Texas Transit Association

This news article is a good update and summary of El Paso’s state of public transit.

*Sun Metro tries to improve image*
*System needs 79 new vehicles to keep line running*
Erica Molina, El Paso Times, June 25, 2003

Primitivo Sandoval’s day often starts before dawn.

While most El Pasoans are asleep at 4:15 a.m., Sandoval joins a crew of drivers, dispatchers and other Sun Metro workers preparing to take thousands of residents where they need to go.

Sandoval is one of more than 300 bus drivers at Sun Metro, the local bus system that gets 1.1 million to 1.2 million passengers to their destinations each month — about 13.6 million a year.

“A bus that’s clean, reliable, safe, courteous and at a point in time within five minutes — that’s the goal,” said Terry Lee Scott, Sun Metro director. “There’s a great need in our community.”

But the goal can be elusive.

Despite attempts to keep bus riders happy, some complain about the service, including 118 complaints of buses running late in 2002.

“The only bad thing is the time you have to wait to ride the bus,” said a frequent rider, Jose Rincon, 82.

But when the buses are late, it’s not always the drivers’ fault. The bus fleet is getting old, many buses have air conditioning problems, and traffic is getting worse.

The life span of these large vehicles is about 12 years, while the average age of Sun Metro buses is 10.5 years, and 79 of its 159 buses need to be replaced, Scott said.

So far, about $6.5 million of the $25 million needed to replace the buses will be allotted to Sun Metro by Congress. The money is enough to buy 20 to 25 new 35-foot compressed-natural-gas buses for fixed routes in the next 12 to 18 months, Scott said.

Still, Sun Metro’s on-time performance is better than it used to be.

“We’re not an A student, we’re around a B-minus. … But where we came from is pretty far down,” Scott said. “We start to hear people say the bus was five or 10 minutes late, compared to five years ago when the bus didn’t show up, so the image is improving.”

Scott said the system operates within a 30-minute scheduling window, meaning drivers try to arrive at each stop no earlier or later than 15 minutes from the scheduled time.

“It’s pretty good the way they have it,” said Jonathan Luther, 16. “The people are usually nice, and they keep to themselves.”

Ridership on El Paso’s buses last year was 13.6 million passengers, up from 12 million passengers four years ago. Fort Worth, a city of similar size, population and number of buses, has about 5.5 million riders each year.

To help boost ridership, Sun Metro offers a variety of programs, including its Summer Fun Pass, Senior Links and Job Express.

Sun Metro buses collectively travel about 23,000 miles every day and 8 million miles each year. The average bus travels more than 200 miles a day.

Security officers monitor all Sun Metro terminals 24 hours a day, and cameras will be installed on all buses in the future. Drivers are trained to act responsibly and safely in various kinds of traffic situations, Scott said.

“You’re safer on a bus than anywhere else,” Scott said. “There’s no road rage.”

Hot days

As summer riders hit the streets, one of the top concerns is the Sun City’s blistering weather.

“Once it gets above 95 degrees, it’s difficult to keep the air conditioners working,” Scott said.

It’s a problem some riders know all too well.

“Sometimes they don’t have air conditioners, and it gets really hot,” said Northeast resident Maria Del Carmen Ruiz, who rides the bus several times each week.

Because of the aging fleet, keeping buses cool becomes a daily challenge.

“Obviously, our number one goal is for all air conditioners to work all the time,” Scott said. “We’ve gone the entire winter overhauling the air conditioners.”

Sun Metro has a mechanic specifically assigned to repair air conditioners.

“It’s kind of hard to keep a 45-foot pizza oven cool in 95-degree heat,” Scott said. “When it goes above 95 degrees, we’ll lose six to 10 buses a day due to air conditioning.”

The company tries to replace buses that are running without air conditioning as soon as possible, but this is not always an option, so a ride can be uncomfortable.

As a last resort, an unbearably hot bus will be pulled off its route and others will be juggled to fill the void.

“In the morning, if we have a bus with no air conditioning, we’ll put it in service during peak hours then take it out,” Scott said. “Is it sometimes uncomfortable? Yes, unfortunately, but we get you where you’re going.”

Despite high summer temperatures and human nature, the number of complaints Sun Metro receives annually is low. It received only 1,661 complaints in 2002 from more than 13 million passengers. Scott said Sun Metro averages 15 complaints per 100,000 boardings, and 150 to 175 complaints per month. The complaints are placed in categories such as buses being late, passing up passengers, rudeness, speeding, unsafe driving and problems with fares.

Another summer problem for some riders is finding shaded areas to wait for their buses.

“In El Paso, the element you really want to get out of is the sun,” Scott said. “We want to provide at least enough sun shades for riders to have a choice.”

Although there are shades at only 112 of the city’s 3,012 bus stops, Sun Metro’s goal is to eventually have shades spaced at reasonable walking distances. Ten new shelters will be erected this year at a cost of $10,000 each.

Still improving

“We feel like we’ve come a long ways over the last five years,” Scott said.

This included revamping and reorganizing many areas of Sun Metro, such as making sure all departments have the appropriate number of people.

And heading the list of priorities is upgrading Sun Metro’s fleet.

“We have some old buses,” Scott said. “New buses are the key to our future.”

In prior years, he said, some buses went 30,000 miles without preventive maintenance, which is now performed within 6,500 miles per vehicle.

Scott said Sun Metro’s capital investment plan includes building new neighborhood terminals in Mission Valley and on the West and far East sides of El Paso. Day-care centers are also planned in each new terminal and should be in every terminal by the project’s end.

“As we’ve developed these things, technology continues to move on,” Scott said. “We have to modernize our communication capabilities and information management.”

An automatic vehicle locator with a global positioning system has been installed on each bus, and the system should be running within six months.

Sun Metro is working to identify each of its 3,012 bus stops on the satellite system. Eventually, all buses will be tracked within three meters through the system, allowing for constant route updates as well as instant location information for emergency personnel.

An announcing system for the visually impaired will also be set up to announce the approach of each bus as well as points of interest.

Future projects include the Sun Metro Area Rapid Transit — or SMART — Starter Line, which is a $10 million to $11 million light-rail project connecting the El Paso-Juárez border bridges with Downtown El Paso. Other plans include electric buses and dedicated bus lanes.

Great Streets is a project that will improve the areas around bus stops, making them pedestrian-friendly and bettering the quality of life in the neighborhoods by improving various aspects, including shelters, special lanes, lighting and safety. The five identified streets for the project are Montana Avenue, Dyer Street, Alameda Avenue, Mesa Street and North Loop Drive.

“We want to be there, be reliable and be safe,” Scott said.