Strengthening Transit Through Community PartnershipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico, isn’t widely known as a transportation innovator. It’s biggest claim to fame in that regard may be the historic stretch of Route 66 that runs through downtown. But if the newly launched all-electric bus rapid transit (BRT) line, Albuquerque Rapid Transit, succeeds, the city may become a pioneer for a more sustainable, efficient, and most importantly, affordable means of urban mass transit.
The real revolution here, in addition to the all-electric fleet, is the speed of service. Many of the U.S. cities that have promoted BRT lines—which utilize bus-only lanes and quick-boarding stations in an effort to reproduce the benefits of light rail without expansive infrastructure investments—often don’t achieve the promised efficiencies due to poor design and lax signal priority.
The city’s outgoing Mayor Richard Barry pushed the mass transit investment as an economic catalyst. Albuquerque, which has a commuter rail connection to Santa Fe and an existing bus system, couldn’t afford light rail. But the more economical BRT, which would connect people, jobs, and businesses along the city’s main artery, was achievable, and projected to provide a $2 to $3 billion economic boost over the next few decades, according to a study by the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
Under construction since last October, the $126 million ART project, which benefitted from a number of federal grants, just had its soft launch, and will be fully operational in February, once final touches on stations are complete.