Getting Around Albuquerque
With limited bus routes, one commonly gets around Albuquerque by car, although it is also bikeable with even an equestrian trail.
Albuquerque is a heavily planned city. In much of Albuquerque, the major roads are lined primarily with businesses with residential mazes on the insides. Street addresses in Albuquerque take the form "12345 Main Street (NE/NW/SE/SW)" in which the northeast/northwest/etc. suffix denotes the quadrant of the city containing the address. The railroad tracks, which run parallel to I-25, are the east/west dividing line, and Central Avenue is the north/south dividing line. This nomenclature, while useful in helping you with maps and directions, has the drawback that you can't tell whether a street runs north-south or east-west simply by looking at the address.
Basically, if you remember that I-25 runs north-south, I-40 runs east-west, the Sandia Mountains are to the east, and the Rio Grande runs along the bottom of the valley in the western part of the city, you should be able to make your way around the city without too many problems. Here are some basic terms that will come in handy when asking for directions or looking at a map:
- Central Avenue is a principal east-west artery, running roughly parallel to I-40,
- The interchange of I-25 and I-40 is called "The Big I" and is roughly in the center of the city,
- Downtown is just southwest of "The Big I",
- The University of New Mexico (UNM for short) is on Central Avenue east of downtown,
- The "Heights" are the eastern part of town closer to the Sandia Mountains,
- "Uptown" is a business district located in the Heights at I-40 and Louisiana Boulevard,
- The "North Valley" and "Los Ranchos de Albuquerque" (technically a separate community from Albuquerque) encompass the area north of I-40 between I-25 and the river,
- The "South Valley" is the area west of I-25 south of downtown,
- And the "Westside" is all the suburbs on the western part of town across the river.
By Car
If you're driving, be prepared for frequent road construction. The city government web site gives information on major construction projects, but there are always minor ones going on. Several radio stations try to give traffic reports during morning and afternoon rush hours, but the service tends to come and go, and it's best to inquire locally as to which stations are currently offering it. KKOB-AM, 770 on the dial, seems to be fairly reliable for these reports. Traffic congestion, while not nearly as horrible as some of the other cities in the Western United States, can still get bad during the rush hour and on Saturdays. The two interstates and the river crossings usually have the worst congestion.
Keep in mind that driving while talking on your cell phone is illegal in Albuquerque.
By Bus
ABQ RIDE, +1 505 243-RIDE, is Albuquerque's public transit system. Albuquerque is a driving city, and until very recently the city was not trying to make any great strides in its public transit system. So with the exception of Central Avenue, public transit here is still for the most part very underdeveloped. Most of ABQ Ride's routes spur out of the Alvarado Transportation Center (in downtown at Central Avenue & First Street), which also serves as Albuquerque's Amtrak station and Greyhound depot. Bus service is reduced during the weekend.
The Rapid Ride is a frequent express bus service operated by ABQ Ride with two routes: The Route 766 (Red Line) runs mostly on Central Avenue, from Uptown to the Westside, stopping at several major destinations along the way (Expo New Mexico fairgrounds, Nob Hill, UNM, Downtown, Old Town, and the Albuquerque Biological Park), with buses running every 11 minutes (22 minutes on Sunday). The Route 790 (Blue Line), which connects UNM to the Cottonwood Mall area, runs less frequently and is of less use to the casual visitor. Both routes utilize buses that are longer than a normal city bus and painted bright red (they're pretty hard to miss).
Standard fares for all ABQ Ride routes are $1 per ride, with several discounts possible. Transfers are an extra $0.25.
By Bike
Albuquerque is fairly bikeable, but it's a sprawling Western city and things are spread out. It's hillier than it looks; Old Town and downtown attractions are several hundred feet lower than things in the heights (Tramway, etc.). There aren't many crossings over the Rio Grande, and some involve uncomfortably close contact with car traffic. Still, there are some great paved trails, particularly the Paseo del Bosque Trail which runs along the east side of the Rio Grande, and the North Diversion Channel Trail which runs from UNM north to Balloon Fiesta Park. Plan accordingly. You can find a complete bike map on the city's bicycling website.
By Horse
A principal corridor for equestrian use is the Paseo del Bosque Trail. Trailhead parking lots are large and one, at the Los Ranchos open space in the North Valley, has a feed store, Miller's Feed.
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