Language Assistance Services

About RTD's Language Access Program

Through our Language Access Program, RTD aims to ensure that all people, regardless of preferred language, have the information they need to benefit from the agency’s various services and programs. As a result, customers have the right to language assistance services, including translation and interpretation, at no cost.

Language Assistance Services

Telephonic Interpretation via Customer Care

If you are an RTD customer who needs interpretation over the phone, call Customer Care at 303-299-6000, open 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m, Mondays-Fridays and 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Interpretation is available for more than 300 languages! Dial “2” to reach a Spanish-speaking information specialist. For all other languages, please tell the Customer Care information specialist what language you speak and stay on the phone while they connect to an interpreter.

Translated Documents

RTD is working to translate its most commonly used materials into Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese, which are the top three languages identified in the RTD service area. These items may include (but are not limited to) the How to Use Our Services guide, information on discount programs (e.g., LiVE), the How to Ride video, service change signage and Title VI complaint process. Links to these materials will be added to this page as they become available.

Request a Translation

Need RTD materials translated into a specific language that is not listed above? To the extent possible, RTD will provide the translation that you need!

To request translation of RTD materials, please fill out the form below. Once you submit the form, RTD will confirm your request via email or phone and ask for additional information as needed. Please note that delivery of the translation will vary depending on the material’s length and complexity (5- to 7-business day minimum expected).

Request an Interpreter for an Event or Public Meeting

If you need an interpreter at an event that RTD is hosting, such as a board meeting, open house or other community engagement, please email RTD’s Transit Equity Specialist and Language Access Coordinator at [email protected] or call 303.299.2051. Include the name and date of the event as well as the language(s) needed. Please submit the request at least 5 business days prior to the event to ensure that we can secure an interpreter.

Why Language Access Matters

Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act as well as Executive Order 13166, "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” RTD must take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to RTD’s programs, services and activities for persons with limited English proficiency (or LEP). Because the ability to speak English can act as a barrier to key social services such as transportation and healthcare, federally funded agencies like RTD must do all they can to bridge language gaps and provide equal access to linguistically diverse customers by law. Consequently, RTD revises its Language Access Plan every three years (as part of the triennial Title VI Program Update) to outline the activities it will pursue to improve language access. Click here to review the 2022-2025 Language Access Plan.

Language access is also intrinsic to RTD’s mission to make lives better through connections. Regardless of someone’s preferred language or cultural background, we want to enable all our diverse customers to get to where they live, work and play without language acting as a barrier to accessing transit. Consequently, since 2022, RTD has actively expanded its language access work. That same year, the agency hired a dedicated Language Access Coordinator to oversee and implement the Language Access Program. Key accomplishments since have been instituting a formalized Serving Non-English-Speaking Customers training for frontline staff, the establishment of internal processes to translate documents, incorporation of translated materials into key projects like the Systemwide Fare Study and Equity Analysis and engaging more intentionally with community-based organizations that serve linguistically diverse customers, including immigrants and refugees.