Rtd Union Station

I am among 4000 passengers waiting for tickets at mineral station to go to BRONCOS PARADE.
THERE ARE NO TICKET BOOTHS OPEN!!!
there are 3 mechanical ticket machines and we have been in line waiting for 2 hours. It’s now 10:36 and there are 600 people in front of me before we reach the ticket machine.
DO YOU THINK WE WILL GET DIWN TOWN IN TIME FOR THE PARADE?, Rally, Dinner or if we do make it downtown today, will there be enough trains to get us back before tomorrow ???
GREAT JOB ANTICIPATING DEMAND!!!
Nice job advertising use of light rail for this event!!! YOU SCREWED UP!!!

It works well enough. The station is a bit sketchy, but well-​lit.
There always seems to be a couple of drunk or high people acting weird at this station.

The W line has been a great addition. This line and the others give you pause to think what public transportation would be like to today if the trolleys of long ago had been kept and morphed into trains. Think big RTS. Public transport can be phenomenal.

Why don’t the light rail trains at Union Station pull up and let passengers sit on them before the train is ready to leave?
Both cities I commuted by train/​subway before did this, and both other cities had indoor train/​subway stations.
Instead, RTD trains sit where passengers cannot board and then finally pull up immediately before the train is ready to leave, even when the weather is crummy.

Underground bus terminal has practically no cellular coverage, few power outlets and no Wi-​Fi. Seating is also limited and uncomfortable.

For me, RTD Union Station is rapidly becoming «mile 35 and change» for me on extended bike rides, where for whatever reason I just don’t want to push through to mile 40 — weather, out of juice internally, out of juice phonewise, whatever the case. I come back down from the north on my return leg down S Platte River trail, cruise through Commons Park, cross Little Raven St, head up Millenium Bridge, down the other side and boom — instant lift 95% of the rest of the way home for me. It’s affordable and combined with a bike, can get you almost anywhere — I imagine it’s the same for people who leave their cars/​motorcycles/​mopeds at various stations too.
The inside bus terminal area is big, sterile-​feeling, and pretty clean.
The light rail area is clean and usually moderately populated at any given moment; the fact that the W-​line now heads out towards Golden is a big contributing factor, I am sure. Good alternative to drinking and driving or cutting down on your Über/​Lyft «hey, it’s 2:37am on a Weds night, it’s ***prime time***, let me just adjust your billing rate upwards by 75%» bill coming back from the bars.” [That’s right; I took a shot at em – they earned it. ;) RTD bueno, Lyft/​Über meh.]

I had a Denver destination in mind today that was simply just easier to do via RTD from Boulder to Union Station than with my car. I can walk to a major bus stop zone in Boulder and I arrived on the express bus 45 minutes later in the new Union Station bus facility. The bus concourse at Union Station was easy to navigate, comfortable and clean. Departure back to Boulder went smoothly too. Digital signs at the gates made it easy to find the right loading zone.
I had last used the bus to downtown Denver when it was still at Market Street. This was so much nicer.

The RTD terminal at union station provides convenient access, but lacks some seemingly necessary features.
There are plenty of gates and the signs at each plainly display that gate’s information. Sometimes it is a bit annoying that the larger, terminal-​wide displays are only located on either end, though. If you end up at the wrong gate, you have to walk back to the end to find more information.
The seats here are also super uncomfortable. I’ve arrived early a few times and I’ll just as soon sit on the floor (which, at some gates, is the only logical option because the benches are just too far away).
I also have a lot of trouble getting any type of cell phone service anywhere in the terminal. There is no wifi either. This place is a dead-​zone.
It does have restrooms located at the northern end of the terminal (opposite old Union Station). And there are plenty of amenities located in the main building or within walking distance. The Free Mall Ride and Light-​rail are easily accessed via the northern entrance.
I’m a fan of the renovations to the Union Station building, and, for the most part, I think they did a decent job with the underground RTD terminal as well.

FIVE stars for convenience and cost.
$ 5 bus ride from right outside baggage pick up to Union Station downtown Denver.
versus $ 40 lyft or $ 65 cab ride.
$ 13 bus ride from airport to Boulder/​Eldora
Free mall bus right outside Union station to take us into 16ave mall.
We are amazed at the value

I had to catch an early bus to the airport and only had a card. There is 1 count that, 1 machine to use in a katrillion dollar bus terminal. It didn’t work. «No problem. I’ll just use the ATM and get cash.» Ahhhhh. Where the flip is the ATM? Not on in the whole place. Walk to the nearest bank got cash. Huge pain in the ass. Then I’m thirsty. No prob. I’ll just get a drink from the vending machine… ahhhhh. Where the fu&k is the vending machine. What year is this again? Great job Denver. I’m taking an Über next time.

Nice and new BUT absolutely embarrassing that there is no cell service or wifi available in the bus terminal. A brilliant failure of design.

No one has said «boo» yet, so as I sit waiting for my train, I will toss in my .019.
Be aware that if you are expecting a drop off at the neon-​logo «Union Station» — you have a bit of hoofing to do. Not the same place! The RTD station is more to the west of it and a bit more south. Totally fine really, but be aware that you will walk around construction fences and «short time shoes», ladies, will be a challenge. We walked a solid 10+ mins to hit the gates for the Rockies game – can’t say that it was any more far away than any other Rockies parking — and our two tickets is were $ 8 which was awesome we came from Lakewood (west of Denver via the W route).
We accessed the «W» –from our post-​game festivities (9^th door on Blake! Mmm) and accessed US from the pedestrian bridge at 16^th & Wynkoop – so you can walk in from a couple of different points – this being a bit more south. As the maps online say, sanity check these directions – I am blonde and have had a few sangrias.
The ticket machines, to me, are frighteningly unintuitive. When we were strapped for time and confused with lack of obvious choices we chose the quick pick option (I hope all my numbers hit!) with 2 transactions-​1 each. Can’t change quantities? I work in IT and this was lame – I saw other non-​regulars having the same hiccups. Because of this and most stations only having 2 machines, come earlier than needed or you may watch your once-​in-​thirty minutes train fly by.
Tip: you can buy ticket books from local King Soopers (etc) –not only are the tix a little cheaper bit you can bypass the machines. You just validate them in one of the little boxes hanging around.
Otherwise, US even at midnight feels safe, well lit and lines/​times easy to read. On weekends you will find a lot of tired game– and concert-​goers in addition to some (also sauced) college students heading back to Denver.