Atomic City Transit tells task force ADA ridership is rising, pilot service to end Oct. 25 for evaluation

Anna Brunson, senior business analyst for Atomic City Transit, told the Los Alamos County Inclusivity Task Force that ACT’s services are free and aimed at serving people across ages and abilities. “All of our services are free,” Brunson said, and she outlined fixed-route, express and on-demand options designed to connect children, seniors and riders with disabilities to schools, medical appointments and community destinations.

The presentation laid out the ASSIST paratransit enrollment steps — a medical form and in-person interview — and recent uptake. Brunson said 18 applicants used the formal ASSIST process in 2023, 10 in 2024 and 17 so far this year. Using new software and April–September data, she said ASSIST members completed 2,083 boardings in that period and average about 52 requests per ASSIST member, with on-time performance near 96.7 percent.

Brunson described a three-month Saturday pilot (launched Aug. 2) that runs 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; she said the pilot will conclude Oct. 25 and ACT will issue a public survey and evaluate whether to continue, expand or adjust the service. She said Saturday bookings run about 80 percent by app while ADA members more commonly call dispatch (roughly 96 percent of ADA bookings are by phone).

Task force members pressed ACT on accessibility and operations. Brunson said express routes are timed to school bells and that some express vehicles use school-bus equipment that is not fully ADA-compliant; ACT staff said they can swap vehicles for accessibility as operationally feasible and welcome direct requests from riders. On audible information, Brunson clarified that announcements are made on-board at timed stops, not at every pole, and said a pending software publish will increase announcement volume and reliability.

Members also asked about the transit center relocation studied previously; one member said consultants found downtown options would not meet lab-oriented ridership needs and the relocation effort was paused. Brunson said she would connect members with James, the transit manager, for further programmatic detail.

On funding, Brunson said ACT benefits from being a county-run transit program and that FTA Section 5311 formula funding has not been affected at present; local county match money supports the federal dollars. “We do not foresee any kind of losing transit in the foreseeable future,” Brunson said, while also noting that dramatic federal cuts could change the outlook. Members and staff flagged a recent reduction in the Bandelier National Monument shuttle (run under agreement with the park) that lowered ridership on that route and therefore could affect formula-based allocations tied to ridership levels.

Brunson described longer-term ambitions including better regional app integration so riders can see and connect multiple systems in one place, and said ACT is exploring staffing strategies — including hiring part-time, non-CDL drivers for weekend service — to make expanded weekend service more sustainable. She invited members and community groups to provide feedback and offered to follow up on accessibility items such as tactile maps, additional language translations and tribal engagement.

The task force did not take any formal action on transit items; next steps Brunson identified were the October survey, post-pilot evaluation and operational follow-ups with the transit manager.