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Free fares have given Althea Atherton one less thing to worry about as a parent.

Atherton, the Bus Rider Project Manager for a local nonprofit, recently visited New Orleans with her baby. As they waited for other riders to pay their fares and struggled with the stroller and car seat, Atherton said paying the fare was just one more hassle.

But in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, things are different.

鈥淵ou just get on the bus and go,鈥� Atherton said.

In 2021, city councilors voted unanimously to adopt a zero fare pilot program for the over 150 buses and dozens of SunVans in the ABQ Ride fleet. Starting January 2022, all sa国际传媒官网网页入口 residents were able to board a bus without fare, ID or question.

Initially, the pilot program was meant to last a year. But, 18 months later after several extensions, the program鈥檚 future is unclear. The City Council awaits a report from the city Transit Department about the zero fares initiative, which could determine whether the City Council will continue the program or make changes to it.

That report was due over the weekend.

For some, particularly those reliant on the buses, the zero fares program is a 鈥渓ifeline.鈥� But others say the program has resulted in increased crime and decreased reliability.

At a town hall hosted by Together for Brothers to discuss zero fares, Bernadette Hardy, an organizer with Native American Voters Alliance (NAEVA), and the International District Healthy Communities Coalition, said the zero fares program has been essential to get kids to after-school activities and parents to services such as food pantries.

Hardy said many people in her community are unable to drive, whether because of disability, suspended licenses or other reason. She pointed to recent store closures in the International District, resulting in its neighborhood residents having to travel farther for essentials.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 see the need going away,鈥� Hardy said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 only growing.鈥�

Hardy said she doesn鈥檛 feel unsafe on the bus. But, she worries about the program being taken away.

鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 know how they鈥檙e going to get their medication, or how they鈥檙e going to get essential services,鈥� Hardy said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital.鈥�

City Councilor Klarissa Pe帽a was one of the bill鈥檚 original cosponsors, along with then-Councilor Lan Sena and Councilors Pat Davis and Isaac Benton. In 2022, however, Pe帽a and Councilor Dan Lewis came together to push for an amended program in an effort to improve security, in which riders could board for free after providing an ID or a city-issued bus pass or pay required fare.

Instead, Pe帽a said, the council ultimately decided to wait on the September report to identify specific issues with the program before jumping to solutions. Some changes were made to improve security, including appropriating an additional $1 million to the public transit system for security.

And Pe帽a said the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department, Metro Security and the Transit Department have listened to concerns and been more proactive about keeping the system safe and clean 鈥� although she said there鈥檚 more improvement to be had.

鈥淧ublic safety is not just more cops,鈥� Pe帽a said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really having the buses clean, the bus stops clean and making it a pleasant place to be around. I know Transit is striving to do that 鈥� I think it鈥檚 still a work in progress.鈥�

Pe帽a said the future of the program would be evaluated once the report came out. She said she initially cosponsored zero fares as a benefit to the community and bus riders. She鈥檇 like to keep the program if the report is positive, but said if problems are revealed by the report, the City Council needs to address them.

鈥淚f the results are positive, and we鈥檙e trending in a good direction, absolutely,鈥� Pe帽a said. 鈥淏ut if we鈥檙e not, and it really shows that there鈥檚 some real problems 鈥� any reasonable person is going to know that we have to kind of relook, revisit.鈥�

But Lewis鈥� opinions about zero fares are clear.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a horrible disaster,鈥� he said.

Aside from the report, Lewis said he鈥檚 seen other datasets, which show increasing crime, falling ridership and decreased bus routes since the start of the zero fares program.

Without knowing who is riding the buses, Lewis said, buses can serve as getaway vehicles for retail thieves. He still supported the pass system, but wasn鈥檛 optimistic that a change would be made; Lewis said the administration opposed his and Pe帽a鈥檚 pass proposal.

鈥淲e laid out a very good system, a very good pass system that is free,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淚 think that the opponents did a very good job of trying to convince everybody that we just wanted everybody to pay, we wanted poor people to pay for the buses 鈥� and that was absolutely not the case.鈥�

He said he would not encourage people to ride sa国际传媒官网网页入口 buses because of security.

鈥淭hey want this system to be free for everybody,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e not put the resources in place so far, to really make it safe 鈥� and it鈥檚 just not there yet.鈥�

A spokesperson for Mayor Tim Keller鈥檚 office said in an email to the Journal, 鈥淲e believe everyone in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 should have access to safe and equitable public transportation. From establishing the new Transit Safety Division at APD, to installing hundreds of cameras across the transit system that connects with the Real Time Crime Center, to doubling our cleaning schedules for buses and bus stops, we are committed to improving the safety and cleanliness of ABQ Ride.鈥�

At the Thursday town hall, many bus riders said they are 鈥渢hankful鈥� for the zero fares program. But safety, cleanliness and the reliability and frequency of bus routes received criticism as well. Some riders said the buses are often full so bus drivers pass them by. One man said he called repeatedly about cleaning a bus stop, to no response.

Another bus rider, who identified herself as Ivey Janette, said she rides the bus to work. But on weekends, she has to take an Uber 鈥� costing $7 plus tip both ways 鈥� to make her shift at Target. During the State Fair, it skyrocketed to $19.

For eight years, Janette has been documenting 鈥渂ad behavior鈥� on and outside of buses, including drug use and retail theft, on her YouTube channel and TikTok.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel comfortable waiting for the bus in certain locations,鈥� Janette said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel safe.鈥�

A former Los Angeles resident, Janette compared the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 system to that of the California city. In comparison, she said, sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is less reliable.

Janette is 62, so she already qualified for free bus fares before 2022. But she said she saves money by not having to buy bus passes for her brother.

Atherton works for Together for Brothers, an organization that assists young men of color in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. Although before 2021 there was a zero fares program for students 鈥� which many of the brothers are, Atherton said 鈥� the process could be fraught even when they provided their student IDs. Some members of the group were hassled when getting on the bus, even if they had ID, Atherton said.

鈥淗igh school students were getting kind of profiled,鈥� Atherton said. 鈥淓ven with their student IDs 鈥� it was kind of selective about who they were enforcing.鈥�

That鈥檚 why the organization advocates for the zero fares program, which they said has been a 鈥渓ifeline鈥� for the boys in the program.

Atherton doesn鈥檛 want to see changes to the zero fares program, including ID requirements. Since the program was instated, the frequent bus rider said, they haven鈥檛 witnessed any fare conflicts between drivers and riders and the process has been 鈥渇rictionless.鈥� Instead, Atherton would like to see more frequent service and longer hours on the bus schedule.

鈥淎 true zero fare program, you don鈥檛 have any pass requirements, you don鈥檛 have any sort of registration, you just let people get on the bus and go,鈥� Atherton said. 鈥淭hat is easiest for our tourism industry, and I think it鈥檚 easiest for enforcement 鈥� I think we would lose a lot of the benefits of zero fare.鈥