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Consultant presents SCRTD 10‑year plan update; board debates priorities for service expansions
Summary
Consultants presented an updated 10‑year transit plan reviewing fleet, facilities and service options including demand‑response pilots, route extensions and an airport express; board members questioned prioritization, emphasizing evening/return trips and local ridership needs.
Consultant Kirk Scott presented an update to the South Central Regional Transit District's 10‑year plan, summarizing peer benchmarking, fleet modernization, facility needs and public outreach results.
Scott highlighted that SCRTD had improved fleet age and cost efficiency compared with peers and noted sustained post‑pandemic ridership growth. He said the planning process identified service priorities including demand‑response in Sunland Park/Santa Teresa, extending routes and adding weekend and Sunday service, plus a potential Los Cruces–El Paso airport express to reduce multi‑hour trips.
"SCRTD is an essential service," Scott said, summarizing passenger survey results that emphasized travel for healthcare, shopping and work. He and staff noted key constraints: funding availability, federal requirements (including possible ADA complementary paratransit obligations if fixed routes change), and facility capacity to support additional vehicles and EV charging.
Several board members, including representatives from Los Cruces and Anthony, urged that the plan prioritize improving existing riders' ability to return home in the evening and adding marginal service hours (PM return trips), rather than prioritizing longer new express connections. Scott said the ordering of investments reflected judgment calls that the board could rearrange based on local priorities and budget availability. Management said the plan is a policy roadmap and that specific service changes will be brought to the board for year‑by‑year approval.
Staff also announced rollout of a new CAD/AVL passenger app (Pasio Go) to provide real‑time schedules and ridership counts to support planning and monitoring.
