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 21 bus lines and 2 ART lines. ABQ RIDE serves 1,814 stops or stations in the Albuquerque area. On average ABQ RIDE provides more than 7 million rides annually to the community.
FY2024 Ridership: 6,904,429
FY2025 Ridership: 7,694,969
What transportation modes does your agency provide?
Using National Transit Database terminology: motor bus, demand-response, and bus rapid.
How many buses, vans and other vehicles do you operate?
131 forty-foot (40’) buses,
30 sixty foot(60’) articulated buses,
84 Paratransit 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?
ABQ RIDE provides fixed route, bus rapid transit (ART), and microtransit (ABQ RIDE Connect) service for Albuquerque and paratransit (Sun Van) service for the mobility impaired population. Public transportation services connect with the New Mexico Rail Runner Express train throughout the city, to the airport.
ABQ RIDE hosts events year-round to provide resources for the community, celebrate alternative modes of transportation, engage residents in understanding the importance and critical nature of access to public transportation, and encourage City of Albuquerque hiring.
The department also provides park and ride support for several events around Albuquerque including to Freedom Fourth, the Luminaria Tour, and other local events. In cases of city emergencies, ABQ RIDE steps up to provide emergency transportation to the community as needed.
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