El Paso City Reps question efficiency of BRIO payments

The new Brio bus rapid transit system is just days from rolling out. It’s slated to be in service october 27th – yet some city reps still have concerns.

The transit system is supposed to take half the time or less than the regular Sun Metro buses.
It has fewer stops – which are elevated and easier to access and the ability to prolong green lights.

The mesa corridor will run from Downtown, up Mesa to the Westside transfer center, behind Wal-Mart.

City Rep. Claudia Ordaz said the Brio should have extended hours so that people who party late into the night can have a way to avoid drinking and driving. Sun Metro Spokewsoman Laura Cruz-Acosta said that service hasn’t been used much when Sun Metro has tried it in the past, despite heave promotion. The Brio will have extended hours for special events though, like Chihuahuas games, said Cruz-Acosta.

The main concern was people getting on the bus without paying. On the brio, riders don’t pay when they board. They’re supposed to buy their pass beforehand at a vending kiosk.

“I want this thing to succeed. and if all we’re doing is asking them and if they get caught, there’s no punishment whatsoever, just ‘could you please pay’ and that’s only if you get caught, how is this going to work,” asked City Rep. Michiel Noe.

Cruz-Acosta said Sun Metro will have representatives on the buses in October and November to check if anyone didn’t pay and ask them to pay. As the weeks go by, Sun Metro officials will escort a non-paying person off the bus to a payment kiosk.

Then in January, Sun Metro will report to City Council with a count of how many people were caught not paying and possible solutions, like issuing fines. Future Brio routes will run on Montana, Dyer and Alameda.