GDT > RTD Rider’s Guide > Routes > Route NB1 / NB2 – Boulder / Nederland / Eldora
Route NB1 / NB2, ‘Boulder / Nederland / Eldora’, runs from Boulder Transit Center to Nederland via Highway 119. In winter route NB1 is extended to serve the Eldora Mountain Resort in the daytime. All trips are extended to serve Nederland High School in fall, winter and spring. Route NB2 denotes trips that extend to Nederland High School, depending on time of year. Finally route NB3 is used to denote trips that only go as far as Nederland Park-n-Ride.
The route used to be referred to as route N, this was updated to NB to free up the letter ‘N’ for the N Line, which eventually opened in 2020.
The current route NB1 and NB2 routes were introduced in 2020, before that the route was simply referred to as NB. The NB3 route was introduced in 2023.
Map & Schedule
Routes NB1 and NB2 operate 7 days a week. Frequency is generally 60 minutes at all times with some gaps.
Vehicles Used
The route is operated by RTD using MCI D4500CT over-the-road coaches from Boulder Garage.
Ridership
| Year | Route NB | Route NB1 | Route NB2 | Route NB3 | Total |
| 2018 | 121,000 | – | – | – | 121,000 |
| 2019 | 130,000 | – | – | – | 121,000 |
| 2020 | – | 30,000 | 43,000 | – | 73,000 |
| 2021 | – | 21,000 | 38,000 | – | 59,000 |
| 2022 | – | 33,000 | 58,000 | – | 91,000 |
| 2023 | – | 36,000 | 46,000 | 15,000 | 97,000 |
| 2024 | – | 73,000 | 17,000 | 18,000 | 108,000 |
Note: Figures from 2020 include former Route NB riders.
Current Issues
This route suffers from poor scheduling at Downtown Boulder Station, where buses are timed to depart 2 – 12 minutes before Flatiron Flyer services arrive.
Eldora Mountain Resort visitors and employees have expressed anxiety that the 60 minute frequency may mean they are unable to board return buses at the end of the day and face long waits or expensive rideshare fares to get back to Boulder.
Future Plans
The System Optimization Plan proposes to decrease day frequency outside the peaks and in the evenings to 120 minutes and calls for service to Eldora Mountain Resort to be part of a cost sharing agreement.