Latest news with #NCRTD
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Bus passenger shot and killed in Taos County
TAOS COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – A passenger was killed when two individuals shot at a bus in Taos County Monday afternoon, according to the North Central Regional Transit District. The NCRTD said the shooting happened while the Blue Bus, which serviced Chili Line route 340, was stopped at the Rancho de Taos Post Office bus stop near the intersection of State Road 68 and San Francisco Street. Story continues below New Mexico Crime Files: Grocery store worker hands out semen-tainted yogurt Trending: Santa Fe man arrested after 'brandishing' gun at gas station New Mexico Strange: Holy dirt and healing water: A look at NM's miraculous locations News: National Guard deployment causes worry over New Mexico wildfire funds Officials with the NCRTD said two individuals fired handguns through the window ofthe bus. One person died from injuries; the driver and two other passengers who were on board at the time were not injured. The NCRTD said it is cooperating with the Taos County Sheriff's Office as they investigate the shooting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blue Bus expects to restore routes limited by onset of COVID-19
A North Central Regional Transit District bus shown in downtown Santa Fe. (NCRTD courtesy photo) Over the next year, Northern New Mexico's bus system anticipates restarting routes that were suspended or curtailed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, fears of a national recession are driving uncertainty about how much the so-called Blue Bus will receive from both local governments and Washington. The North Central Regional Transit District Board of Directors on Friday approved a preliminary $53 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, a nearly 7% decrease from the previous year's budget. The board will meet again in June to formally vote on the budget, which staff will then submit to the state Department of Finance and Administration. The district projects the number of riders on its 26 fixed routes to increase compared to last year, when more than 565,000 people took the bus, a marked decline from the 2018-2019 fiscal year pre-pandemic numbers of more than 814,000 rides. In his budget message to the board, Executive Director Anthony Mortillaro wrote that the district suspended some routes or limited them to on-demand service in response to the pandemic's outset, but most have returned, and the rest will in the coming year as they hire more staff. The district's service area encompasses 74 communities across 10,0000 square miles where nearly 290,000 people live. NCRTD employs approximately 100 people, and the budget pays for two additional bus drivers. At its Friday meeting in Española, Mortillaro told the board that the district's future projections remain uncertain because of federal actions. Nearly 50% of the district's income comes from the federal government. 'There's an increasing concern about the odds of a national recession due to the tariffs and high interest rates, and all that could impact tax revenues as well as future grant levels,' he said. Most Blue Bus routes run in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Taos and Los Alamos counties, with some connecting to eight Northern Pueblos, the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the counties of San Juan, Mora and San Miguel. While the area is experiencing a 'leveling economic recovery based upon reported tax revenues,' Mortilarro wrote, a recession could lower those tax revenues and how much grant money the federal government will provide. Los Alamos County, the City of Santa Fe and the Rio Metro Regional Transit District, which operates the Rail Runner, contribute more than $7 million to the Blue Bus's budget, which it uses to fund regional transit in those areas, Mortillaro wrote. The budget also includes $9.5 million for electrical charging infrastructure in Española and Taos, and three diesel hybrid electric buses. Tariffs can add between 5% and 10% to the price of an electric bus, Mortillaro said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
