ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan
ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan
The ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan is an initiative that will review the purpose and performance of Albuquerque’s bus network and provide an update of the City’s plans for future improvements to the network. The Plan will identify goals and purposes of the City’s investment in public transit and will inform future decisions about where bus routes go, at what times they run, and how frequently.
ABQ RIDE has proposed a new “Recovery Network” with the support of Jarrett Walker + Associates, Toole Design, Bernalillo County, and Rio Metro Regional Transit District in the third and final phase of its ABQ RIDE Forward planning project. ABQ RIDE held two community meetings in July and will hold a series of small group discussions throughout the month of August, with opportunities to sign up for discussions on the project website.
The survey is available through the end of August 2024, and then ABQ RIDE expects to finalize the network in the fall. Implementation would be phased in over the next several years to allow time to fully regain staffing. Visit our project website to find more information, including an interactive map and a detailed report, as well as other ways to participate.
Proposed Recovery Network
Current 2024 Network: Proposed Recovery Network:
In these maps, red routes come every 15 minutes or less, pink routes every 20 minutes, dark blue routes every 30 minutes, and light blue routes every 60 minutes. The grey areas are demand-response zones.
Background Information:
This study considers how best to meet the evolving transit needs in Albuquerque and make the most efficient use of existing resources. “This is a chance to step back from our current system and ensure that transit services reflect the values and priorities of the community,” said Transit Director Leslie Keener. In the first two phases of the project, ABQ RIDE got feedback from the community on how they think transit service should balance running routes that are ridden by the greatest number of people (ridership) versus running routes that cover the greatest geographic area (coverage), illustrated by the examples below.
Maximum Ridership Goal:
Maximum Coverage Goal:
These examples have the same number of people (dots) and buses but different service goals and ridership results.
In the first phase, ABQ RIDE asked for feedback about these priorities in general, and in the second phase ABQ RIDE asked for feedback based on two actual concepts of potential route network in Albuquerque. One concept showed how routes could be structured to maximize ridership; the other showed routes that could maximize coverage. Feedback in general favored the “ridership” concept, but feedback on the actual concepts was evenly split. ABQ RIDE’s proposed “recovery network” (recovering from staffing shortages) attempts to find a balance in the middle.
Get Involved
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