Strategic Plan

Our Mission, Vision, and Values

Our MissionWe make lives better through connectionsOur VisionTo be the trusted leader in mobility, delivering excellence and value to our customers and communityOur ValuesWe value passion, respect, diversity, trustworthiness, collaboration, and ownership.

Letter from our General Manager and CEO

Headshot of Debra Johnson

As RTD’s General Manager and CEO, it is my privilege to deliver this update to the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan, which was first approved by the agency’s Board of Directors in August 2021. The original document, which was developed more than two years ago, outlines four Strategic Priorities – Community Value, Customer Excellence, Employee Ownership and Financial Success – that serve as the functional pillars by which RTD plans, develops, evaluates and measures overall performance.

Between the Strategic Plan’s adoption and now, as the needs, opportunities and challenges of the Denver metro region have continued to evolve, a reevaluation of the plan has become necessary. While the Strategic Priorities outlined above remain sound, the environment in which the agency now operates has changed. RTD must pivot, as well, to prepare for and accommodate new realities.

Over the course of several strategy sessions held beginning in late 2022 and throughout 2023, agency leaders have collectively reviewed the Strategic Plan with a new perspective. After thinking critically about the Strategic Priorities, and considering feedback from employee, customer and community surveys, these individuals have proposed a narrowing of the plan’s focus – and correspondingly their team’s efforts – to initiatives and tactics they expect will yield the biggest difference in achieving success outcomes.

Emphasis has been placed on the following three priority tactics, as outlined in the revised Strategic Plan: Back to Basics, People Power and Creating a Welcoming Transit Environment. These tactics align with the Strategic Plan’s overall goals, as well as the agency’s Mission, Vision, and Values. Bottom line: This updated Strategic Plan you see before you brings further clarity and focus to the agency’s business.

Like the public it serves, RTD is in a different place than it was two years ago. Work and travel patterns have shifted for many customers. Some people use the agency’s system less, others more, and still others on different days or in different ways than they used to. New customers try public transit for the first time every day. The dedicated employees with whom I have the privilege to work every day remain focused on delivering safe, consistent, high-quality service that provides value to these customers, and the region as a whole.

I extend my sincere gratitude to RTD’s employees, each of whom is essential to the execution of this plan. Thanks are due as well to the agency’s customers, without whom there would be no need for any of us at RTD, including me. This updated plan – like RTD’s services – is for you. It presents the intentionality needed to make lives better through connections.

Sincerely,

Debra A. Johnson

Strategic Priorities

RTD’s four Strategic Priorities are the functional pillars used to plan, develop, evaluate, and measure the agency’s overall performance throughout the life cycle of the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.
Community ValueRTD strives to be a strong community partner, providing value to customers as well as to the broader Denver metro region while sustaining planet Earth. Success Outcome: Increase Community Value Index by 5%.
Customer ExcellenceRTD strives to consistently deliver high-quality customer service. Success Outcome: Increase Customer Net Promoter Score by 5%. 
Employee OwnershipRTD seeks to attract and retain a highly skilled and engaged workforce. Success Outcome: Increase Employee Net Promoter Score by 5%.
Financial SuccessRTD takes very seriously the management of all financial resources. Success Outcome: 50% of outcome is that RTD spends less money than it receives; and 50% of outcome is that the community believes that it sees value in RTD’s spending.

Strategic Initiatives

The 2023-24 Strategic Initiatives reflect a renewed collective focus to deliver meaningful progress toward established success outcomes. These initiatives have been interwoven into the Fiscal Year 2024 budget as well as work plans created by employees throughout the agency.

Back to Basics icon

Back to Basics

RTD strives to enhance the reach and impact of internal communications and to redouble agency efforts to maintain assets in a state of good repair leveraging sound asset management principles

People Power icon

People Power

Recognizing the critical importance of its people, the agency’s most important resource, in achieving the agency’s mission, RTD seeks to vigorously address impediments to recruitment and retention efforts and to foster a culture of learning and development.

Welcoming Transit Environment icon

Welcoming Transit Environment

RTD seeks to reduce the impacts of criminal behaviors and Code of Conduct violations on agency services and workplaces and, in doing so, to improve community and employee perception of personal and public security on RTD property and vehicles.

Back to Basics

Asset Management

Definition of Success

  1. Integrate a management system that leverages asset information to make optimal asset investment decisions
  2. Document, communicate, monitor, and deliver the plan
  3. Demonstrate a commitment to rail infrastructure

Action Steps

  1. Create a plan to leverage the opportunities for improvement outlined in the recent assessment of the Asset Information Maturity (AIM) objective
  2. Deliver a process that systematically removes roadblocks and increases organizational throughput
  3. Finalize the plan to address the downtown loop track replacement

Internal Communication

Definition of Success

  1. Improve the percentage of agreement on the employee survey regarding the following statement: I am adequately informed about agency news, projects, and initiatives
  2. Share more information across RTD that meaningfully engages employees
  3. Ensure that supervisors are providing direct reports and teams with agency updates
  4. Build a culture of recognition

Action Steps

  1. Review all existing internal communications efforts
  2. Review the process and methods for internal communications
  3. Develop and implement a content submission process
  4. Develop and implement a plan to measure success and track the ROI of internal communications
  5. Finalize and share a comprehensive internal communications plan with the Leadership Team

People Power

Employee Recruitment

Definition of Success

  1. Add two full-time recruiters to staff
  2. Implement eSkills program across all disciplines for skill evaluation efficiency
  3. Create a dashboard of reliable reports to help RTD compete better in the workplace
  4. Review, analyze, and refine RTD’s current recruitment and selection process to expedite the acquisition of the right talent, in the right role, and at the right time to address the agency’s current and future talent vacancies

Action Steps

  1. Establish monthly recruitment meetings with hiring managers
  2. Add additional staff to recruiting unit
  3. Create Workday dashboard
  4. Develop and implement the eSkills program

Employee Retention

Definition of Success

  1. Train a minimum of 400 managers and supervisors
  2. Create a culture of training and learning within RTD

Action Steps

  1. Provide training for managers and supervisors
  2. Build learning plans for continuous education
  3. Support all employees with the tools and training they need
  4. Increase managers’ and supervisors’ confidence in their roles

Welcoming Transit Environment

Public Security

Definition of Success

  1. Decrease crime (Group A) by 3%
  2. Improve community net promoter score by five points

Action Steps

  1. Hire additional officers and place them based on monthly crime data analysis
  2. Attend meetings, maintain high visibility within the service area and implement new technology
  3. Adhere to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards

Employee Security

Definition of Success

  1. Decrease crime (Group A) by 3%
  2. Improve employee net promoter score by five points

Action Steps

  1. Implement robust de-escalation training for all bus operators
  2. Board of Directors consideration of updated Customer Code of Conduct
  3. Increase visibility of police officers at crime data locations
  4. Implement live look-in system
  5. Attend safety meetings, maintain high visibility and implement new technology