Getting Around Aurora
Aurora, Colorado, sits on the eastern edge of the Denver metro area, and public transit here is run by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the Denver-area agency that operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services across the region. For a visitor, the practical takeaway is that Aurora is not a standalone transit system: it is part of a larger regional network, and most trips are made by connecting between Aurora's local services and the wider RTD system.
Rail: Light Rail and Commuter Rail
The backbone of rail service in Aurora is the R Line, an RTD light rail line that runs along the I-225 corridor through the city. The R Line is the key link for visitors because it connects to the A Line, the commuter rail service that serves both Denver International Airport and downtown Denver. In other words, you can board the R Line in Aurora and transfer to reach the airport or the city center without needing a car.
Aurora has deliberately built up the areas around its R Line stations, so several stops are useful destinations in their own right rather than just places to pass through:
- Metro Center Station — the area around this station is anchored by the Aurora Municipal Center and is planned as a mixed-use district with residential, hospitality, commercial, and office space.
- Colfax Station — this stop connects riders to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, which includes three hospitals, the School of Medicine, and the Fitzsimons Innovation Community.
Because the R Line ties into the A Line, rail is often the most straightforward way to move between Aurora, downtown Denver, and the airport. As with any regional system, check current schedules and transfer points before you travel, since service patterns can change.
Buses and Other Public Transport
Beyond rail, RTD operates bus service throughout the region, and buses fill in the gaps that the rail lines do not cover. Since RTD serves a very large, multi-county area, the bus network is the part of the system most likely to get you to a specific neighborhood, business, or attraction that is not near an R Line station.
For a visitor, the simplest approach is to treat RTD as one integrated network: buses, light rail, and commuter rail all fall under the same agency, so you can plan a trip that mixes modes and transfer between them. Ticket and pass options are sold through RTD, and the agency's trip-planning tools and fare information are the best place to confirm what a given journey will cost and which pass suits your length of stay.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
The source material for Aurora focuses on RTD's rail and bus services and does not detail taxi or ride-hailing options. As in most large U.S. metro areas, these services are generally available, but you should confirm current availability and pricing locally rather than relying on assumptions. For airport runs in particular, comparing a ride-hailing fare against the A Line rail option is worth doing, since the rail connection is a direct link to the airport.
Walkability
Aurora is a large, spread-out city at the crossroads of several major highways, including I-25, I-70, I-225, I-270, and the E-470 metro loop. That highway-oriented layout means walking is generally practical within specific districts rather than across the city as a whole. The areas around R Line stations — such as Metro Center and Colfax — are the places where walking makes the most sense, because development has been concentrated there. For most visitors, walking works best as a way to cover the last stretch between a station and a nearby destination, with rail or bus handling the longer distances.
Getting from the Airport into the City
Aurora is adjacent to Denver International Airport (DEN), one of the busiest airports in the United States, with a large number of nonstop domestic and international destinations. The airport is linked to the region by RTD's A Line commuter rail, and because the R Line connects to the A Line, a visitor landing at DEN can reach Aurora by rail as well as downtown Denver.
Practically speaking, your airport-to-city options break down like this:
- By rail: Take the A Line from the airport. It serves both the airport and downtown Denver, and it connects with the R Line, which runs through Aurora along I-225. This is the transit option to look for if you want to avoid driving.
- By road: Aurora's position at the junction of I-25, I-70, I-225, I-270, and E-470 makes it easy to reach by car from the airport corridor, whether by taxi, ride-hailing, or a rental car.
- Alternative airport: Colorado Air and Space Port, in neighboring Adams County, is an alternative for corporate travel rather than a general commercial gateway.
Whichever mode you choose, plan your transfer in advance: the value of Aurora's transit setup is that the R Line and A Line work together, so a single well-planned rail trip can connect the airport, Aurora, and downtown Denver.