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New Mexico's New Rail Line Gradually Gaining Riders

Posted by: Nate Berg

13 April 2007 - 1:00pm

After a lull in ridership, more people are now riding metropolitan Albuquerque's commuter rail line, thanks to the opening of new stations. The rail line is less than one year old and now counts more than 2,000 riders per day.

"Having debuted in July, the Rail Runner attracted 4,000 to 4,500 daily riders at first, thanks largely to free trips and the novelty factor."

But by fall, ridership dipped to about 1,000 per day. Officials say that new stations have attracted more riders, bringing daily totals up above 2,000.

"Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said he would expect ridership to creep upward along with the price of gas, which is averaging $2.76 per gallon in Albuquerque, up 33 cents from a month ago, according to AAA."

"Across the nation, public transit agencies routinely see ridership spikes when gas prices rise."

Full Story: Rail Runner Express averages 2,000 riders per day
Source: The Albuquerque Tribune, April 12, 2007
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The areas where we have severe blight and indications of more blight to come are basically the same as they ever were. How in the world are we ever going to move our community development selves into an alternative future that thinks differently about the challenges we face in our cities and low-income suburban and rural communities?
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