Ride On

***image2***Why don't more Santa Feans take the bus?

Who rides the city's Santa Fe Trails bus system and why? This question has been on my mind since I met political blogger Paul Van Heden on Asheville Transit in North Carolina last summer.

Van Heden and his Brainshrub Bus Project promote the idea that citizens can get better public transit in their cities if they vote with their butts. Most public transit systems, he says, are ensnared in a catch-22 that prevents more investment.

"People would take the bus-or at least they say they would-if it met their needs, but until more people use public transit, such a system can't be funded," Van Heden says. As part of the project, Van Heden launched a monthlong bus riding attempt to demonstrate that it's possible to use the bus as a primary means of transportation.

Van Heden took action because he was tired of hearing complaints about high gas prices, traffic

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jams, global warming, the war in Iraq and a host of other problems associated with an automobile-based culture.

"What is frustrating to me as a progressive," he says, "is that most people agree with me, yet they would sooner dye their skin purple for a week than use the bus-the most obvious solution."

When it comes to talking about alternative transportation, Van Heden says, "People will collectively nod their heads and you might even win an Oscar, but they still drive to work by themselves in an SUV."

Inspired by Van Heden's example, I sold my '87 Chevy Suburban in January and bought my first bus pass for Santa Fe Trails. I've been able to live without a car, but I'm also a work-at-home writer with no kids or pets, and I'm an avid cyclist who can jump on the bike when need be.

I wanted to find out why others use Santa Fe Trails and what it would take for more of us to do so. So I spent hours on the bus talking to others who live car-free or car-lite, while at the same time querying those who don't to find out how to get more of us on the bus.


It starts like any typical bus riding day for me-down and up

through the arroyo behind the condo and over to the bus shelter at St. Vincent. As I wait for the No. 6 to come lumbering along, I shiver a bit without a jacket, knowing the spring day will warm into the 60s.

The kneeling bus hisses and bows down to give easy access as I step aboard and say hi to the driver. I settle in for the clean, comfortable ride I've come to love and strike up a conversation with

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the only other passenger. She replies, "No habló inglés." So it's a quiet and uneventful 30 minutes to the mall and I catch up on my reading.

After transferring to the busy No. 2, I meet Ignacio Maestas, who's been riding the Trails for five years. He is on his way to catch a Park and Ride bus and head to Albuquerque for the weekend. "I'm doing my part for the environment and I love life without traffic, stress, road rage and gas expenses," he says.

And while he's grateful for the Trails, Maestas can't believe the capital city doesn't have a better system. "Mechanical setbacks, punctuality…they don't realize that riders need to be able to rely on it," he adds as he grabs his backpack and heads down the aisle to get his bike off the front rack.

Later in the day, I meet some Santa Fe visitors enjoying the service. Retired firemen and vacationing RVers Lex Mortensen and Keith Simmons ride inbound on Cerrillos Road in order to take a stroll around the Plaza. "The manager of the RV park

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told us about a stop right in front of the campground and off we went," Simmons says.

There are three teens from Virginia who use the system to get around while here with their parents, who are on a business trip. An older woman with a thick Russian accent misses home-where buses come every five minutes-but loves all the drivers here…except one. And a man suffering from allergies carpools in from La Cienega with his aunt and uses the bus to get around.

Then there is a Santa Fe Community College student looking like spring in a bright-colored outfit and matching earrings who takes the bus everywhere but complains about the weekend hours because she has to use a cab to get to work. And a fellow in a black leather jacket is on the bus because his Mustang broke down at the movie theater.

An older gentleman who doesn't want to fill up his F150 truck says, "It's convenient, clean, great drivers and every

bit as good as New York." A strong-looking young man with a long ponytail and a commuter bag over his shoulder used to ride more but still does occasionally to save money. "It's easy to get downtown and I like the slow pace," he says.

There is the woman riding for reasons of saving money and the environment who wishes there was more service but comments, "I'd vote for [Gov. Bill] Richardson just because of what he's done for public transportation."

Finally, a smartly dressed woman from Chicago wearing a turquoise hat says she has never driven: "We are rare birds, you and I,"

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she says in reference to the decision to live without cars.

By this point, I'm fighting motion sickness, which only comes on if I don't face forward in a moving vehicle, but how else can I chat with the man in the Dallas Cowboys hat behind me who is proud that usually he rides his bike? Today he isn't feeling well enough to cycle. "You can't beat it for $2 to go anywhere all day, and plus I don't believe in all the cars on the road…of course, people can do what they want," he says.

Next, a retired woman who can't drive is eager to talk with me. "I'll tell you something," she says. "I'm from New York, where I'm used to rude. The drivers are so unbelievably nice here. It's more reliable than a taxi and it's never late."

