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City of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 makes changes to several ABQ Ride bus routes
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The city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 will be updating nine of its bus routes this month as part of a 16-phase plan 鈥� increasing or decreasing frequency and adding or removing routes, among other changes.
The changes to ABQ Ride services will begin Dec. 13 and are 鈥渄esigned to make riding easier, with benefits such as increasing frequency and weekend service, reducing overlap for better coverage, and equitably increasing access for more community members,鈥� .
鈥淲e ask for patience and open-mindedness as we roll out these improvements,鈥� Transit Deputy Director Mike Davis said in a news release Wednesday. 鈥淪ome beloved routes will change, and in turn new routes will be transformational. Every decision has been carefully analyzed and contributes to a better system for sa国际传媒官网网页入口.鈥�
Some sa国际传媒官网网页入口 bus riders say to its are a good thing, while others think they won鈥檛 make a big difference. But those who spoke with the Journal agreed on one thing: The bus service is a necessity in the city.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a vehicle and I have no way to get around,鈥� resident Ann Johnson said as she rode the Route 66 bus, which traverses Central Avenue. 鈥淭his is my only source of transportation.鈥�
Other phases of the plan will take place over the next few years 鈥渢o ensure ABQ Ride can meet staffing and fleet needs,鈥� Transit Department spokesperson Madeline Skrak said.
A few of the changes that will take effect in the coming days include:
- Route 66 buses will arrive every 30 minutes instead of 25 minutes. Johnson said while the decrease won鈥檛 be a big deal, the bus route offers the quickest service, 鈥渆specially for people who are sitting and waiting there when it鈥檚 cold.鈥�
- Route 53 (Isleta Boulevard to Downtown) will run on Sundays. Riders taking the bus on the other days, will have to wait an hour instead of 45 minutes. Rider Steve Whittenberg said adding the Sunday route is good because there are many people in the area with no transportation who need the service.
- Route 36, which runs from 12th Street to the Rio Grande by Griegos Road, will be discontinued. It will be replaced by ABQ Ride Connect鈥檚 Rio Grande Service Zone, which will now feature Saturday service from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Route 8 (Menaul Boulevard) will provide service on Indian School Road, west of 12th Street and Rio Grande. Riders can expect the bus to arrive every half-hour instead of 40 minutes. The route, however, will no longer go north on Fifth Street and south on Sixth Street.
The changes are part of the ABQ Ride Forward Network Plan, an initiative that began in 2022 to review the performance of the city鈥檚 bus network.
鈥淎BQ Ride Forward refreshes sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 antiquated bus system, which hasn鈥檛 been updated in over 25 years, to a plan that makes sense for how people live, work, and connect today,鈥� Skrak said.
Whittenberg said while he appreciates being able to take the bus to run errands, the service has 鈥済otten worse鈥� since the City Council voted to adopt a pilot zero-fares program, which it voted to keep permanently in November 2023.
The free rides, he said, have resulted in buses becoming jam-packed with unhoused people. Along with an increase in riders, he sees many people who carry weapons on the bus, Whittenberg said.
In fiscal year 2024-25, there were about 7.48 million bus riders, an 11.5% increase from 2023-24, when there were 6.71 million riders.
In 2025-26, as of Sept. 30, there have been 1.98 million riders, Skrak said.
When asked for the number of criminal incidents reported on the buses, Skrak sent a link to the quarterly ABQ Ride security reports. The reports show incidents at bus stops and transit facilities but the data does not reflect incidents that happen on the bus and are responded to by sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Community Safety or the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department.
鈥淧lease note... that ACS and APD do not gather 鈥榦n-the-bus鈥� or 鈥榖y route鈥� data because they gather data based on geographic location instead,鈥� she said.
Despite the imperfections with buses, resident John Hollingsworth said they are 鈥渘ot bad.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 the only way to get around,鈥� he said.
