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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños riding public transit may be feeling safer lately as new ABQ Ride data shows security calls across the transit system are dropping even while ridership continues to grow.
Data reviewed by City Desk from ABQ Ride’s third-quarter report shows safety calls dropped 21% from last year, averaging 1,871 monthly calls. Meanwhile, ridership grew 8% to over 1.9-million rides, about 150,000 more than a year ago. According to the report, serious Class A incidents fell by 38%, accounting for just 1.5% of all calls. Total calls still rose 11% from the first quarter to 5,613, though 85% were proactive activities like safety checks.
Transit Director Leslie Keener said the drop in serious incidents comes as ABQ Ride shifts to using Albuquerque Police Department Transit Safety Officers as its main safety team, replacing Metro Security. TSOs handled 95% of all calls, Albuquerque Community Safety handled 3% (169 calls, a 101% increase) and Metro Security covered 2%. During Monday’s City Council budget meeting, councilors rejected funding for the TSOs. In a separate item, they placed the officers under the Civilian Police Oversight Agency for added accountability. The transition has created a temporary gap in transit data. The first-quarter report tracked safety calls by individual bus routes, but changes in data collection now prevent APD and ACS from providing route-by-route or bus-by-bus analytics in the second- and third-quarter reports.
The transit department plans to expand its Long-Range Transit Security Plan by adding safety officers, improving data collection and creating a safety division. The city will present the data at the June 1 City Council meeting.
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