From Minneapolis-St.Paul: "Mass-transit meets mass-media," by Gita Sitaramiah

To advertisers, buses are much more than a commuting option. They're rolling billboards with the capacity to spread messages to on-the-go consumers. (Read more here.)

From Albuquerque! "Soaring gasoline prices cause public transit ridership to ‘explode,’ " by LLoyd Jojola

This story was published in the Albuquerque Journal on June 19, 2008. However, I am unable to find a link to that story within the Albuquerque Journal website's search engine. I did find ten pages of Lloyd Jojola stories, many about ABQ RIDE, but not the story I have copied below.


Judy Sesma of Rio Rancho did the math. By using the bus for her commute to Sandia Labs, she’s saving about $5 a day in gasoline costs — and that was calculated when the fuel prices were about $3, $3.50 per gallon.

“It’s 25 miles one-way to work,” the secretary said while waiting to board ABQ Ride’s Route 96 Crosstown commuter service at 6:09 a.m. Tuesday. “This is cheap transportation.”

It’s transportation an ever-increasing number of people are using as area gas prices near $4 a gallon.

One commuter route has seen passenger loads more than double in the past couple months.

ABQ Ride boardings sur- passed 909,000 in May, an 8 percent increase compared with the same month last year. But more marked increases have occurred on bus routes that largely serve commuters, causing the transit agency to make changes to accommodate more ridership.

“Our bigger increases have been in the commuter routes, and they have been over the last couple of months vs. the first part of the fiscal year,” said Art Martinez, a Transit Department spokesman. “We were definitely seeing steady growth, but we’re seeing spikes in the last couple of months.”

A prime example: the Route 96 service that runs weekday mornings and evenings from the Cottonwood Mall park and ride site on the West Side to Kirtland Air Force Base. By observation alone, it’s a standing-room-only service at times.

“That’s happening a lot, especially coming home. Sometimes going in,” said Rio Rancho resident Elizabeth Jones, a Veterans Affairs Hospital nurse who’s gone from taking the Route 96 bus “once in a while” to “more than I used to.”

From July 2007 to March 2008, an average of about 2,650 people a month rode the Route 96 line. During April and May, the number was about 4,000 a month.

The growth has been substantial enough that another bus — a morning run and an evening run — will be added to the Route 96 service starting Monday, Martinez said.

And that’s not the only line with a sizable increase.

Ridership on ABQ Ride’s Route 222 line, which ties into the Rail Runner Express station by Rio Bravo Boulevard — bus service that feeds the airport and Air Force base area — has “exploded,” Martinez said.

An average of about 1,500 people per month boarded that route from July 2007 to March 2008. But in April and May, an average of 3,326 used it each month. Much of that passenger traffic is made up of Valencia County commuters coming into the Albuquerque area, according to transit officials.

Similar increases are being seen, and adjustments are being made, by other mass transit providers, such as the Rail Runner Express train.

A third car was added to the northbound train Tuesday that departs from the Belen station at 5:46 a.m.

“We added it because the busiest section is between Belen and Downtown Albuquerque,” said Jay Faught of the Mid-Region Council of Governments. “It was really to accommodate those passengers coming from Belen and Los Lunas.”

Train managers in April had already added a car to the train that departs Belen at 6:51 a.m.

“Just in the last month or so, we’ve seen a more than 20 percent jump in ridership on the Rail Runner, with some of our train cars overflowing with passengers,” Lawrence Rael, MRCOG executive director, said in a statement this week.

And the state Department of Transportation this week added another bus to its park-and-ride service from Albuquerque to Santa Fe to meet demand.

“Currently, passengers are at standing room only on this route and several people have been turned away in the past two days,” state Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught said in a news release as the move was made.

On Wednesday, an additional bus began picking up commuters at 6:40 a.m. from the state Department of Transportation offices at 7500 Pan American Freeway NE in Albuquerque. It leaves from the state DOT offices at 1120 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe at 5:20 p.m.

Bus benefits

Judy Sesma, a Rio Rancho resident, has been riding the bus for years. She catches ABQ Ride’s Route 96 Crosstown commuter about four days each week to get to her job at Sandia National Laboratories. She listed the following benefits to riding the bus: It reduces wear and tear on her car. She gets a discount on her automobile insurance. “You don’t have to do the driving yourself.” You can read, study, talk, sleep. And you can socialize. “I’ve met some really nice people on the bus.”

Ditch your car

Albuquerque’s buses are free today.

Mayor Martin Chávez announced Wednesday that the Transit Department would celebrate “Dump the Pump Day” with free bus service. And every city department director will take the bus or alternative transportation to work, the mayor said.

Also free today: the New Mexico Park and Ride bus service, on a space-available basis, and Rail Runner Express services.

Mass transit choices



For schedule and fare information, go to:

ABQ Ride: www.cabq.gov/abqride or call 243-RIDE.


 Rail Runner Express: www.nmrailrunner.com or call 245-RAIL.


 New Mexico Park and Ride: www.nmparkandride.com or call (866) 551-RIDE (7433) or (505) 424-1110.

MARLA BROSE/JOURNAL Daniel Jones, right, stands in front of D.J. Latham as they catch a ride on ABQ Ride’s Route 96 Tuesday morning. The popular route was full as it left the stop at Gibson and San Mateo, bound for Cottonwood Mall.




From Mexico City: "Mexican bus drivers want tips despite harrowing rides." (AP)

So what if they rage through traffic, cause at least one accident a day and barely stop for passengers. Drivers of Mexico City's rickety old "pesero" buses say they deserve tips for their harrowing rides. (Read more here.)

