Albuquerque Rapid Transit
Albuquerque Rapid Transit is a bus rapid transit system serving the Central Avenue corridor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. There are two lines running between Tramway Boulevard, the Central and Unser Transit Center, and the Uptown Transit Center.
It was built in 2016–17 and began limited operation in November 2017, but was subsequently delayed for over two years due to problems with the stations and buses. After the original fleet of electric buses was replaced with diesel buses, the line began regular service on November 30, 2019. ART carried more than 2million passengers in 2023.
History
Background
In 2004, the city of Albuquerque began operations of its first Rapid Ride bus line, as a precursor to a light rail system along Central Avenue. The plans for light rail were scrapped, and the Rapid Ride became a permanent system, expanding to three different lines in 2006 and 2009. Studies to build a rapid transit system using either buses or streetcars also took place in 2006, but no action was taken. Although the Rapid Ride is a limited-stop express bus service, it lacks several key features of BRT, such as dedicated travel lanes and off-bus fare payment. The first line opened, and ran from Unser to Wyoming, then going to the Uptown Transit Center. A second Rapid Ride opened in 2006 to the northwest side, and the Rapid Rides were given color designations, becoming the 766 Red Line and the 790 Blue Line. In 2009, the third Rapid Ride, the 777 Green Line, started service from downtown to Tramway Boulevard. The Red and Green Line Rapid Rides were designed to supplement the heavily traveled 66 bus, which travels from Tramway Boulevard to Unser Boulevard, as well as transport passengers to popular destinations.In 2011, during the administration of Mayor Richard J. Berry, the city of Albuquerque began a feasibility study of creating a true BRT system along Central Avenue. The plan called for the elimination of the current Rapid Ride routes and the placement of a new system utilizing new buses, guideways, transit signal priority, and off-board fare collection. Central Avenue, also known as Historic US Route 66, is not only a popular tourist destination, but a major surface artery through Albuquerque. This street made the plans for starting a transit-oriented development scheme a good starting point.
In February 2014, the city filed for federal funding to construct the proposed BRT system, and the federal government approved the filing in March. Later that month, the city presented a demonstration bus to the public to generate interest in the project. In October, the city presented its final draft and alternative analysis to the public in a series of meetings. The design at the time called for both mixed-use lanes and dedicated guideways, depending on the location. Except for a few stations near downtown, stations would board in the median, and the buses would have doors on both sides to accommodate the platforms. East of Louisiana Boulevard and west of Coors Boulevard, ART would share travel lanes and use existing Rapid Ride stops. The path would follow the existing 66 bus route to Unser Boulevard.
The proposed route changed somewhat during the planning phase. Early materials depicted ART making a stop at the Unser Transit Center before continuing to 98th St., but the CUTC serves as the western terminus of the system as built. ART was expected to cost $119 million, with federal funds covering $100.6 million of the project. The city also promised to consider a 20th stop within the International District, but did not announce then where that stop would be put or how it would be paid for. In April 2017, it was decided that the 20th stop in the International District would be located at San Pedro and Central, with funding provided by the city councilor of that district.
There were plans to create other BRT systems throughout the Albuquerque metro, put forward by various organizations such as ABQ RIDE and the Mid-Region Council of Governments. Studies conducted included an intersecting BRT system on University Boulevard from Menaul Boulevard to the airport, and another BRT system on Paseo del Norte.
ART received a recommendation for $69 million in federal funding as part of the proposed FY 17 budget and anticipated the start of construction in May 2016 pending FTA approval to spend local funds.
Construction
Opponents of the ART project filed suit in April 2016 to stop construction from going forward, but both the U.S. District Court and Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to grant a temporary injunction against the project, allowing the city to proceed while the case was pending. In September 2016, local contractor Bradbury Stamm was awarded an $82.6 million contract to build the ART system. Construction was scheduled to last 16 months, with a completion date near the end of 2017. Work began in October 2016, starting with the removal of medians and landscaping to make room for the new bus guideway. In December, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city, finding no legal grounds to stop the project. The suit against the city was subsequently dropped, ending a nearly year-long legal battle.During construction, businesses near the ART route complained that the project was impacting their business, and some were forced to close or cut back on staff. Opposition was expressed from residents along the route who instead were expecting the originally planned light rail service. In April 2017, the city announced a short-term loan program aimed at helping small businesses survive the construction.
