Lone Tree mobility manager presents free 'Link on Demand' service as model for on‑demand transit

Dan Raine, mobility manager for the City of Lone Tree, presented the city’s Link on Demand program to the Littleton Transportation and Mobility Advisory Board, describing the service’s evolution from a fixed circulator to an on‑demand, app-enabled system operated with Via and local turnkey providers.

Raine said the program was free to riders and has been used for commuting, shopping and medical trips. “We had a total of over 50,000 boardings” in earlier years, he said, and in recent full-year operation the program completed roughly 58,000 rides after reopening post-pandemic, with nearly 90,000 ride requests on file. Raine summarized service metrics: about a 65% completed-ride rate, capacity challenges during peak times (seat unavailable), and particular attention to wheelchair-accessible requests—the program completed roughly 880 wheelchair trips out of about 1,400 requests in 2024 and is adding accessible vehicles.

Raine described the operations model: a turnkey contract with a vehicle/driver provider plus Via as the software dispatch and rider app; a national call center to accept reservations for riders without smartphones; and a small fleet (four full-time vehicles, with backups) that scales by hour to meet demand. “We own the data. It's our program,” Raine said, noting Lone Tree uses the Via desktop tools to analyze origins, destinations and land use correlations.

On funding, Raine said the program operates on a roughly $1.2 million annual budget and that RTD community partnership funds, Denver South (a transportation management association) reimbursements and contributions from Douglas County (about $76,000 per year) have underpinned operations. He said Lone Tree had successfully applied for RTD funding across multiple years and that the city leverages those grants together with local match and partner reimbursements.

Raine highlighted service design choices and user rules: no formal ride caps, a policy limiting carried items to what a rider can carry in a single step, and a two-minute driver wait policy for pickups to protect schedule reliability. He said the program balances service flexibility with operational efficiency and emphasized provisions for riders with mobility needs, a call center for users without smartphones and security protocols (vehicle cameras and incident reporting).

Board members asked about capital and operating costs, service hours, vehicle queuing, bicycle carriage and equity goals. Raine said the program is intended to increase accessibility and equity—serving medical trips and riders without smartphones—and that, while some fleet vehicles are hybrid, the program is not primarily positioned as an emissions-reduction tool. He also described coordination with neighboring Douglas County and an expected Highlands Ranch on‑demand launch.

Board members praised the presentation and asked staff to consider whether Littleton should study a similar demand‑responsive service as part of its Transportation Master Plan update. No board action was taken; the presentation served as information for staff and board planning.