Welcome to the North Central Regional Transit District

A Message from Executive Director, Anthony J. Mortillaro

A Message to the Region from Anthony J. Mortillaro, Executive Director

Welcome to the North Central Regional Transit District (RTD) website. We hope that you find the site informative and user friendly. Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 was another year of progress at the North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD). As we share our achievements for the year, you will note that we planned more transportation options, focused on enhancing connections, supported the economy and continued to provide exceptional service to the 235,303 residents of the communities we serve in Santa Fe, Taos, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos Counties.  

During FY 2014 the NCRTD continued to experience success as it completed its seventh year of service.  This year we again reached a new milestone in respect to an all-time high in ridership with 209,750 riders on NCRTD operated routes for the year. This represents an 8.7 percent increase which was eight times the 2013 national average for increased trips on public transportation.  The increase in ridership continues to reinforce that regional and rural public transportation is an essential service in North Central New Mexico.

In order to provide preeminent service, the District embarked upon the development of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) that when completed in February of 2015, will enhance our communication capabilities with our customers. The ITS system provides the most up-to-date information to our passengers as to where the bus is in relation to their stop and when it will arrive. Passengers will be able to access this information by simply scanning the QR code at their stop or by texting a bus stop specific code that will be displayed at each stop.  It will also provide passengers with the ability to plan a trip throughout the “Blue Bus” system along with connecting information for Santa Fe Trails, Atomic City Transit, NM Park & Ride and the Rail Runner.

As a component of planning for the next five (5) years, the District completed its Short Term Transit Service Plan. The Plan assessed existing routes and recommended modifications in order to enhance critical timed connections and adding additional stops on existing routes, as well as several new routes. Coming in the new year are routes that will serve Tres Piedras and Golden, as well as a mid-day service to Edgewood and increased service to Chama.

Although the fiscal environment in the District’s service area continued on a slow improvement, the Board of Directors and staff continuously looked for ways to maximize our finances for current and future needs. Seventy (70) percent of the District’s operating revenues are derived from the Regional Transit Gross Receipts Tax (RTGRT) collected in all four counties that make up our service area.  This revenue source is highly dependent upon the economic performance of the economies within those counties we serve.  We are proud to report that for the upcoming year and considering the fiscal challenges, we were able to maintain services, reallocate resources to enhance those services and balance our expenditures with minimal use of reserve funds, solely for capital acquisitions.  The fact that the District could utilize reserve funds for fleet purchases, is a reflection of its ongoing commitment to being fiscally prudent.

This annual report contains many references to facts and figures, which are important, however, just as important is the customer side of what the District does. The daily services of the District are provided by a robust cadre of customer centric team members, who are thoughtful, experienced, safety minded and committed to the first class transit agency the District is today. This year the District embarked upon an internal driven initiative among its team members to foster customer excellence to ensure that our focus always remains on you the customer. These values are based upon communication, respect, trustworthiness, dedication and professional excellence.

The District’s accomplishments over the past year contained herein continue to affirm our assurance to provide the highest quality service to our constituents, to operate in a transparent manner, and a commitment to ongoing collaboration with our riders, member entities and elected officials as a means for establishing the foundation for future success. 

Thank you to our Board of Directors, for their continued support, innovation, energy and their forward thinking approach that not only addresses today’s challenges, but prepares us for the future.   

FY 2014 Annual Report

Enjoy the free ride!