From Albuquerque! "Rapid Ride Reaches 5 Million Passengers - Lucky Rider Wins Prizes" (City of Albuquerque website)

This story originally appeared on the City of Albuquerque website at this address: http://www.cabq.gov/transit/5MillionRiders.html. That link no longer exists. Below is a copy of the original.

Mayor Martin Chávez and ABQ RIDE Director, Greg Payne, are proud to announce that today the five-millionth passenger boarded the Rapid Ride.

"In only a little more than 3 years, 5 million passengers have taken advantage of the express service," said Mayor Chávez. "The Rapid Ride continues to provide riders with a fast and convenient way to commute in Albuquerque."

The original Rapid Ride, the Red Line, began service in December 24, 2004. More than 150,000 passengers now board the Red Line monthly. The BlueLine, which services the West Side to downtown and the UNM area, was launched in July 2007 and averages more than 20,000 passengers per month.

During a press conference today, Bryan Evans, a local artist and frequent user of the Rapid Ride, was presented with prizes that included dinner for two at Tucano's, a night's stay for two at the Hyatt Regency, a bouquet from People's Flowers and a one-year bus pass.

 "The Rapid Ride picks up where the other routes leave off, " said Director Payne. "We developed the routes to provide a service to the commuter who needed fast, frequent and consistent rides along our busiest transit corridor. The Rapid Ride has helped ABQ RIDE increase ridership because it attracted new riders, even along the regular local routes." According to the American Public Transportation Association, nationally bus ridership saw a growth of 1% from 2006 to 2007. For the same period, ABQ RIDE saw a growth of 8%.

"Increased gasoline prices definitely drives some of our ridership increase, but that's not the only explanation." Payne said. "We've expanded Rapid Ride, connected with the Rail Runner, partnered with UNM and CNM on students passes and improved our overall level of customer service. We're simply a different, better, more modern transit system."