“ART will be the most consistent way to travel along Central Avenue because of traffic signal prioritization, which gives buses green light priority.”  – Albuquerque Rapid Transit “Ride Guide & Accessibility” webpage.

Early, it’s only Day Five or so, reports we at Better Burque are hearing from those riding A.R.T. are:

• Cars are generally getting left turn priority over A.R.T. buses (where left turns are legal);
• No system of bus-optimized signal prioritization seems to be in place: and,
• It also appears few, if any signalized intersections provide a “jump queue” granting A.R.T. green lights before all other vehicles.

Very much realizing that the system has just begun and that some folks in pickups are still trying to outrace the bus to make illegal left turns ala “Smokey & the Bandit,”  we here at BB are still just gathering information on what and how things are going with the service, so far.

Readers: What are you experiencing and seeing so far?

We’d love to hear from you. Email or comment below (WordPress, Facebook, etc.) and we’ll together keep a “from the streets” record of how things progress.

Another example: Hows’ the wi-fi?

Free high-speed WiFi is available on all ART buses and stations. Remember to bring headphones. – Albuquerque Rapid Transit “Ride Guide & Accessibility” webpage.

Again, the intention to document the reality of A.R.T. in these early days is not to slam the service or turn this into a “Mayor (Insert Name Here) destroyed this City and I knew A.R.T. would never work” diatribe festival. We all know there are a plethora of venues for that “discussion.”

As the grammarians put it, let’s be “descriptive” rather than “prescriptive” and observe/report what is happening. Example: Something tells me we’re gonna get that San Pedro A.R.T. stop in the “future” (squint closely at the green box in this photo taken at a station platform):

Thanks for taking time to report if you get a chance. Happy Riding!