Rapid Ride

This article is about the former service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For other uses, see Rapid Ride (disambiguation).
The original Rapid Ride logo in 2004

Rapid Ride was an express bus service with limited bus rapid transit (BRT) features which was operated by ABQ RIDE, the local transit agency in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 2004 to 2020. The Rapid Ride name was phased out in 2020 with the rebranding of the one remaining Rapid Ride line as ARTx, though the service remains essentially the same.[1]

The original Rapid Ride line was inaugurated on December 21, 2004, serving an 11-mile (18 km) route along the Central Avenue corridor. It was intended to provide a faster and more efficient means of public transit in Albuquerque and to serve as a pilot project for a potential light rail line. Growing ridership led to the opening of a second route in 2007 and a third route in 2009. By March 2008, Rapid Ride had carried five million passengers.[2] In 2019, the Rapid Ride Red and Green Lines were replaced by a true BRT system, Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART).[3] The Rapid Ride Blue Line, which serves the West Side, remains in operation, but was rebranded as ARTx Blue Line in 2020.[1]

  1. ^ a b Porter, Kai (August 21, 2020). "Rapid Ride/Blue Line has a new name: ARTx". KOB. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Rapid Ride", City of Albuquerque Official City Website, retrieved April 25, 2009
  3. ^ Dyer, Jessica (January 1, 2020). "Free ride is over; ART fares begin". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved July 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.