CU will not renew $5M deal for A-line, Flyer buses

The University of Colorado will not renew a five-year, $5-million contract with the Regional Transportation District for naming rights to the A-line and advertising on Flatiron Flyer buses.

The change was announced at a June 8 virtual RTD board meeting and first reported by Denverite.

The line connecting Denver International Airport and downtown Denver has been called the University of Colorado A-line since it began service in April 2016.

But the CU system and campuses are looking at going in a different direction for marketing, system spokesperson Ken Mcconnellogue said.

“We valued our partnership with RTD, and I think that allowed us to extend our brand and our message. But we continually assess how we spend our marketing funds,” Mcconnellogue said.

It was a cooperative decision among the CU entities that funded the deal, Mcconnellogue said, which were the system office and Denver, Boulder and Anschutz campuses.

“We all have some slightly different imperatives,” Mcconnellogue said. “We don’t have a concrete idea of what those are, but for example at the system we’re looking at how we can promote our online programs.”

The Boulder campus is considering options but has not made decisions about the funding previously allocated to RTD marketing, said spokesperson Josh Lindenstein.

The contract lasts until next May, RTD spokesperson Pauletta Tonilas said at the June 8 meeting, and the transportation district is recruiting companies interested in the naming rights for the A Line.

The decision does not require approval by the Board of Regents, Mcconnellogue said, and was recommended to system leaders by Mcconnellogue and campus communication vice chancellors.