As it battles a steady ridership decline amid a fast-evolving transportation landscape, RTD is set to roll out an initiative that aims to get more people onto its buses and trains — or whatever yet-to-be-dreamed-up modes of transport may be heading our way.

On Wednesday, the Regional Transportation District will formally unveil a two-year effort — dubbed Reimagine RTD — to plan for the “future of mobility” in metro Denver amid the rise of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft and the prospect of self-driving vehicles filling the streets one day.

The agency will also give the public the chance to connect directly with its general manager, Dave Genova, through a district-wide telephone town hall that starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday. People can jump on the call via RTD’s website or by calling 855-543-3425 in live time.

“Reimagine RTD is an opportunity for the agency to evaluate how we provide service and design the mobility of the future to reflect how people want and need to move around the region,” said RTD spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas.

RTD’s initiative comes as its ridership has dropped from more than 103 million boardings in 2015 to fewer than 98 million last year, even as the population in the metro area has galloped ahead.

RTD, which turned 50 in July, has faced a steady stream of bad headlines in the last couple of years as it hit big delays in rolling out new commuter rail lines, raised fares to one of the higher price points in the nation and wrestled with a driver shortage that it’s still trying to resolve.

Just last week, the agency announced that the N-Line to Thornton and Northglenn may open more than two years later than first anticipated.

Tonilas said the purpose of Wednesday’s call, in which RTD will reach out to 100,000 residents in the district and invite them into the discussion, is to “have an open and honest conversation with the public.”

“We fully expect we will hear from some people who raise concerns about these and other issues, and we are prepared to address these and other matters openly and transparently,” she said.

Ben Fried, a spokesman for New York City-based TransitCenter, said while much of the recent focus at RTD has been on starting and expanding passenger rail in metro Denver as part of the FasTracks ballot measure passed by voters 15 years ago, RTD has let its bus routes languish.

“Right now, RTD falls into this basket of transit agencies that have spent a lot of resources developing their light rail and commuter rail but let their bus system fall by the wayside,” Fried said. “Building out FasTracks is a monumental undertaking, but it’s not a complete transit network.”

There needs to be less emphasis on the hub-and-spoke model of service, which largely favors suburban commuters traveling from the periphery of the metro area to downtown Denver, and more focus on developing a “core grid of bus service so people can do all kinds of trips any time of day,” he said.

“Beware whiz-bang solutions,” Fried said. “The fundamentals of frequent, reliable service within walking distance are what matter most to people. Denver still has to get the basics right.”

Andrew Goetz, a University of Denver geography professor who specializes in transportation issues, said RTD needs to keep forming partnerships with emerging transportation companies so that it doesn’t lose its relevance.

He said vehicle miles traveled have actually increased lately as gas prices have stayed relatively low and new ride-sharing services have lured in customers with the promise of flexibility and convenience.

“They need to make an effort for the transit service to be better integrated into mobility options,” he said.

RTD hasn’t shied away from teaming up with its competitors this year: Uber began allowing its customers to buy RTD tickets on its app while rival Lyft introduced the “Nearby Transit” feature in its app, which shows its customers nearby public transit routes and schedules.

But RTD knows that it needs to stay on top of how people travel in an even more comprehensive fashion, Tonilas said. Thus, the Reimagine RTD effort, which the agency says will endeavor to “stay ahead of the curve of private sector innovation.”

“It’s a chance to optimize our service and develop forward-thinking integrated mobility strategies to meet the transit needs of the future,” she said.