CU Ski Bus - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Please select a question from the list below, or you may scroll down to view all of the questions.

Do I have to be a CU student or employee to ride the Ski Bus?
Will trips ever get cancelled due to weather?
Will the bus destination ever change due to weather?
What is your refund policy if a trip gets cancelled due to weather?
What is your refund policy if I have to cancel my ticket?
Am I allowed to give my Ski Bus ticket to a friend?
Do I need my Herd membership number or card to buy Herd tickets?
Can I buy tickets with cash?
What time does the bus leave campus?
Where do I get on the bus on campus in the morning?
Where can I park to ride the Ski Bus?
What time does the bus leave the resorts?
What time should I expect to get back from the resort?
Can I ride the bus one-way only?
Can I leave items on the bus during the day?
What kind of bus will I be in?
What on-bus amenities are offered?
Why don't you run more buses?
Why don't you run buses to other resorts, including Loveland, Copper, or Winter Park?

1. Do I have to be a CU student or employee to ride the Ski Bus?
Yes. The Ski Bus is a University-subsidized program for current CU students, faculty, and staff only. A current Buff OneCard is required to board the bus on the day of the trip. However, current students, faculty, and staff may buy one regular ticket for a non-student guest in addition to their own ticket. Non-student guests may not buy Herd tickets.

2. Will trips ever get cancelled due to weather?
Hopefully trips will never be cancelled due to weather. However, in the event that Interstate 70 is closed on the day of the trip, the bus will be cancelled, with only a few exceptions (see question 3). Contact us with questions about cancellations. The cancellation decision will generally be made by 10:00 pm the night before each trip, but it is possible that a trip may be cancelled the morning of the trip. In this situation, a customer service representative will visit each bus pickup location in the morning to inform passengers of the cancellation and about our refund policy (see question 4).

3. Will the bus destination ever change due to weather?
It is possible. Here are the list of scenarios that will result in a destination change due to weather:
- If Vail Pass (I-70) is closed or has the chain law in effect, the bus destination will change from Vail or Beaver Creek to Breckenridge.
- If Loveland Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel (I-70) and are closed, but Kenosha Pass (US highway 285) and Hoosier Pass (CO highway 9) are open, the bus destination may change from Vail, Beaver Creek, or Keystone/A-Basin to Breckenridge.
** All destination changes are at the bus manager's discretion. Even if US highway 285 and CO highway 9 are open, the bus may still be cancelled due to severe weather, for the safety of the passengers and the driver.

4. What is your refund policy if a trip gets cancelled due to weather?
In the event that the program cancels a bus trip, all tickets for that bus are fully refundable. Tickets may be refunded to the credit card it was billed on or transferred to another bus trip.

5. What is your refund policy if I have to cancel my ticket?
Tickets are non-refundable. In most cases, it is easier to find a friend who can use your ticket than to request a date change (see question 6). Please visit our Ticket Information page for specific options.

6. Can I give my Ski Bus ticket to a friend?
Yes. All Ski Bus tickets are transferrable so long as you inform us of the change, and that the new person is eligible to use your ticket. Please fill out our change form to let us know. The new person must be eligible to use your ticket, meaning that if you bought a Herd ($5) ticket, they must be a Herd member as well. If you bought a Regular ($15) ticket, they must be a CU-Boulder student, faculty, or staff member as well.

7. Do I need my Herd membership number or card to buy Herd tickets?
Yes. Your Herd membership number is required in order to buy Herd tickets. Our online system will not permit you to purchase a Herd ticket unless you have a valid membership number.

8. Can I buy tickets with cash?
No. We apologize for the inconvenience, but our current sales portal does not have an in-peson clerk to process cash sales. Please contact us with questions or comments.

9. What time does the bus leave campus?
The latest the bus leaves campus is 6:30 am from Farrand Field. Please see Trip Information for more details.

10. Where do I get on the bus on campus in the morning?
There are three pickups in the morning: Wiliams Village, Kittredge Commons and Farrand Field. See the campus pickup location maps for more details.

11. Where can I park to ride the Ski Bus?
Parking for the Ski Bus is available in CU parking lot #308, on the southeast corner of Broadway and Regent Drive. This parking lot is served by the Kittredge pickup. There is no charge to park in this parking lot on weekends and university holidays.

12. What time does the bus leave the resorts?
The bus leaves the resorts (except for A-Basin) at exactly 4:00 PM. Please be on time. Visit Trip Information for more details..

13. What time should I expect to get back from the resort?

Due to heavy and variable traffic on Interstate 70, the bus will likely to get back between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, but we cannot say any more specifically than that. Traffic is generally worse on Sunday evenings than Saturday evenings.

14. Can I ride the bus one-way only?
Yes. You are more than welcome to ride the bus one-way only. We cannot offer any discounted tickets in this case, however. Please let us know so that we can look out for you and update our rosters.

15. Can I leave items on the bus during the day?
Yes, but you will not be able to access the items at all during the day. Additionally, we encourage you to not leave things in the luggage compartments during the day, as it can often be difficult to retrieve them in the afternoon. You are encouraged to store everything in the seats or overhead compartments of the bus during the day.

16. What kind of bus will I be in?
We use 56-passenger charter buses for our bus trips, complete with padded seats, on-bus restroom, reading lights, and air conditioning/heater. A movie will be shown on the return trip.

17. What on-bus amenities are offered?
On the bus, the following complimentary amenities are offered: Clif bars or Mojo bars on the morning trip, loaner pillows and blankets for the morning and evening trips, a movie showing on the return trip, trail maps to whichever resort(s) the bus is running to on that day on the morning trip, and official Ski Bus stickers on the return trip. New for the 2012/2013 season the buses have free wi-fi.

18. Why don't you run more buses?
At the present time, the program loses money on each bus trip. As such, we cannot afford under our current budget to run buses on more days or schedule additional buses when one day sells out. We are currently looking into ways to make more money without raising ticket prices. If we are successful, we may be able to run more buses than we currently do. Have ideas? Contact us!

19. Why don't you run buses to other resorts, including Loveland, Copper, or Winter Park?
We do! We have been thinking about this one for a while and have decided for the 2012/2013 season we would pilot 3 trips to Winter Park and 2 to Copper. If you want to see this service continue be sure to purchase tickets. The manager of the ski bus is partial to Winter Park since he lived there for 3 ski seasons.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 303-900-2761.