Miguel Jose Trujillo of Chimayó has his nickname, "Stoney," tattooed on the side of his neck.

Trujillo, who has worked on Harley-Davidsons since the age of 13, is covered in tattoos -- a dragon, a Viking ship, Papa Smurf, Pepe Le Pew, and two saints to honor his deceased parents. And over his heart, "my chuey" (Jesus).

Now 63, Trujillo has slowed down and mostly stays home and takes care of his Chihuahua/dachshund-mix puppies. Without a car, he gets to Santa Fe to take care of business and to Española to pay his bills on the blue buses operated by the North Central Regional Transit District.

Taking Trujillo from Chimayó to Española costs the district -- which is funded by a gross-receipts tax and federal grants -- an estimated $25 each way. It doesn't cost Trujillo a penny because the district wants to build its passenger base without the burdens of collecting and accounting for fares.

To Trujillo, who rode the bus from Chimayó to Española to pay his cable bill one morning in December, the service is invaluable.

"Porqué, if I don't have nothing to look at I go on the drunk," he joked.

The transit district has faced criticism from some elected officials of its member counties -- Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Taos -- since its inception. High costs per rider, excessive administration and a lack of fiscal oversight are among the gripes.

District Director Tony Mortillaro and others who support bringing public transportation to the 10,000 square miles of Northern New Mexico argue there is value that can't be measured in dollars and cents.

"Today, as a result of the creation of the district, communities throughout north-central New Mexico have connectivity between their systems and can traverse from Questa to Edgewood and Albuquerque to Los Alamos," he said.

But partly as a result of the critics, the district is trying to quantify some of the benefits and has recently surveyed passengers. Mortillaro is also working toward creating a set of benchmarks that can be used to help decide which routes should continue.

The bus from Eldorado, for instance, could potentially carry 34,440 passages per year. It carried 7,664 in 2011, about 22 percent utilization. In contrast, the newly established Edgewood route -- for which only four months of data are available -- has a 70 percent utilization rate.

Overall, ridership is increasing. The total number of trips in September 2007 was 6,877, while it hit 39,298 in the same month last year.

More than 400 people returned a rider-satisfaction survey. And though the survey hasn't been formally analyzed, a review of 100 surveys taken at random showed an overwhelming majority of the riders rated the bus service as excellent.

The answers also suggest that the service is being used regularly -- three to five times per week by many -- and a lot of riders earn less than $17,000 per year and don't own a vehicle.

The passengers

No one has to tell Antonia Gonzales, 41, and son Michael Martinez, 21, of Española about the importance of the buses.

Gonzales has leg and back problems and used to be in a wheelchair. Before the bus service began, she said, her son used to park her off to the side of the road while he stuck his thumb out on the highway to get them a ride to Santa Fe for her doctor's appointment three times a month. Now they take the blue bus. The ride costs the district $8.29 per person each way, according to calculations (dividing the cost of providing the route by the number of riders).

Michael Course, 27, of Chimayó rides the bus to and from Española to look for work or attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He began last year after crashing his car and had to attend court for the DWI charge. Before the service started, Course walked or hitchhiked the 8 miles between Chimayó and Española until a police officer told him it was illegal to hitchhike on N.M. 76.

"This makes a lot of difference for me," he said.

Chris Martinez, 36, and Crystal Martinez, 27, of Truchas ride the bus around Northern New Mexico to Santa Fe, El Rito, Española and Taos to visit family and friends, shop and see the doctor.

"This is our car," said Crystal Martinez as the couple traveled from Truchas to Española. They also used to hitchhike to get places.

"This is a lot safer," said Crystal Martinez. "And this is our Uncle Wesley," she said, pointing out bus driver Wes Lucy. "He has our back and we have his."

One driver said people in the Chimayó area were "leery" of riding the bus at first because they didn't know where to make connections, which can be numerous.

It took a reporter three transfers and a little over two hours to travel the 50 miles from Las Trampas to Santa Fe. Another rider said it took him three hours to travel the 70 miles between Taos and Santa Fe.

