Take action to improve busted bus lines

opinion@dailylobo.com

Anyone who relies on public transportation, especially the lines along Central Avenue, will understand the following diatribe. The State Fair traffic has made buses even more of a hassle than usual.

The other day, a driver was telling a passenger he was an hour and half late on his route. That same day, a bus passed me as I was clearly standing at a bus stop waiting. Waving my hands and cursing, I thought of the bus that passed me the day before. And the two more that passed me earlier this month. And the man in a wheelchair who the bus had to pass because it was full. And the countless times I’ve been late for work because of the bus. And the countless times I’ve been harassed by drunks on the bus.

I called 311, the city contact line, and told the woman who answered all about the bus system. Because I’m not one to complain rather than take action, I asked what I could do. Long story short, the city is reassessing the bus lines on Central Avenue, and it’s even better than just throwing more buses in the system:
it’s called Bus Rapid Transit. Check it out at cabq.gov/transit/programs-and-projects/bus-rapid-transit-brt.

With this system, buses have the option of riding on a track separate from traffic, meaning speedier transit. The project could also work with the traffic lights to give the bus a green light when it approaches intersections, and coordinate bus arrival times with other bus lines. The schedule would be such that you wouldn’t need to refer to a schedule anymore; you would simply show up to the bus stop and know the bus would be there shortly. The benefits don’t end there, folks. My goodness, it’s almost unreal, mostly because right now the reality is often a living hell.

But, for anything to happen with this, the public must get involved. After all, whose decision was it to put new video monitors in the buses before making these kinds of improvements?

It’s an assumption, but the decision-makers are probably not the people riding these buses everyday; they have no idea how badly the system needs to change unless someone tells them. What is their incentive to do the right thing if nobody is informing them?
According to the City of Albuquerque website, the buses have been transporting record numbers of passengers: “July, 2012 marked seven straight months that ABQ RIDE experienced more than a million boardings (1,081,063). Only twice had ABQ RIDE ever experienced even four straight months of one million-plus boardings; both those times occurring during calendar year 2011.”

Now, if all those people gave the decision-makers feedback in favor of an improved bus system, it would be silly of the city not to go for it, knowing the wave of unrest that would be sure to follow otherwise. Some might say the city doesn’t have the money for it, but the city website also has an article about the six-figure check the city just received as part of a new contract with Lamar Advertising (see the article at cabq.gov/transit/news/abq-ride-receives-six-figure-check-from-bus-advertising-contract/).

Because it is a contract, the city will continue to receive funds as long as both parties honor the terms.

It sounds like the city is finally moving forward into the 21st century with something better than a constantly looping video of Albuquerque trivia playing for passengers.

“Alright Swanberg, we all know the bus system could be better, get on with it,” you think. Here’s the open door for your feedback: cabq.gov/transit/programs-and-projects/bus-rapid-transit-brt/brt-feedback.

It’s not a meeting, sadly — I want just as much as anybody for the city to see folks gesture wildly as they express dissatisfaction, but the pen is mightier than the sword, I suppose. You could submit your feedback in the time it takes the bus to arrive, and may the wait inspire a powerful argument in favor of a system that works for the people paying for it with taxes drawn from the income they earn from the jobs they rely on the buses to get to.