Red Apple Transit, the only public transportation in Farmington, has all routes running, but must continue to impose social distancing, frustrating riders. Reported by Donna Hewett
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Transcript
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Need a ride?
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If you live in Farmington,
Aztec, Bloomfield,
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Kirtland, and locales in between,
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the Red Apple Transit public
bus system is your ticket.
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You’re watching the Local News Network,
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brought to you by CMIT Solutions
and Serious Texas Bar-B-Q.
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
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The shiny red buses have
been a sight for sore eyes,
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with fixed routes and
demand services since 1999.
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Ridership took a hit during the pandemic,
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dropping from more than 10,000
passengers a month to 1,500,
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but business is slowly building back up.
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It had an impact at the beginning.
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We had some drivers
that became quarantined
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and we did lose about
three routes at the time.
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But slowly as they came
off of the quarantine,
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we were able to get the routes
back online again for them.
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No plans have been set
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to re-establish full seating on the buses,
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which fit about 20 people.
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Now only four passengers are
allowed to ride at one time.
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It remains a problem for Red Apple riders
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and for drivers like Dee Shayne.
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A lot of people get irritated
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because we have to leave
them standing there.
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We have no choice.
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We already have four people on the bus
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and that is what the law is.
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It’s a reminder
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of how much public
transportation is needed,
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how important it is for
those here in the community.
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There’s many that depend on this
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to get to appointments,
to get to groceries,
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or any other destination
that they need to get to.
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Thankfully, the transit service received
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a substantial federal grant
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as an inoculation against
losses during the pandemic.
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We received $2.1 million of CARES Act
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from the federal government
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and that allowed us to
do away with the fares
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and also the charge that we levy
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towards the other communities
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to help support the service
to their communities.
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So we no longer are charging them,
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as long as we’re fully
funded by the CARES Act,
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which we are.
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It’s going to fully fund us
for approximately two years.
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So we’ve eliminated fares and
we’ve eliminated the charge
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to our surrounding community,
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so it’s been a great benefit
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to not only the city of
Farmington and Red Apple Transit,
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but our surrounding communities as well.
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All five routes are color-coded.
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When does the yellow come by?
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The yellow will be here pretty quick.
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Bus driver Robert Moore
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says he misses the pre-pandemic days.
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I believe the bus held about 20.
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Once in a blue moon, there
would be somebody standing
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with all the seats filled,
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but pretty much didn’t want to do that.
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But that was definitely before
COVID even was thought of.
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Red Apple Transit was developed
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by longtime mayor Bill Stanley.
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He named it after the Red Apple Flyer,
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a train that connected
Farmington to Durango,
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hauling goods such as wool,
pinto beans, and apples,
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lots and lots of apples.
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Back in the early 1900s,
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apples were a prime
crop for local farmers,
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but that’s another story.
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Thanks for watching this edition
of the Local News Network.
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
