Albuquerque Approves Bus Rapid Transit Over Strong Public Opposition

Debate over Albuquerque's proposed bus rapid transit system dubbed "ART" has been going on for several years and has developed strong opposition from business owners along the Central Avenue corridor where the two dedicated center bus lanes and about 20 bus stop stations will be built as part of the public transportation system its proponents say will attract over 15,000 daily riders. The city council approved the $119 million project at a contentious council meeting this past week by a 7-2 vote after a 4-hour debate where the word "boondoggle" was uttered repeatedly by the many opponents who showed up to testify against its approval.

Albuquerque's ART is being touted as a "catalytic project" that will drive over $900 million in new development along its Central Avenue business corridor according to its supporters. Albuquerque already had in place a rapid ride bus system that it invested in several years, which will be scrapped to make way for the new federally-funded project. Albuquerque officials are relying on about $100 million in federal grants to build the new bus rapid transit system. The city will kick in just $18 million for the project and no new taxes are planned to operate the system.

Opposition from business owners has been fixed on the loss of two lanes of traffic on one of the city's most busy streets, along with the loss of the ability to make left turns at many intersections along the route. Business owners are also concerned about the loss of business they will suffer during the drawn-out and grueling construction process that will be required to complete the project. The focus on the benefits has been driven by what the so-called millennial residents expect in a livable city. The meme is that these younger residents don't want to own automobiles and want to live where they can easily commute short, quick distances to work.

The arguments seem very similar to the arguments behind the first phase of Indianapolis's Red Line, a 13-mile bus rapid transit line that will initially run from 66th Street in Broad Ripple on the north south, down College Avenue to 38th Street where it will jog over to Capital and then south all the way to Washington Street over to the new central bus station. From there it will head down Virginia Avenue and then south on Shelby Street all the way to the University of Indianapolis campus on the south side. Like Albuquerque's ART, the Red Line will feature north-south, dedicated bus lanes with 28 bus station platforms to allow boarding in the middle of the street where the dedicated bus lines will run. Left turns along the route will be the exception once the line is completed.

That's just the first phase, which IndyGO officials claim will only cost $98 million. City officials plan to tap a $75 million federal grant to cover most of the Phase 1 construction costs, with the rest coming from TIF funds and IndyGO's reserve fund. It's curious that the Red Line's costs come in below Albuquerque's ART, which has more than a quarter fewer permanent bus stations that will be built. It's also very doubtful that construction costs in general would run less in Indianapolis than they would in Albuquerque where there is an abundance of cheap immigrant labor that generally drives down wages, and the infrastructure there isn't as old and is less costly to update than Indianapolis' infrastructure. Indianapolis is also anticipating about 11,000 daily riders on the Red Line, or nearly one-third less than Albuquerque's ART.

A big difference between the two bus rapid transit systems is that Indianapolis' is driven by a desire to connect the city's rapid transit system with the suburban counties to the north and south. Indianapolis taxpayers are being asked to pay a quarter percent higher income taxes to support the operation of the Red Line, which works out to about $120 a year in higher taxes for the average household. Part of Indianapolis taxpayers' expenses will be spent reimbursing the private parking meter operator for lost revenues, which stands to lose a considerable number of metered parking spaces along the planned Red Line route during and following construction, a problem Albuquerque doesn't face. Both rapid transit lines are based on the transit-oriented development ("TOD") model as opposed to a user-driven system. Build it and they will come is the expectation of attracting more riders and development in an area where the buses run quicker and more frequently so commuters have shorter wait and commuting times, or so they claim.

Connections to Hamilton and Johnson Counties won't come until subsequent phases dependent upon voters in those counties imposing income tax increases to pay for the suburban connections running as far north as Westfield and as far south as Greenwood. Officials in those counties are taking a wait-and-see approach, allowing less affluent residents in Indianapolis to shoulder the risk of developing the system it's leaders are driving to allow low-income workers to commute daily to jobs in their communities where they shutter at the thought of investing in affordable housing that might attract "those people" to their communities. They want only higher-income earning residents making their homes in their communities.