Why support public transit in New Mexico?
Public transit provides access for the general public, disabled and senior citizens to get to and from jobs and job training; emergency, medical prenatal and behavioral health care and veteran services; educational facilities; entertainment, shopping, community, senior, parks and recreational facilities.
As public transportation continues to grow, New Mexico’s 28 transit agencies provide fixed-route, dial-a-ride, demand response, intercommunity routes and paratransit that gives people more mobility options with low or zero emission transit vehicles to reduce carbon emissions to improve New Mexico’s air quality.
In the attached backgrounders, the transit agencies tell their stories about how their services assist the communities they serve, how they have expended federal grant funding and where they could invest additional state match transit funding if it was available.
What is your agency’s service area?
ABQ RIDE is a public transportation provider that serves the Albuquerque area. ABQ RIDE operates the following transit modes across the Albuquerque area: bus and art. In total, ABQ RIDE operates 21 bus lines and 2 ART lines. ABQ RIDE serves 1,814 stops or stations in the Albuquerque area.
What transportation modes does your agency provide?
Using National Transit Database terminology: motor bus, demand-response, and rapid bus.
How many buses, vans and other vehicles do you operate?
131 forty-foot (40’) buses
30 sixty foot(60’) articulated buses
84 Para-Transit Vans
5 Electric micro-transit vans
And approximately 97 other vehicles such as fleet, clerical, equipment and Bus stop and building maintenance vehicles.
All of our vehicles run a mixture of fuel types. We currently operate Diesel Hybrid, CNG, and Battery Electric Vehicles.
Key priorities for making services route decisions?
We try to balance geographic coverage to provide life-line service (regardless of density and ridership potential) against the need to provide frequent service that’s useful to large numbers of people and therefore gets high ridership. Public feedback during our ABQ RIDE Forward network design process over the last two years has favored providing frequent service (with a focus on low-income areas) over expanding geographic coverage.
How has your agency applied its federal funding?
ABQ Ride utilizes federal funding to supplement our needs of replacing all vehicle types including buses, paratransit vans, micro-transit, and staff support vehicles; facility repairs and rehabilitation for over 300,000 square feet of space; technology software and hardware; bus stop shelters and rapid transit stations modifications, repairs and replacement; new park and ride development and modifications to existing park and rides, as well as planning dollars for future capital projects including design and engineering fees.
How would your agency apply additional state transit funding?
Additional state transit funding helps to assist ABQ ride in funding new capital projects when there is often a gap in funding present.
What ways does your agency assist your community during community events or emergency assistance?
The Transit Department provides fixed route (ABQ Ride) and rapid transit (ART) bus service for the Albuquerque community and ParaTransit (SunVan) service for the mobility impaired population. The department provides connection routes with the New Mexico Rail Runner commuter train throughout the City, to the airport, and to the City of Rio Rancho. Additional services, such as special events park and ride that might include to the New Mexico State Fair and luminaria tours, are also made available in an effort to offer a broad range of alternative transportation services
In an emergency situation, we provide transportation for APD such as during a riot situation or if a state of emergency is declared. We can provide transportation to large groups of people, such as City officials, APD, fire, and rescue. We also provide a rolling command center for upper management in the event of a crisis. Usually a SunVan.
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