So far our new rapid transit system has done more to disrupt traffic than anything else.
Brio, as it is known, was scheduled to be finished in the summer of this year. I doubt anyone is surprised that summer has come and gone and the construction is still not finished.
They may be close though. I look forward to trying the service. Their plan to have a bus arrive at each stop every ten minutes during the busy periods may make bus travel between the west side to UTEP and downtown practical.
If the service is not successful we will have to increase the subsidy that the city pays Sun Metro.
If the service is successful the merchants that are near a Brio station will have to learn how to deal with the extra cars that will be parked in their lots by the bus riders.
Watching the construction and implementation process it looks like the stations have quite a few components. These components will require maintenance and protection. Some of the stations even have solar powered trash compactors. My prediction is that they will not last long.
Sun Metro is having problems with people thinking that the stations are regular bus stops. They have even had to put up signs explaining that even though they look like bus stops they aren’t yet. They would do well to start letting us know what is going on and when to expect the service to start.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Meanwhile, how is this serving the City, which consists of a lot more than just the west side and downtown? Once again, our so-called leaders, who were elected to serve the entire city, are coming up short by concentrating all our tax dollars in only one part of the city. Guess what? I am not able to pack up and move to the West side or anywhere near downtown.
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Ultimately there will be four more routes – Montana (yes, imagine the chaos of construction), Alameda and I forget the other one! Nearly $!50 million altogether…
But. I live nearly two miles from the nearest point on Mesa, and a mile from a “regular” bus, which will take me downtown once an hour. It’s uphill coming back home. Parking in the garage out at the west side transfer station will be free, but parking in Glory Road will be $5, added to the cost of the Brio. The total time will be considerably more than just driving to my Mesa Street destination. Why would I ever use this Brio?? Even when I may be too old to drive, and anxious for public transport, neither it nor any other bus comes anywhere near my house. El Paso sprawl ensures that public transport will not work for most of us.
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Since the city cut Woody World into the DTEP parking revenues, it will soon be too expensive to drive there. Hence Brio. This is how the NWO El Paso style thinks!
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business owners at festival and mesa are already seeing their parking lots fuller than before but less business. great idea for the towing companies. guess the whole lot is screwed..again. all this money and i never see a bus more than a .25 full. wonderful
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The vast majority of people are not going to give up their cars, pick-ups and SUVs to ride a bus. It’s a Texas thing. People don’t want to give up their independence.
Helen Marshall makes a good point. The stops are not in close proximity to dense residential areas.
This is primarily a downtown play and it %!$$@# me off that we’re paying for Brio TV commercials that promote Southwest University. If the Brio bozos want to reference the ballpark fine, but leave out the free advertising for the for-profit university, especially when the ads I have seen do not even mention UTEP or the Sun Bowl, both of which are on the Brio route.
Get ready to subsidize.
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I like BRIEo but Havarti is mo’better …..
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Meanwhile, back in the land of progress, the downtown of all downtowns that would bring a new era of prosperity and jobs for all…. it’s always sad to see a good small business close… often said but so true, small businesses are the backbone of our economy; while the owner does cite personal reasons he also mentions market conditions; so much for diploma mill ballpork serving as the incubator for economic growth in DT, much lessthe city)
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_26639012/downtown-el-pasos-kipps-cheesesteak-permanently-close
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