But a driver said residents have begun to use the service regularly.

"A lot of young people don't have cars," said the driver, who asked that his name not be used. "Or they have a DWI, or they don't have gas money. Some guys use it to go to the bar and back. They use it for different things. A lot of people in this area are happy because they can ride the bus."

Onan Sanchez, 21, said he rides the bus from Española to Santa Fe twice a week to donate plasma so he can get food money.

"It gets people without cars where they need to go," he said.

Bus driver Ermo Gonzales said he transports about 40 students and 18 employed women from Questa to Taos most weekdays to work.

"Everybody on this bus is here because they need to be," said a woman who rides the bus back and forth between her home in Española and her retail job in Santa Fe. "You can't measure it. I ride it every day. This way I can actually have a job. Otherwise I'd be forced to move."

Uncertain growth

Despite the passenger loyalty, the district faces many obstacles.

While a majority of the transit funding comes from a one-eighth-cent gross-receipts tax approved in Santa Fe, Taos, Los Alamos and Rio Arriba counties, the district could face loss of federal grants and a $1 million-per-year contribution from Los Alamos County.

Structural problems with the parking lot at the district's new headquarters in Española could increase the cost of the project by as much as $1 million. And the district still has to find money to post signs at more than 75 stops.

Politically, the district -- whose board is made up primarily of elected officials -- is on shifting sands.

"It's unfortunate that the board will change as elections occur, so there is little continuity, and leadership development continues to be a challenge," said former Santa Fe City Councilor Rosemary Romero, the board chairwoman.

Because the board members are elected officials, not only do they come and go, they also have a vested interest in looking out for their constituents, something that doesn't always coincide with the communal concepts that support the idea of public transportation.

Those who support the district say the only way for it to succeed is for the partners to work cooperatively.

"The county is part of a collective board, represented by tribal entities, counties and municipalities throughout north-central New Mexico," said Robert Anaya, a Santa Fe County commissioner who until recently served on the North Central Regional Transit District Board.

"My interest is to work collectively with them in the best interest of the people to create and maintain an effective transit delivery system."

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.

What is the North Central Regional Transit District?

The North Central Transit District was the first transit district certified by the state after the Legislature passed a law in 2003 allowing for such districts and giving them taxing authority.

The district has developed 21 fixed routes in the four counties it serves -- Taos, Los Alamos, Santa Fe and Rio Arriba.

Voters in all four counties approved a one-eighth-cent gross-receipts tax in 2008, which funds the district. The district also receives some federal grant money.

The district's annual budget is $10 million, but $3.5 million of that goes toward the Rail Runner Express commuter train.

The district's board comprises representatives from the city of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, the city of Española, Los Alamos County, Rio Arriba County, Pojoaque Pueblo, Taos County, Tesuque Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Ohkay Owingeh and San Ildefonso Pueblo.

There are 225 stops in the district's network, including stops in Peñasco, Truchas, Questa, Española, Santa Fe, Edgewood, Eldorado, Chimayó, Los Alamos, Dixon and El Rito.

Currently, there is no charge for riding the transit district's 45 signature blue buses, though that may change.

For more information on routes and schedules visit the North Central Transit District website at www.ncrtd.org.

By The Numbers

$8.29: Estimated cost to transport one person from Española to Santa Fe on an NCRTD bus. Figure calculated by dividing the cost of providing the route by the number of riders. $87.48 = Estimated cost to transport one person from Española to Los Alamos.

$6.2 million: amount the NCRTD spent providing transportation in Santa Fe, Taos, Los Alamos and Rio Arriba Counties last year.

10,000 square miles: the size of the transit district.

$7 million: the amount of money generated by a one-eighth-cent gross receipts tax for transit imposed by the NCRTD in Taos, Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Rio Arriba counties.

$3.5 million: the amount of tax revenue the NCRTD contributes for the operation of the Rail Runner Express commuter train.

225: number of NCRTD bus stops in four counties.

374,211: number of rides NCRTD provided last year.

150: number of NCRTD bus stops with shelters and/or signs.