ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The city spent around two years trying to figure out how to reformat its bus system after ridership cratered in Covid. Now a new report has some big ideas for what changes might be on the horizon.
After taking in a lot of community feedback, ABQ Ride now has a draft plan for more frequent bus service and expanded services in some areas.
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“It gives us some real viable options to create a healthy ridership concept for the city of Albuquerque. The city of Albuquerque deserves a state-of-the-art transit system and that’s what this report is going to help us accomplish,” said Bobby Sisneros, ABQ RIDE Director.
The so-called Recovery Network draft report assesses how the bus system can be revamped post-COVID. The city still has fewer bus riders, drivers, and maintenance employees than it did in 2019.
Among the proposals, the report suggests expanding ART services further west past Unser out to 98th Street and further along Coors Blvd. Another idea is to cut the duplicate ART and route 66 buses along parts of Central Ave.
The changes partly focus on two concepts; adding more frequent bus stops to different parts of the city and extending service hours, including adding more weekend bus services.
ABQ Ride says the potential Recovery Network is not necessarily what Albuquerque needs, but rather it’s what the city could operate within the existing budget it already has.
The report is now up for public review and the city is planning to hear more feedback about it at two public meetings in July and August. The final report is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The city said the phased implementation will begin next summer.
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