(City of Albuquerque photo)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The next ride pulling up to the city bus stop might actually be a van.
With about a quarter of its bus driver positions unfilled, officials say the city of Albuquerque Transit Department is using Sun Vans to pick up passengers on some routes.
Sun Vans typically provide on-demand rides to those with impairments that make it impossible to use the city’s fixed-route bus network. But with ridership for that service only half of what it was before the pandemic and the city actively working to restore bus schedules to pre-pandemic levels, officials have shifted some Sun Van manpower.