Is There A Future For Light Rail and Public Transportation In Albuquerque?

I think that in order for the Albuquerque metro area to ever succeed in having a proper mass transit system they will need to recruit and hire individuals who truly possess a vision for the future. The biggest mistake that is being made at the moment is the planners are not taking into account just who will use and benefit from a light rail system. And those people are the general public.

You can forget about the fantasy creating a transit system catering to business people, there are just not enough of them who will use public transportation to be able to sustain the system. What you need is a well designed series of routes and schedules that will enable the general public to get to and from work, shopping, school and events in a convenient and timely fashion. You will need a system that will allow the general public access to these places 7 days a week and make sure that the busses and trains don't stop running at 6 or 7pm.

You need to stop and realize that not everyone works 9 to 5 in the downtown area. People work, live and play spread out across the metro area and if you want to get people out of their cars and into public transportation then the biggest incentive is convenience. The politicians and planners need to come up with a real plan to present to the public and be able to show them that they are willing to commit the proper resources to such a project. Not just a pretty website or pictures of trains but actual timelines showing where the routes will be, what times they will run and most of all let the public know that the entire system will be under constant review so that it can be modified according to usage and future growth of the area.

Right now I am living in the Portland metro area in Oregon and we have one of the finest public transit systems in the country. Yes, I own a vehicle but I rarely drive because I know that I am able to get to just about any place I need to in the entire area because we have well planned bus and light rail routes. I will be relocating to Albuquerque at the end of the month and I will really miss Tri-Met and I definitely dread having to live in an area that will force me to drive out of necessity. Albuquerque is such a beautiful city and I will not regret my decision to move there but I am truly hoping that they wake up soon and put together a group of people who will be able to develop a solid plan for introducing a top notch public transit system into the metro area.