How's the mass transit in ABQ? (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: living in, law, buses)

[lalahartma]

What about cycling?

[rybert]

Here's a taste:



We were ranked pretty high on a somewhat recent Top 10 style article on Best Cities for Bicycling... I'll try and dig it up. As a bicyclist I agree.

Here's the ABQ link:

Biking in Albuquerque - City of Albuquerque

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by rybert

Where there's a will there's a way.

ABQ has a very average (if not below average) mass transit system.

My mother Lives in the NE Heights and buses everyday to the VA (South East)... it's doable... if you care enough to try.

I'll give that a try myself. With the traffic and lights in the rush hours, I have trouble believing the busses can make the time they claim at yukon's link, which was very helpful to me as well. It'd just be a nice break from negotiating traffic when I'm tired from just waking up or a long day of work. Compared to NYC, though, I'm sure contending with this traffic will be a piece of cake, except for the fact that most NYers aren't used to driving at all (as seems to be the OP's case).

And dang it, rybert, you beat me to the bike site. Biking is a great thing to look into, though just as with buses, people in the NE area may have to get a little bit creative and ready for a long jaunt to go to downtown or Central. If you bike, I'd definitely recommend living near work. The bike map is a great resource (it hangs on the wall right by my hat rack near my door), but it definitely led to trouble for this newcomer. It has a way of making distances seem much shorter than they really are. What it makes out to be a block is really a long section with numerous side streets and parking lots (the fine brown lines on the map are streets, too). You'd want to get a feel for the city's span and the roads that map shows before just hopping on your bike and pedaling what turns out to be a formidable excursion with lots of stopping and going out of your way. The map is as detailed as it should be for space purposes, so I'm not saying it's bad. I'm more just saying not to be an impulsive fool like me and take one glance at the map before heading out for a trip from Eubank/Juan Tabo to UNM's campus on Central. Good exercise, but not exactly timely.

[rybert]

X2

lol... I was only 13 when I decided (against my mother's authority) to ride from Gibson & Louisiana down to Jefferson & Osuna.

I had memorized the map and thought the trip would be a piece of cake... I was wrong.

Although it was good to learn at a young age that panniers are the best thing ever!

[GOPATTA2D]

Originally Posted by rybert

X2

lol... I was only 13 when I decided (against my mother's authority) to ride from Gibson & Louisiana down to Jefferson & Osuna.

I had memorized the map and thought the trip would be a piece of cake... I was wrong.

Although it was good to learn at a young age that panniers are the best thing ever!

Very funny. Years ago while still in HS I lived in Glenwood Hills with my parents. A few of us decided to ride to Winrock and Coronado. The first half of the trip was easy! Coming home...not so easy.

[stingraynm]

LOL... good to know I'm not alone in that experience, 'cause in my case I sure felt alone with no headlamp and no chance to beat the sunset home. To top it off, night has a strange effect on a newbie transplant trying to backtrack the way home with no native/local heuristic for the layout of streets, which are thankfully well lit for the most part. That was one of those ever-so-special adventures.

[yukon]

My experience has been that the major routes are on time or close, for the most part. San Mateo, Menaul and Montgomery routes are the ones I use most and are fairly reliable. The Wyoming route has always been late when I ride it - personally, I think they have too few buses on that particular route and many riders.

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by yukon

My experience has been that the major routes are on time or close, for the most part. San Mateo, Menaul and Montgomery routes are the ones I use most and are fairly reliable. The Wyoming route has always been late when I ride it - personally, I think they have too few buses on that particular route and many riders.

Hmm.. probably and interesting to know... right now I'm just trying to figure out how to get to Menaul from the Eubank/Academy/Juan Tabo area without having to walk to Wyoming. Apparently this is not easy. The real locale I'm after is Louisiana/Menaul. It seems the closest stops would still leave me on the south side of Coronado Mall. Not that that's a tough walk, but's it's a big area with lots of traffic and I'd like to find something timely if I'm going to bother with bus schedules/stops in my work schedule.

Luckily, I'm from Boise, which had much worse transit, so I know to just keep driving.

Anyone who could reveal the proper route I'm overlooking would be most appreciated.

[SMTBSI]

Originally Posted by stingraynm

Hmm.. probably and interesting to know... right now I'm just trying to figure out how to get to Menaul from the Eubank/Academy/Juan Tabo area without having to walk to Wyoming. Apparently this is not easy. The real locale I'm after is Louisiana/Menaul. It seems the closest stops would still leave me on the south side of Coronado Mall. Not that that's a tough walk, but's it's a big area with lots of traffic and I'd like to find something timely if I'm going to bother with bus schedules/stops in my work schedule.

Luckily, I'm from Boise, which had much worse transit, so I know to just keep driving.

Anyone who could reveal the proper route I'm overlooking would be most appreciated.

I'm trying to case the mass transit myself... my intuition is that it'll be fine for me as I've had to use some pretty meager systems with no real problems, but on the other hand, I have to wonder what others know that I don't. That is, the Albuquerque - Official City Website site leaves me with the impression that their are enough routes with enough times to make bus transit reasonable, but most of what I've read on this site suggests otherwise, so the reality must fall somewhat short of the printed ideal, I imagine.

In your case, after 10 minutes of making sense of the... erm... vibrant map provided on the above site, I imagine I arrived at the same conclusion as you - Route 1 to Menual, Route 8 to Louisiana, dropping you off just south of the Coronado Center. I just can't see anything that results in less walking (approx. a half a mile) than that. (This does, however, eliminate the walk to Wyoming, and both routes run throughout business hours, supposedly, just in case you hadn't seen this option yet.)

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by SMTBSI

I'm trying to case the mass transit myself... my intuition is that it'll be fine for me as I've had to use some pretty meager systems with no real problems, but on the other hand, I have to wonder what others know that I don't. That is, the Albuquerque - Official City Website site leaves me with the impression that their are enough routes with enough times to make bus transit reasonable, but most of what I've read on this site suggests otherwise, so the reality must fall somewhat short of the printed ideal, I imagine.

In your case, after 10 minutes of making sense of the... erm... vibrant map provided on the above site, I imagine I arrived at the same conclusion as you - Route 1 to Menual, Route 8 to Louisiana, dropping you off just south of the Coronado Center. I just can't see anything that results in less walking (approx. a half a mile) than that. (This does, however, eliminate the walk to Wyoming, and both routes run throughout business hours, supposedly, just in case you hadn't seen this option yet.)

Thanks for trying. I guess the walk from Coronado wouldn't hurt since I have to sit at desks most of the day anyway. Also, I had no car the first two years of college and love to hike, so I'm no stranger to formidable jaunts nor am I disabled. I don't spend much on gas for my commute, but a penny saved is still a penny earned (and I think that phrase is going to make a comeback as of late). I guess I haven't assessed the price of a bus ticket yet. Will have to compare to my pay period gas expense (with consideration to the lost time, too). I only have to fill up once every 2-3 weeks, which isn't bad for living on the edge of an urban area where I work closer to the center.