My favorite fellow transit user-because his reason to ride rings true for me-is a man in dark glasses who is a bit hesitant to look up from behind his book. "It's about freedom," he says. "Freedom from gas prices, car insurance, breakdowns. When the bus breaks down, it's someone else's problem."


Car or no car, for work or errands, to save gas or to save the

environment, Santa Fe Trails riders are making it work, but I still didn't know why people weren't riding the bus. After receiving more than 40 e-mail responses from people who

have never ridden, I was a bit disillusioned with the list of whys.

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Some friends and co-workers admit they were spoiled; others were almost apologetic or embarrassed and wrote, "Bad me" or, "Frankly, I never think to use it." They believe the bus is slow, serves a limited area or has terrible connections. I also got, "Biking is more fun" and, "I use my car for…" (insert: business, errands, transporting kids, etc.).

A local massage therapist says, "My mom used it when she visited and was taking an SFCC class. It was a pain in the butt, taking over an hour and sometimes involving two or three buses, even though there's a stop near my house."

Yes, legitimate reasons. One woman who had previously tried to commute to work without a car even provided the time differentials: nine to 10 minutes by car, 20 to 25 by bike, 30 by bus.

I also crunched the numbers, pretending to go from here to there all over town. More often than not,

the bus takes twice or three times as long as a car. You walk and wait, you transfer, the bus stops and goes.

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But I convinced one virgin rider to give it a go: Tim Murrell, state water planner and also an outdoor guide with

Santa Fe Mountain Adventures (where this author used to work part-time). "I'd totally do it again," Murrell says. "I actually was tempted to ride the next day."

Here's his account: Left warm abode (7:25 am) for two-minute frigid bike ride to bus stop across from Chavez Elementary. Waited longer than expected (7:52 am) but enjoyed watching schoolkids commute along sidewalks. Slid eight quarters down the pipe for an all-day pass. Disembarked at Guadalupe and Montezuma (8:25 am) and reached work on Manhattan (8:27 am).

Murrell admits the whole process was pretty darn easy: "The bike rack was a cinch to operate [under 10 seconds], the driver was super-nice, the toll was reasonable, the route was straightforward, but the trip took

freakin'

forever."


So why bother? One reason is to save money. After I sold the

Blue Goose, I learned that-according to the American Public Transport Association's Public Transportation Facts-I had spent 18 cents of every dollar on transportation, of which 94 percent

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went to just owning and operating that Suburban. And the latest AAA report shows the average American spends $7,834 annually, which figures out to about 52 cents per mile.

While I'm enjoying the cost savings, I think the environmental argument is even harder to ignore. "Public transit helps reduce the disbursement of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the environment," Robert Nelson, executive director for New Mexico

Passenger Transportation Association, says. And Sandra Rennie, who works in the air division of our region's EPA office, adds, "One of the most effective ways to reduce pollution from our vehicles is to drive less."

Taking the bus versus driving, in other words, is "a no-brainer," Colin Messer, chairman of the city's Transit Advisory Board, says. Messer regularly commutes on the No. 4 and

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understands there is stigma associated with riding the bus. He thinks that is changing as more residents see people using the system (including people like Mayor David Coss).

"Buses are the most cost-effective, most efficient forms of transportation available short of a bicycle," Messer says. "And, while everyone wants it almost as convenient as a car, the more service you have, the closer you can get to that."

And that's where the idea behind Van Heden's Brainshrub Bus Project comes in: more people, more funding, more service, more people. Here's the basic formula:

Based on annual transit boardings (612,059) and Santa Fe County's estimated population (147,000), each resident theoretically takes a ride on the bus approximately four times a year. This figure is enough to justify nine routes-at least on paper. But if more people get onboard a few more times a year, that could increase. Increases would then make the system more usable. For example, Cerrillos Road has stops every 15 minutes, but the other routes do not. Without better connections, most riders have to pick up the bus at a major hub, such as Santa Fe Place or downtown. These shortfalls sound easy to remedy, but in reality, as Van Heden says, "It won't change until more people climb onboard."


So what will it take to get more folks on the bus? "First, you make

people aware that we have public transit in Santa Fe," Santa Fe Trails Director Jon Bulthuis says, adding that he is

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amazed by how invisible a 30-foot-long bus seems to be to many residents.

Next, Bulthuis talks about getting over the fear of surrendering some element of control in your life. "That's basically what you are doing when you make the commitment," he says.

Bulthuis knows the majority of people who have never ridden public transit before will look at the schedule and say no way. "It's intimidating," Bulthuis says, and emphasizes that the Santa Fe Trails staff is ready and available to help.

I tested Bulthuis' claim by dialing 955-2001 and, indeed, an actual human being worked out my itinerary. Bulthuis says the operators also can provide trip planning assistance that includes

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not only Santa Fe Trails but Park and Ride, the new Greater Eldorado Express, transit in other places like Albuquerque and eventually information on the Rail Runner Express when it rolls into Santa Fe.

