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As the new home of NMPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Mexico can be contacted with any questions regarding this news release.

A Study comparing Albuquerque’s transit system with 25 other cities similar in population size released today by the New Mexico Public Interest Research Group (NMPIRG) Education Fund shows that Albuquerque ranks 15th out of 25 in total annual ridership, 15th out of 25 in service effectiveness or the amount of passengers traveling per mile, and 24th out of 25 in cost effectiveness, measured as the amount of money spent per mile ridden by passengers.

The report, “Tackling Traffic with Transit: How Albuquerque Can Provide Viable Transportation Choices” analyzes the most recent Federal Transit Administration (FTA) data, 1999, and reveals that Albuquerque doesn’t perform as well as its western peer transit systems with similar size populations of Corpus Christi, TX; Austin, TX; Tucson, AZ; and El Paso, TX in quality measurements.

“The Albuquerque transit system doesn’t measure up to its western peers. According to the FTA’s data, we are lagging behind in ridership, service effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness. Its time Albuquerque catch up with its neighbors and provide a faster and more efficient public transit service,” said Randy Moorman, Land Use and Transportation Advocate for NMPIRG Education Fund.

The report examines how the other four southwestern cities have used innovative technologies and restructured their public transit systems to compete with the personal automobile by changing the system to meet residents’ needs and providing faster, more efficient service. Tucson has contracted a private company to evaluate its bus system and design a comprehensive restructuring plan that will simplify routes and reduce travel time. Tucson along with El Paso and Corpus Christi are decreasing the amount of time riders have to wait between buses by better coordinating bus transfers. Both Austin and El Paso have taken on a more community approach by offering small neighborhood circulator buses that enable riders to travel short distances from home to grocery stores, schools, or jobs as well as connect to cross town buses at neighborhood terminals.

New Mexico State Representative Al Park stated, “Albuquerque should not continue to rely solely on building more roads to solve our traffic woes, which results in more traffic and air pollution. Instead, we need to improve Albuquerque’s transit system with practical and effective solutions like those provided in Tucson and El Paso.”

The report reveals that 94% of the Albuquerque metropolitan area’s residents use a private vehicle as their primary mode of transportation. Decades of sprawl-inducing development policies have produced a city that discourages the use of alternative modes of transportation that would help to decrease traffic.

“Tackling Traffic with Transit” details how the public will use transit if it is made efficient and accessible. According to a 1999 Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments survey, 80% of Albuquerque residents would use public transit if it resulted in a significant times savings. Other cities have shown that investments in technologies such as light rail or bus rapid transit can provide a viable option for commuters from sitting in traffic. A new bus rapid transit system in Charlotte, NC consisting of a dedicated bus lane for express buses and a queue jumper allowing buses to bypass heavy congestion has increased ridership by 55% over the past year. Fifty percent of Dallas’ light rail riders are using public transit for the first time. In 1990 in San Diego, a western city developed around the automobile like Albuquerque, 37% of its new trolley system riders previously drove alone to work. Ridership on Denver’s new Southwest Light Rail Line is at 11,264 per day. As a result, approximately 10,000 fewer cars are clogging Colorado’s highways each day.

Providing a more efficient transit system will not only help commuters get out of traffic, but will help clean up the air we breathe by taking cars off the road. “In surveying current scientific studies, the American Lung Association found evidence that air pollution contributes to premature death, increased emergency room visits and hospitalizations, increased school and work absenteeism, respiratory problems for children, more frequent asthma attacks, and limitations on the ability of healthy people to exercise outdoors, “said Joe Martinez, Executive Director of the New Mexico Chapter of the American Lung Association. “The American Lung Association supports efforts to reduce health threatening auto emissions by improving local mass transit systems,” he added.

“Albuquerque needs to provide a better transit system for all residents. We are deeply concerned that many senior citizens have limited freedom because they cannot drive or do not own a car. In order to ensure the mobility that is essential to independent living as individuals age in their community, AARP believes federal, state, and local governments should support safe, accessible, and affordable transportation,” stated Jose Gandert of AARP.

The report suggests that Albuquerque elected officials and transportation planners should implement improvements to the transit system immediately by:

• Developing a vision for Albuquerque’s transit system that incorporates innovative ways to make public transit competitive with the personal automobile.
• Thinking regionally and include neighboring communities in a comprehensive transit system.
  Designing a comprehensive transit system restructuring plan that focuses on meeting market demand and improving efficiency.
• Involving the public on what improvements are needed and what would attract people to use public transit.
  

“We can make transit a viable transportation option for Albuquerque residents if we restructure our system and implement new practices like dedicated bus lanes, queue jumping, neighborhood circulator buses, and better coordinating bus transfers. Albuquerque needs to take transit more seriously,” concluded Moorman.