ABQ RIDE Accomplishments for 2007

Finance

• Greg Payne accepted the position of Transit Director in December 2005.  At that time, ABQ RIDE was projected to be 6% over budget by the end of the fiscal year.  Instead, by June 30, 2006, ABQ RIDE’s actual financial status was 1.4% under budget.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE brought busboard advertising in-house in July 2006 and continues to generate at least $30,000 per month in revenue.  This is a 50% increase compared to past years when working with an outside contractor.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE has gone through the formal process of soliciting for proposals to once again contract for transit advertising, including a shelter and stop component.  This will not only create more opportunities for additional revenue but will also enhance stops and add more shaded space for passengers.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE has reorganized the department and eliminated some upper management positions in an effort to re-allocate the funding to meet the hiring demands for more drivers and mechanics.
  
  
• Fare revenue for Fiscal Year 2006 was anticipated at $3.9 million, the actual fare revenue collected reached upward of $4.9 million.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE Director, Greg Payne, enforced spending control measures to contribute to the department’s fiscal savings including a requirement that maintenance personnel obtain 3 quotes for any part or service over $1,000.

Service Expansion

• Introduced the D-Ride, a free downtown circulator that helps connect new Rail Runner commuters.  Ridership reached 12,666 during the second full month of service.  ABQ RIDE added a third bus in November to meet increased ridership.
  
  
• Successfully coordinated service with the City of Rio Rancho, Sandoval County and the Mid-Region Council of Governments to establish a new route that provides bus service between Rio Rancho and Albuquerque.  This route also connects with the NM Rail Runner Express and is the first time bus service has been provided in Rio Rancho in a decade.
  
  
• Increased the number of Rio Grande river crossings from one to three, including an all day route across the Montaño Bridge (Route 157) and a NM Rail Runner connection across Paseo Del Norte (Route 151).
  
  
• Extended Rapid Ride service to Sundays.
  
  
• Added Rapid Ride service to Coors Boulevard on the City’s Westside.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE successfully added 26 new, full-time, fixed-route driver positions, 10 part-time, fixed-route driver positions and 10 part-time, paratransit driver positions.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE organized public meetings during the summer of 2006 to gather public input before restructuring the routing system.  In an effort to better coordinate service, connections and to accommodate more passengers, ABQ RIDE retimed each route.

Record Ridership

• ABQ RIDE reported just over 8.5 million passenger boardings for fiscal year 2006, the highest passenger ridership ever recorded.
  
  
• Between December 2005 and October 2006 ABQ RIDE provided 8,244,169 fixed-route, passenger trips. This figure signifies a 28% increase over the same 11 month period during the prior year.
  
  
• For the first time passenger boardings in the Central Avenue corridor surpassed 350,000 per month.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE provided 182,000 paratransit trips and approximately 2 million revenue miles were recorded on the paratransit fleet.

Paratransit Service

• ABQ RIDE continued to meet the needs of the mobility-impaired community and provided a record, 182,000 paratransit trips.  In addition, approximately 2 million revenue miles were recorded over the year.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE in collaboration with the paratransit board initiated an independent assessment to assure compliance with the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  
  
• ABQ RIDE began the purchasing process to acquire between 12 and 24 new paratransit vehicles to meet the growing demand for paratransit service.

Fleet Maintenance

• In 2006 ABQ RIDE purchased 6 new Rapid Ride vehicles for a permanent west side route that better serves the needs of west side commuters.  These buses are expected to arrive within the first few months of 2007.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE is in the process of purchasing 35 new, diesel-electric, hybrid buses to replace outdated buses from 1989.  These buses will ensure that 89% of the total fleet is ADA accessible.
  
  
• The addition of between 12 and 24 new paratransit vehicles is consistent with the department’s intent to update the existing fleet.

Facility Improvements

• ABQ RIDE partnered with the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) to use existing space at the Alvarado Transportation Center (ATC) to design and build a prisoner transport unit.
  
  
• Phase II of the Alvarado Transportation Center opened this summer and serves as the official Greyhound bus terminal.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE has diligently worked to develop unused space in the Customer Service Area on the lower level of the ATC to create a more inviting place for passengers to wait.  A coffee shop is scheduled to open in 2007.
  
  
• To emphasize the importance of timeliness, the Alvarado Transportation Center clock towers now consistently read the same, correct times. 
  
  
• ABQ RIDE installed new signage to help coordinate service between the NM Rail Runner Express and our bus system.
  
  
• The LED displays at the Rapid Ride stations were repaired and now show the correct time of day and the estimated time of Rapid Ride arrivals.
  
  
• ABQ RIDE installed and now operates an Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) system to track the location and speed of every Rapid Ride vehicle in operation.  ABQ RIDE intends to expand this to paratransit vehicles next and eventually the system will be applied to all ABQ RIDE vehicles.  This technical component is part of the overall goal to create a 21st Century transportation system for