Securing ART
Cameras, officers to help keep Albuquerque Rapid Transit buses safe
Security measures connected with the soon-to-begin ART bus system, including new lighting, closed-circuit TV cameras, and officers with authority to cite violators, will improve safety for riders and pedestrians on Central Avenue, city officials assured the public on Thursday.
The city will have 13 security officers assigned to Albuquerque Rapid Transit buses “making sure there is no nefarious activity going on,” said Michael Riordan, the city’s chief operations officer.
An ordinance introduced at Monday’s City Council meeting would make it a misdemeanor to loiter at ART stations, or to ride a bus without buying a ticket.
“If you don’t have your proof of purchase on the vehicle, (security officers) will be able to ticket you,” Riordan said before a news conference at the Alvarado Transportation Center, where the measures were announced.
“If you are doing nefarious activity at a station or on a vehicle, they will be able to cite you,” he said. “That’s going to be a new level of security that we will have for security officers — a new tool in their tool bag.”
Violations of the ordinance would be a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of $500 and up to 90 days in jail. The ordinance also outlaws smoking at ART stations and on buses.
ART will offer limited service beginning Nov. 25 and is scheduled to start full ticketed service on Jan. 1, officials said. ART buses will use two dedicated lanes on a nine-mile stretch of Central Avenue from Louisiana to Coors.
Prices for tickets and passes for ART will be the same as those for all other city buses, with a base price of $1 per ride for an adult.
Riders will be able to buy tickets from vending machines, which are to be installed soon at each of the 19 ART stations, or by using a smartphone app.
Riders will be able to board ART buses without showing a ticket, but security officers will have the authority to ask riders to show proof of purchase and issue citations to those who don’t, Riordan said.
Other planned security measures include 17 security cameras aboard each ART bus, and four at each ART station, all monitored at APD’s Real Time Crime Center.
The city also plans to install pedestrian-level LED lighting spaced every 75 feet along Central Avenue from Louisiana to Coors.
“We are going to light up the sidewalks,” Riordan said. “It is going to be bright and beautiful and safe to walk.”