From San Francisco: "Top bus driver followed a winding path," by Rachel Gordon

Jesse Dela Cruz almost flunked the driving test when he signed up to become a bus jockey for AC Transit 29 years ago. Today, he is the three-time championship transit operator of North America, having just won his third title at the annual transit "roadeo" in Texas. (Read more here.)

From Boston: "King of the bill: BoltBus can get you to New York for $1," by Chad Berndtson

This story originally appeared on PatriotLedger.com at this address: http://www.patriotledger.com/lifestyle/x514713284. This link no longer exists. A copy of the original story appears below.


I’m not a "bus guy.'' It could be that my past experiences with Greyhound, Fung Wah and other Boston/New York corridor coaches consistently left my neck in a merciless crick if I dared to doze off, and my knees in various stages of tweak having been jammed in seat gaps or overstretched into an aisle.

If you’re 6 feet or taller, you know what I’m talking about.

But I’m charmed by the BoltBus, a new venture launched by Greyhound Lines and Peter Pan Bus Lines Inc. that began Boston/New York service last Thursday. The hook: a roomier, comfier bus with free wireless Internet and $1 seats if you book far enough in advance. The rest of the seats can be as much as $20.


My first thought, upon boarding in semi-chaotic fashion near Penn Station, was that, well, it’s still a bus, and no such travel solution can account for bumpy roads, traffic, wafting fast food smells and cell phone yakkers with zero regard for close-quarters etiquette.

The seats are nothing special but they are roomier than standard Greyhound fare, the 110-volt outlets on the backs of seats are easy to manage, and the WiFi works well despite a dearth of surfaces on which to place laptops or food.

The demographics on both my trips veer toward collegiate looking twentysomethings and young professionals, with the stray family and older businessperson thrown in. Each ride I take is nominally sold out.

In fact, maybe some enterprising thesis candidate will pen his or her degree-maker using this as a sociology experiment – as in, how much are people willing to put up with because they only paid a Washington or close to it? 
While gas is creeping toward $4, the choices are few, even if it means hours in I-95 traffic.

The BoltBus offers daily 12 trips between Boston and New York.

On the return trip to New York last Sunday, my fiancée and I were surprised at the number of bedraggled looking folks queueing at South Station’s Gate 3 – out of where the "regular'' Greyhound and Peter Pan NYC buses operate – or hustling to make a Fung Wah or Lucky Star bus, also apparently oversold.

Translation: the secret isn’t really out yet, so you might want to book your BoltBus tickets now.

For reservations and  more information, log on to www.boltbus.com.
 It’s pretty nice.

On the Cheap is a weekly column that features free or dirt cheap entertainment options. E-mail us at features@ledger.com.

From The United States: "Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit," by Clifford Krauss

With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead.

Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light rail stations are suddenly overflowing, with commuters in some towns risking a ticket or tow by parking on nearby grassy areas and in vacant lots. (Read more here.)

From Santa Cruz, California: "County asks for student bus pass donations," by J.M. Brown

This story was originally posted on the Santa Cruz Sentinel's website at http://www.scsextra.com/story.php?sid=75722 . That link no longer exists. Below is a copy of the original story.


JoAnn Allen, who runs a county support program for low-income and homeless families, sets aside $18,000 every year to buy monthly bus passes for students whose families can't afford to shuttle them between home and school.

But during the past 18 months, as more Santa Cruz County families lose their homes to the statewide wave of mortgage foreclosures, the number of parents requesting Metro transit passes from the county has nearly tripled. In just the first three months of this year, Allen said she has already spent $40,000 -- more than twice her annual transportation budget.

Allen has pulled from other federal grant-funded sources at the county Office of Education to backfill the overspending, and for the first time since the support program was founded 18 years ago is asking for the public's help to subsidize the transportation costs. She said all donations are tax-exempt.

"We have a Band-Aid that is leaking," said Allen, director of the student support services division. "This is the first time I've ever said, 'Can you just help us with bus passes?' "

She said there are an estimated 3,000 students in the county who are classified as homeless or in transition, meaning they are temporarily living with other families, staying in motels or living on the streets. School sites countywide refer families to the county program, but Allen said the crisis has particularly affected lower-income areas of Santa Cruz, Live Oak and the Pajaro Valley.

The names of families who receive the passes are confidential, but several contacted by the Sentinel through county officials declined to be interviewed about the reason for their sudden spike in financial need.

In a recent written appeal to the public, the county education office said, "Many families in our community, both homeowners and rental tenants, are being forced from their homes. As a result of these economic hardships, we are identifying more homeless families in need of services for their school-aged children."

Allen said some families are also grappling with vehicle repossessions, making it difficult to get their children to school unless they can afford a city bus ticket. Allen's program serves about 1,000 students annually with clothes, supplies and transportation, but is struggling to make ends meet with the run on transportation costs.

Monthly bus passes cost $35 for K-12 students, and the county also provides about six $50 monthly passes for parents or guardians who accompany the youngest students. The majority of pass users are students between the fifth and ninth grades.

Although school districts lack transportation funding, Allen said she has asked liaisons at school sites to see if the families requesting the passes could chip in even a small portion of the bus pass cost. Many cannot, and she said the county has had to turn away parents.

Laurie Bloom-Sweeney, assistant superintendent of education services at Live Oak School District, encouraged the public to invest in the bus program.

"Their life is in turmoil," she said of the 88 students, or 5 percent, in her district who are homeless or living in transitional housing. "Whatever we can do to maintain a sane environment for them is imperative."

How to help


Donations to the Students in Transition bus pass program 
can be sent to Nohemi Macias, Santa Cruz County Office of Education, 809H Bay Ave., 
Capitola CA 95010. For information, contact Macias at 477-5422 or nmacias@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Contact J.M. Brown at 429-2410 or jbrown@santacruzsentinel.com.