North Central RTD
| Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Area served | Northern New Mexico | ||
| Number of lines | 21 | ||
| Annual ridership | 209,750 | ||
| Website | http://ncrtd.org/ | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 2007 | ||
| Number of vehicles | 43 | ||
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The North Central Regional Transit District operates a network of several local and intercity bus routes in northern New Mexico, serving Santa Fe, Española, Taos, and many smaller communities along a network of 20 fixed routes and two demand-response routes. All routes operate Monday through Friday only, with the exceptions of the "Taos Express," which operates only on weekends, and the Mountain Trail route, which operates daily. These two routes are also the only routes to require a fare; all other routes are free to ride. The service is supported primarily by transit gross receipt taxes, which provided 73% of the RTD's revenues in 2014.
The North Central RTD was created in September 2004 by the New Mexico Transportation Commission under the Regional Transit Act, a law passed by Governor Bill Richardson that authorized the creation of Regional Transit Districts in New Mexico. The RTD first began public transit operations in 2007 after consolidating with local transit services in Rio Arriba County. In the following years, NCRTD expanded service further, aided by a gross receipts tax of one-eighth of one percent that was approved by voters in 2008.
In January 2015, NCRTD took over operations of the weekend Taos Express bus service, and in July took over operations of the local Chile Line bus service in the town of Taos. In September 2015, the RTD opened a new route serving the Santa Fe Ski Area. And in March 2016, the RTD began service along a new route between Santa Fe and La Cienega.
Current members of the district include Los Alamos County, Rio Arriba County, Santa Fe County, Taos County, and Torrance County, as well as several pueblos, including Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, and Tesuque.
In March 2015, NCRTD launched the Blue Bus Tracker, which allows riders to view bus routes and stops, as well as to view service alerts and expected departure times based on real-time GPS data. Each bus stop on the network is identified by a unique number, which is displayed at the stop; by inputting the number into the Blue Bus Tracker or by texting the number to an automated service number, real-time information can be viewed for that stop.
In October 2014, NCRTD was one of five rural transit agencies nationwide recognized by the Federal Transit Administration with the "Administrator’s Award for Outstanding Public Transportation Service in Rural Public Transportation." NCRTD was also honored by the New Mexico Department of Transportation as the "2014 Section 5311 Rural Transit System of the Year," and was honored in both 2009 and 2012 as the "Job Access and Reverse Commute Transportation System of the Year."
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