Santa Fe is indeed working toward an intermodal system of public transportation. Bulthuis notes that the paradigm resulting from postwar land use planning ideology is slowly shifting: "While it's not possible to provide service to all people to/from all places

at all times, the challenge is a design that does the best job at approaching that goal," he says.

Currently, the city is focused on "making the system within the city the best it can be," Bulthuis says. Routes No. 1 through No. 5 have been amped up and, he adds, No. 6 soon will run every half hour rather than every hour (which is good news for me, since No. 6 serves my neighborhood).

"We've seen the payoffs," Bulthuis says. More people rode Santa Fe Trails last year than any time since its inception in 1992. This is the part of the Brainshrub cycle where more service then equals more people.

"While voting with your butt is step one, a lot of it comes down to public policy," Bulthuis says, pointing out that the Santa Fe City Council has a long history of taking a strong stance

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on investing in alternatives to the almighty car. "The new transit centers at the anchor points on either end of the system-downtown and Santa Fe Place-are a great statement about the city's commitment to transit."

And while they continue to work out the kinks, Bulthuis suggests a change in potential passenger mindset related to moving from one place to another. "If that part of life is not compartmentalized as throwaway time, useful only for getting from A to B, but rather commingled with other life goals including fitness, leisure time, social engagement or social conscience, the extra time required and certain level of inconvenience

may be willingly tolerated," he says.

Bulthuis also believes it's critical to communicate that the decision to ride the bus doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. "It's likely that some trips a person makes throughout the day

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could very well be accommodated by the bus."

Training the next generation to use the bus also is a part of changing Santa Fe's car-only culture. Messer's 11-year-old son, Mateo, has been using the Trails alone since he was 9 years old. "He rides to meet me or his mother at work, or to take a piano lesson," Messer says. "It's a shame more parents don't teach their children to read bus schedules and ride environmentally responsible transit. It liberates both parent and child from the tyranny embodied in the automobile culture. They will have to learn to ride one day when personal automotive transportation is only affordable to the rich."


Adapting one's life to public transportation isn't rocket science.

Still, I've learned several tips over the last few months.

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First: Always arrive five minutes early even though the norm seems to be for the bus to be five minutes late. If you get on between a route's time points, you'll have to average out the two for

your stop.

Next, stand and put out your arm to let the driver know you want to board, and have your $1 for one-way ready. The fare boxes take quarters, dollars and five-, 10- and 20-dollar bills, but you can't get change from the larger bills, just an equivalent voucher. Be sure to pull the yellow cord running above the windows when you are about a block away from your stop. If you have any questions, know that the drivers are extremely friendly and helpful.

One of the best ways to try the bus for the first time is when Santa Fe Trails offers park and ride from Santa Fe Place and DeVargas Center to downtown for special events. This service, which was used mostly by visitors, is seeing more and more locals onboard. Try it for all the markets (International Folk Art, Spanish, Indian), July 4 Pancakes on the Plaza, Zozobra, Fiesta Pet Parade and the Christmas Eve Farolito Walk.

Perhaps the best piece of advice-which I gained from Van Heden-was that at some point "you will miss the bus."

But never fear, another one will come along soon.



All Aboard

Other public transportation options for the car-free lifestyle.

Look for expanding regional transit with

New Mexico Park and Ride

in northern New Mexico, which could include seamless transportation from Taos to Santa Fe. With more than 80 departures daily, this express bus service offers luxurious commuter coaches between Santa Fe, Las Vegas,

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Española, Los Alamos and Albuquerque. Call 424-1110 or go to

.

Choo-choo! Construction starts this fall to bring the train to Santa Fe. The

New Mexico Rail Runner Express

hopes to roll service by the end of next year. Keep up to date by going to

or calling 505-245-RAIL.

The

Greater Eldorado Express

(or G-line), the first public transit system to serve Santa Fe County, started running from the Agora Shopping Center at the first of April with two morning departures, four stops in Santa Fe and returns in the afternoon. During the six-month pilot project, the 8,500 folks who live in Eldorado will need to vote with their butts just once for the North Central Regional Transit District to deem the G-line a success. And Santa Fe Trails is offering a guaranteed ride home, a kind of insurance if an emergency arises like an illness, a family crisis or unexpected overtime at work. Get information by calling 424-0887 or going to

(click on "Regional Transit").

While federal transportation budgets are looking much more like city budgets-by recognizing that streets and highways aren't going to solve our mobility issue-the state needs to catch up a bit. A bill to establish a statewide transit fund was introduced again during the recent Legislative session but not passed into law. As a result, New Mexico remains one of only a few states that doesn't invest state funds for public transportation.

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