Initial launch and problems
ART went into limited service on November 25, 2017, providing free trips to and from the Albuquerque BioPark for the River of Lights event. However, full service was delayed, and incoming Mayor Tim Keller began to allude to problems with the system after he took office in December. On January 9, 2018, he held a press conference where he called ART "a bit of a lemon," and said he was not sure when it would be operational. According to Keller, the problems included inconsistent platform heights, ADA violations, and at least one intersection whose geometry was unable to accommodate a 60-foot articulated bus safely. Bradbury Stamm said it would work to fix the issues at no additional cost to the city. In January 2018, crews began work to resolve some of the issues with the ART stations.Keller also described issues with the BYD K11 electric buses and charging equipment supplied by BYD Auto, including faulty batteries and leaking axles on the buses, and inoperable chargers. The River of Lights service was suspended after Keller's administration learned that a stopgap solution of charging the buses using portable generators could potentially void the warranty. The range, advertised as, only proved to be. BYD also said it would fix the identified issues at no additional cost.
An investigation by the city Office of Inspector General identified various issues with the buses, and reported that city inspectors sent to BYD to check the buses were not properly trained. It was further reported that the first ART bus had been cobbled together from "parts and pieces" intended for a different transit agency, Antelope Valley Transit Authority in California, in response to pressure from city officials to deliver the bus before the end of Berry's term. BYD struggled to fill the bus order by the original October 4, 2017, deadline, and had only delivered 15 of the 20 buses by November 2018, when the city decided to reject the buses. The City of Albuquerque filed suit against BYD in December, alleging that "BYD had failed to meet the scheduled deadline for providing the 60-foot articulated buses and that the vehicles it ultimately delivered were unsafe, had defects such as cracked frames and improperly installed wiring, and did not meet the represented miles-per-charge standard." BYD counter-sued and ultimately the two sides settled with no additional money changing hands. Twenty diesel-powered New Flyer Xcelsior XD60 buses were purchased as a replacement for the BYD order; the first was delivered in June 2019.
The vandalism of dormant stations, the increased traffic on the remaining traffic lanes, and the cancellation of the anticipated light-rail system led to criticism of the project by Albuquerque politicians and business owners. Some businesses along the route reported a decrease in sales, with customers avoiding the heavy traffic.
Regular service
On November 8, 2019, Mayor Keller announced that ART service would begin on November 30, 2019, to coincide with "Small Business Saturday." Buses were unveiled displaying bus wraps featuring local landmarks and artwork. The Mayor stated that the previously identified issues to the system have been remedied and went on to announce that rides on the ART System would be free through December 31, 2019, to encourage the public to try the new system. On January 1, 2022, the city eliminated bus fares system-wide, rendering the pay kiosks obsolete.By February 2020, ART saw large ridership increases over the previous year's numbers on the Rapid Ride routes it replaced. The first month of ART service, which was offered for free to the public, saw ridership more than double over the same period in 2019, while the first month of paid service saw ridership increase by more than 30% over the same period in 2019. On April 18, 2023, fares were permanently eliminated for ART.
In February 2023, ABQ RIDE released their draft plans for the ABQ Ride Forward bus network redesign. One plan prioritized coverage while the other prioritized frequency. In both the Coverage Network and Ridership Network plans, the 766 would run every 15 minutes on weekdays, 20 minutes on Saturdays and 30 minutes on Sundays, with an extension past Central & Unser Transit Center to South Valley Plaza via 98th Street, replacing route 198, which would be discontinued. Alternate 766 trips would run via Unser Boulevard between Central & Unser Transit Center and South Valley Plaza. The 777 would run at the same frequency as 766 and would run local east of Louisiana Boulevard to replace route 66, which would be discontinued. In May 2024, ABQ Ride released a new network plan which combined aspects of both draft networks. In the Recovery Network plan, the 766 and 777 would retain the same frequencies as proposed in the draft plans. The 766 would no longer have alternate trips running along Unser Boulevard, with these alternate trips instead terminating at Central & Unser Transit Center.The 777 would have alternate trips run north on Coors Boulevard to Northwest Transit Center to replace the 155 and 790, which would both be discontinued.