Ten years ago, the Regional Transportation District launched light rail, a commuter network that has evolved and exceeded ridership projections, with some 60,000 passenger trips recorded every weekday, according to the Denver Daily News.

Yet RTD is predicting a budget deficit next year, and staff members are calling for an average 9.4 percent fare increase in coming months, along with $3 million in cuts to bus and train services, reports The Denver Post.

RTD, which already has a salary freeze in place for nonunion workers, may also ask all of its 600 salaried employees to voluntarily take off three unpaid days a year, although the district has saved only a moderate amount from a similar voluntary furlough in effect since the first half of this year.