The state will offer weekday Bustang passenger bus service between Pueblo and Colorado Springs starting next week, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced Monday.

The addition will fill a big gap in the state's Bustang system that launched in 2015 with a route between Fort Collins and Denver.

Since then, stops have been added along Interstate 25 south to Colorado Springs and much of Interstate 70. Some regional routes also have been added such as the Lamar-Pueblo line and the Alamosa-Pueblo line. But, until now, there was not service linking Pueblo directly to Colorado Springs and the wider statewide network.

The state agency previously announced the Pueblo-Colorado Springs route was under development.

“This is a natural and much-needed connection for Southern Colorado to have,” David Krutsinger, the agency's director of rail and transit, said in a statement. “By linking Pueblo to Colorado Springs, it’ll close a vital gap and give passengers a lot more options to travel around the state.”

Steve Nawrocki, director of the Senior Resource Development Agency in Pueblo, which contracts with the state to provide the bus drivers and operate the Bustang routes from Pueblo to Lamar and Alamosa, said the agency also will operate the Pueblo-Colorado Springs route.

The segment was a major missing piece in the goal of extending the bus system to Southern Colorado, Nawrocki said. SRDA's involvement stemmed from its stepping forward in answer to the state's call for an operator to oversee the region's bus service, including the hiring and management of bus drivers, he said.

"The connectivity to the whole Bustang service route is going to be a great asset for people living in Southern Colorado. We're very proud to be a part of it," Nawrocki said.

The inaugural run is set to take place next Monday.

A press conference is set for 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Pueblo Transit Center at 123 Court St.

The bus will depart the Pueblo transit center daily at 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The schedule allows Denver-bound passengers to make a connection to an afternoon Denver-bound bus out of Colorado Springs. The Pueblo bus will then make the return trip and arrive at the transit center at 3:15 p.m. each weekday.

The route will run from the Pueblo Transit Center to the Tejon Street stop in Colorado Springs with a stop in Fountain. From Colorado Springs, riders can continue on to Denver's Union Station and the statewide Bustang network and Denver's RTD bus and commuter rail lines, including to Denver International Airport.

Known as the Bustang Outrider service, the Pueblo-Colorado Springs line helps "fulfill our mission to provide intrastate transit services to people living in rural areas and beyond the (Interstate 25) corridor,” Krutsinger said.

For information on routes, schedules and ticket purchases, visit ridebustang.com. Information on the Pueblo-Colorado Springs route is expected to be posted on the website by today or Wednesday, a CDOT spokesman said.

A list of Bustang routes and stops in the region:

• Pueblo-Colorado Springs: Service starting next week.

• Lamar-Pueblo: Lamar, Fort Lyon, Las Animas, La Junta, Swink, Rocky Ford, Manzanola, Fowler, Pueblo Memorial Airport and Pueblo Transit Center.

• San Luis Valley-U.S. 50 West to Pueblo: Alamosa, Moffat, Poncha Springs, Salida, Cotopaxi, Canon City, Penrose, Pueblo West and Pueblo Transit Center. (The Salida stop also serves as connecting hub for service directly to Denver and Gunnison.)

ddarrow@chieftain.com