CREATE Rural Transit - Go Fund Yourself!

In 2025 I attended and presented a conference with local officials and transportation directors on local transportation needs and options. While it was great to have a conversation about the past, present and future of rural transportation one comment stuck with me. "There is a reason why entrepreneurs stay away from transportation. You can't make money from it." Everyone in the room shook their head. Yet in my thinking, I asked "Why not?"

Fast forward to April 30th. A program on Enviornment and Economics on the cost of transportation, automobiles, gas and oil. I was in Canon City, Colorado buying cheap tires for a high price. I needed 4! Ouch. Deliverables are luxury commodities in this era of the Trump War. With the time I had in the waiting room I did what I do. I researched rural transportation, non-profit transportation organizations and partnerships between the public and private sectors, specifically entrepreneurial hybrids. Not cars but hybrid organizations. As an Executive Director, Founder, CEO, Founder and President, I keep everything separate abd donate to my non profits and organizations that I work with.

Entrepreneurial Opportunities

In major cities car sharing is a big deal. A new car costs $50,000 on average. And old cars that are a hazard can cause wild fires. The fire that closed Highway 115 in March was reportably a car on fire. If small communities pooled a fleet of e-cars and the local transportation company financed it for ride shares, car pools and with businesses that need workers, the workers pay a monthly car share ride or the employer does, and the artist formerly known as the car rental, or the car dealer is now a car share broker for an entire community.

Commutation Tickets Radius

Those who ride together to work, shopping, medical appointments share expenses, a portion of insurance, and should get a tax break, as well as the employer. In our region, we are within an hour of commuting to work centers, shopping, hospitals and services. Custer County, is an hour more or less from Canon City to the North, Salida to the West, Pueblo to the East and Walsenburg to the South. Each one of those town connect with Bustang which takes riders to Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins. Salida, Alamosa, Gunnison, Grand Junction, and all over the state. Coordination in a guide, catalog, website, in print, and through media outlets like CREATE Daily have been ideas to distribute and educate communities on the benefits of riding the bus.

Be a Mobile Entrepreneur

Food Trucks, Media Teams, Recreation Centers, Libraries and Educational, Medical and other types of businesses and services are a van away from offering products and services. Parked at parks, the portable university, financial, medical or city services bus or van eliminates the need for offices and becomes a source for housing and other needs. The local transportation organization delivers the customers.

TAG Team (Think Act Group Team) is a service of the Colorado Chapter Committee of the Leadon Family Foundation. We believe that for every non profit there is a subsidary that is entrepreneurial. We need both to sustain a Main Street Economy. To find out how you can get involved and how we can help you email Richardbeattie809@gmail.com. Be a member of the Colorado Chapter Committee of the Leadon Family Foundation at $12 a month and find out what it really means to go fund yourself!