ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan
The ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan is an initiative that began in 2022 to 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 identifies 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 proposed a “Recovery Network” to the public with the support of Jarrett Walker + Associates, Toole Design, Bernalillo County, and Rio Metro Regional Transit District. The plan is slated for phased implementation in Summer of 2025.
Visit the project website to find more information, including an interactive map and detailed reports.
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.