorne Avenue and 9th Street before returning to Boulder Station. This route serves several middle schools as well as Boulder Community Hospital. The 205 travels west of the Pearl Street Mall, stopping at the main library and the Justice Center before heading north to Gunbarrel via 28th Street and Jay Road. The route serves the Cambridge neighborhood before heading back to the station.

East Boulder, home to many different neighborhoods, is served by numerous bus routes. The Jump route takes Arapahoe to the Lafayette park-n-Ride, serving various stops along east- and westbound Arapahoe including East Campus and the newly constructed Twenty Ninth Street retail district. You should take the Bound route if you want to go anywhere down 30th Avenue. It originates in front of Basemar Shopping Center at Broadway and Baseline Road, traveling east on Baseline, turning north on 30th Street and traveling all the way to Highway 119.

If you live in the neighborhoods east of 30th Street, the 203 and the 225 are good options. They both run south down Broadway, turning east on Baseline. Both routes travel down Baseline, serving locations east of Foothills Parkway. The 225 continues down Baseline to Lafayette, ending up at the Lafayette park-n-Ride.

If you live in Louisville, Superior, Broomfield or even Denver, there is an RTD option for you. The B route is a regional route that runs between Boulder and Denver, making stops down Broadway, at the McCaslin park-n-Ride, the East Flatiron park-n-Ride, the Broomfield park-n-Ride and the Church Ranch park-n-Ride, eventually ending up at the Market Street Station in Downtown Denver.

Other regional routes include the GS route to Golden/Denver Federal Center via Colorado 93, the DD route between Boulder and Interstate 25 and Colorado Boulevard in Denver and the BOLT route between Boulder and Longmont.