Learn more about the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority

The Eagle Valley Transportation Authority (EVTA) was approved in November 2022 by voters in unincorporated Eagle County, the towns of Avon, Eagle, Minturn, Red Cliff and Vail, and Beaver Creek Metro District. 

• Creation of the EVTA also authorized a half-penny sales tax specifically to fund operations of future services.
• Voters in the town of Gypsum did not approve the EVTA, so the new tax will not be collected in that jurisdiction. Gypsum may consider membership in the EVTA at a later time.
• EVTA’s goal is to enhance regional collaboration and cost-sharing, improve transportation and transit systems, and better address the needs of the region’s workforce, employers, residents and visitors.

EVTA will support regional transit services, primarily services that connect one or more of the member jurisdictions. 

• ECO Transit, as the county’s current regional transportation provider, will form the backbone of the EVTA service. For the immediate future, current ECO Transit services and routes will be maintained using existing funding from a previous voter-approved half-penny sales tax that is collected County-wide.
  • ECO Transit services will not be impacted to communities—including Gypsum, Leadville and Lake County—that are not currently EVTA member jurisdictions.
• EVTA and ECO Transit have begun the process of transferring existing ECO Transit operations, equipment and funding into the new authority. This process will happen over      the next two years. 
• New funding generated by the EVTA’s sales tax will be earmarked for the  enhancements highlighted in the proposal approved by voters. This will include:
  • Fare-free transit service to reduce traffic congestion and parking demands from Edwards to Vail, including Avon, Beaver Creek, Minturn and Eagle-Vail.
  • New limited-stop express service at peak workforce commute hours.
  • Year-round, lower cost flights at Eagle County Airport to help provide more options for local residents and to support the valley’s economy.
• Longer term enhancements for the EVTA will include:
  • Zero-emissions conversion of ECO Transit’s Highway 6 bus service to help meet the region’s shared climate goals.
  • Improved transit facilities, including affordable workforce housing for transit employees.
  • Regionwide, long-term planning to address transportation needs 20 to 30 years in the future. 
• Local services such as local bus services in Avon, Beaver Creek and Vail will continue to be operated by those communities and will not immediately become part of the EVTA.
  • Local transit providers will benefit from membership in the EVTA by sharing technical expertise, project management and maintenance resources; coordinating technology and equipment purchases; accessing state and federal grant funding; and leveraging regional route realignments to reduce redundancy and free up local funding for other purposes.

Each EVTA community appoints a member and alternate to the board. The board members must be elected officials to serve on the board.

• Board meets on the second Wednesday of each month, and the meetings are open to the public.
  • EVTA follows all of Colorado’s open-meetings and open-records laws, providing accountability and transparency to the public.
  • Eagle County represents unincorporated communities such as Edwards, Eagle-Vail, Cordillera and Lake Creek Village on the EVTA board.
  • Meeting dates, agendas, minutes and other public materials are available online.

Over next six months, EVTA board will create a strategic plan that prioritizes service enhancements, establishes implementation timelines and allocates available funding. 

• Board will address how to transition ECO Transit into the new authority, how other communities can join the EVTA in the future, and other long-term priorities.

Eagle Valley Transportation Authority will primarily provide service using ECO Transit’s existing routes across the valley and to Lake County.

• EVTA does not include the Roaring Fork Valley portion of Eagle County where RFTA provides service.