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J.A. Montalbano: Day One: Riding the rails, catching the bus keeps carless commuters on track

By J.A. Montalbano
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The chatter on the train platform and later on the bus was unmistakable Monday morning: This carless commute seems to be catching on.

A lot of the talk centered around anecdotal observations that the train cars (and buses that connect with the train lines) are fuller than they were, say, a month ago.

On the first day of my week without a car, I took the Rail Runner Express to work. I naturally wake up around 6:30 a.m. (even after a night's sleep haunted by an episode of "The Sopranos"), so the 7:35 from Downtown to the Journal Center seemed like a good fit.

I was out of the house by 7 and walked 20 minutes to the Alvarado Transportation Center, where I waited on the platform with about a dozen others, two of whom had bicycles.

When the southbound train pulled in, I counted about 100 people pouring out, three of them with bikes.

The 7:35 northbound was five minutes late. Even more people spilled out at the Downtown stop. We left the station at 7:42, and the conductor quickly assured us that the buses heading west to Rio Rancho and east/south to Century Rio would be waiting for us.

The happy ticket agent came by to collect my dollar. The train's whistle blew frequently during the 10-minute ride, faint but noticeable.

As we eased into the North Valley station, we passed a railroad crossing where 10 cars sat in a line yielding to the train. About 30 of us got off and crowded onto the Route 151 bus at Second Street and headed east. It was standing-room-only. The driver didn't collect fares.

Our bus glided along the frontage road beside Paseo del Norte, which was a sea of brake lights. The only hiccup for us was a line of about 10 cars waiting to turn right onto Jefferson. Two stops later I was in front of my building. I was at my desk at 8:05 a.m.

That's a 65-minute commute, which I could reduce by 15 minutes now that I have timed the walk and know the layout at Alvarado. I could shave a few more minutes if the trains are on time.

• Length of morning commute (vs. 10-minute car trip): 65 minutes

• Cost: $1

• What I read: Half a New Yorker article (I was distracted by logistics and taking notes the first day).

• Hassles: None

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

My first hangup comes tonight.

I plan to attend a movie screening at Century Rio. No problem getting there by bus, especially from the office straight down Jefferson.

The problem is getting home. The 151 route doesn't run past 8 p.m., and the 140/141 (which would take me down San Mateo to Central to catch the Rapid Ride home) doesn't run after 9 p.m.

Greg Payne, the city's transit director, says those limitations (which run citywide) are due partly to funding and partly to demand.

"Albuquerque is a city that is beginning to embrace mass transit well after other cities have embraced it," Payne said. "So we're playing catch-up to a large degree."

Later, he added: "In an ideal world, we'd be able to provide infinitely more service hours than we have before."

I could call a cab after the movie. But I'm going to use my one get-out-of-jail-free card I've allowed myself: I'm going to bum a ride from my date.