Denver bus to SWC?

[Dan O]

I was looking to go from Denver to San Bernardino on January 11th but don't see the connection. I thought there was an early bus that connected in NM. Is it me, my phone or has that changed? I did see I could go to Illinois but didn't want to go there.

 

[Dan O]

Oops, I guess it has to be on a day that the SWC runs. Forgot it went to 3 days per week.

 

[CCC1007]

Oops, I guess it has to be on a day that the SWC runs. Forgot it went to 3 days per week.

Been back to daily for more than half a year now.

 

[ShiningTimeStL]

Oops, I guess it has to be on a day that the SWC runs. Forgot it went to 3 days per week.

There is a bus connection to La Junta, and we should still be on a daily schedule, unless something has gone horribly wrong and no one has bothered to tell us.

 

[zephyr17]

Oops, I guess it has to be on a day that the SWC runs. Forgot it went to 3 days per week.

It's been daily since May.

The bus connection appears to have been dropped.

 

[Dan O]

Been back to daily for more than half a year now.

Thanks.
The schedule I looked at was out of date.
But apparently no bus to NM. Will have to check for la junta.

 

[Dan O]

There is a bus connection to La Junta, and we should still be on a daily schedule, unless something has gone horribly wrong and no one has bothered to tell us.

Thanks. I couldn't get the current schedule on phone for some reason, my incompetence. But when I saw 3 days a week figured that was the problem.
Thanks for the info re La Junta.
My dad grew up there. His dad was an engineer way back in the 40s.

 

[zephyr17]

Thanks. I couldn't get the current schedule on phone for some reason, my incompetence. But when I saw 3 days a week figured that was the problem.
Thanks for the info re La Junta.
My dad grew up there. His dad was an engineer way back in the 40s.

They no longer post their PDF schedules. You can get electronic schedules that are dynamically generated by putting in origin, destination and date on the "Schedules" tab.

I put in DEN-ABQ for a date next week, and the only routing was via Galesburg. That tells me the bus connection is gone. While there still may be a Denver-La Junta bus operated by a bus company, it is no longer be code shared with Amtrak and no longer a guaranteed connection with Amtrak, if there is such a bus.

 

[Willbridge]

CORRECTED:

The DEN<>RAT bus was discontinued by the carrier, Greyhound, as part of their downsizing. It connected to Train 3 and from Train 4. With a midday layover it was also possible to connect to Train 4 and from Train 3. It still is possible to use the one remaining Greyhound trip RAT>DEN and it probably would work for travel from the east, but the connection would not be guaranteed.

Train 3 is due to arrive RAT @ 10:25 a.m. daily and Bus 9256 is due to depart RAT @ 1:10 p.m. except Tuesday and Wednesday. A September schedule change broke the southbound to eastbound connection.

DEN<>LAJ is harder to explain so I'll file a separate post to come.

 

[Willbridge]

This is an experiment to see if the bus guide schedules are legible in their reduced form. Note that service has been reduced to five days a week and that the Trinidad stop is no longer at the Amtrak station -- it is way across town at a highway junction.

 

[Dan O]

This is an experiment to see if the bus guide schedules are legible in their reduced form. Note that service has been reduced to five days a week.

View attachment 26199
View attachment 26200

Thanks for that information!

 

[Willbridge]

DEN<>LAJ or DEN<>LMR?

Greyhound stops at a highway service center in Lamar in the middle of the night in both directions. It is a bit over half a mile along US287 to Amtrak. Greyhound does not stop in La Junta.

Bustang, the state-organized intercity bus service, has one round-trip daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays Lamar <> Colorado Springs via La Junta. It uses the former Santa Fe station in Lamar, which is now the official visitor center and the Amtrak stop. In other words: Lamar has an intermodal station!
Colorado Welcome Center at Lamar | Colorado.com

Here's the Lamar connection: Train 3 scheduled to arrive @ 6:36 a.m.
Bus departs @ 7:10 a.m. Visitor Center opens @ 8:00 a.m. and they'll help you find a place to wait for the next train. 

Train 4 scheduled to depart @ 8:23 p.m. Bus arrives @ 6:48 p.m.

Here's the La Junta connection: Train 3 scheduled to arrive @ 7:49 a.m. Walk 500 feet to Senior Center at 2nd & Raton St. Bus departs @ 8:38 a.m.

Train 4 scheduled to depart @ 7:29 p.m. Bus arrives @ 5:27 p.m. then walk 500 feet from Senior Center to train station.

The rest of the times are the same for either city with a planned connection at a Colorado Springs park-and-ride.

Bustang Routes | Denver Bus | Colorado Springs Bus Routes | Bustang (ridebustang.com)

From Train 3:

• Arrive Pueblo @ 10:26 a.m.
• Arrive Colorado Springs @ 1:30 p.m.
• Depart Colorado Springs @ 2:10 p.m.
• Arrive Denver Union Station @ 4:30 p.m.

To Train 4:

• Depart Denver Union Station @ 11:15 a.m.
• Arrive Colorado Springs @ 1:35 p.m.
• Depart Colorado Springs @ 2:15 p.m.
• Depart Pueblo @ 3:35 p.m.

There are other stops that might make this convenient for someone. In Denver they stop at the Colorado Blvd. & Evans Ave. LRT station (currently E and H-Lines).

Colorado Springs:

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

Sigh. This thread is a microcosm of the state of public transportation in these United States

 

[Willbridge]

Sigh. This thread is a microcosm of the state of public transportation in these United States

Yes. Some services are run more so they can be said to exist than as actual products.