The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs Transit officials are offering expanded bus service this weekend in anticipation of some of the highest ridership numbers of the year.

Barry Hoffman, a supervisor for Steamboat Springs Transit, said the city's free bus system would experience one of its busiest days of the year Saturday.

"We'll carry thousands of people," Hoffman said. He encourages visitors and residents to use the bus instead of driving to weekend events.

This weekend's activities include the 26th annual Hot Air Balloon Rodeo, the 32nd annual Art in the Park and the Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series. The expanded bus service is intended to cater to those events.

Additional service will be provided for:

The Hot Air Balloon Rodeo. On Saturday and Sunday, SST will operate a special bus on the regular bus route beginning at 6 a.m., one hour earlier than the system's usual start time. The shuttle will travel the regular bus route, with the addition of a stop in the Meadows parking lot, site of the Balloon Rodeo. Regular service runs every 20 minutes. The route's start time was moved up an hour because the Balloon Rodeo is scheduled to begin at about 7 a.m.

Art in the Park. On Saturday and Sunday, SST will operate a shuttle beginning at 8:30 a.m. that will make roundtrips from the Stock Bridge Transit Center to West Lincoln Park. Additional stops will be at 13th Street and Lincoln Avenue for buses going both directions. The service will end at 5 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday to coincide with the end of Art in the Park festivities.

Other options for getting to Art in the Park include riding the regular buses that depart Stock Bridge at 10, 30 and 50 minutes past each hour, riding the Main Street Shuttle, which leaves Stock Bridge at zero, 20 and 40 minutes past each hour headed downtown, and riding the Yellow Line, which is on call from Stock Bridge from 8:10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

-- To reach Dana Strongin, call 871-4229

or e-mail dstrongin@steamboatpilot.com.