New bus routes, smartphone app added to improve regional service
Expanded stops in Northern N.M. include Chama, Edgewood, Eldorado and Taos
Northern New Mexico commuters will have more public transportation options starting Monday, when the North Central Regional Transit District is set to provide additional bus routes and stops.
Aside from additional Blue Bus routes, commuters with smartphones will be able to better track buses and their arrival times.
A news release says iPhone users can download the smartphone application “myStop,” which is available at the App Store. An Android-based app also is being developed.
Patrons also can track buses on any desktop computer, computer tablet or phone with Internet access via the website bluebustracker.availtec.com.
Among the expanded services, the transit district will offer a Taos-to-Santa Fe morning and evening commuter bus. There also will be a midday stop that will serve commuters from Santa Fe to Edgewood and Eldorado, expanded stops in Los Alamos County and a midday connection from Los Alamos to Santa Fe. On Wednesdays, there will be service from Tres Piedras to Taos and expanded five-day service from Chama to Española.
“This updated technology allows our riders the freedom to plan their day with certainty and takes the guesswork out of taking the bus,” said Anthony J. Mortillaro, the transit district’s executive director. “Additionally, our enhanced routes are all designed to make the commute or travel process using the Blue Bus more user-friendly, efficient and thorough, regardless of what your travel needs might be.”
People who live in rural areas of Northern New Mexico have depended on the free bus service in order to get to work or go shopping.
Bernadette Herrera, who has taken the Blue Bus from the Cities of Gold Casino bus station to Santa Fe for the past two years, works a night shift at a local Plaza hotel. On Tuesday afternoon, as she stepped out of the bus on Sheridan Street, she said her shift starts on weekday afternoons and goes until nearly midnight. She added that the bus has been convenient because she can’t get a ride to work in the afternoons. At night, she gets a ride back to her Pojoaque home.
She welcomed the news that the North Central Regional Transit District will create more options because she knows people who depend on the bus more than she does.
Bryan Rodriguez, who lives in Española, said he needs to come to Santa Fe a couple of times a week to run errands. He said that at times, he can’t get a ride into Santa Fe, so he depends on the Blue Bus to get into town.
Additional stops, services and times can be viewed at www.ncrtd.org.