Passengers hoping to skip the drive between Santa Fe and Albuquerque will still be able to take the train on weekends, but it won't be as cheap or as convenient.

At the same time, another decision reached Friday by the Rio Metro Transit Board means the cost of a weekday, one-way ticket between the cities will increase.

The change in weekend service comes as the Rail Runner Express train system tries to make up a $750,000 shortfall in gross receipts tax revenues that help keep the trains running.

The move to raise weekday fares — by $1 on a one-way ticket — is to meet a Federal Transit Administration rule and is unrelated to the budget shortfall, said Jay Faught, transit marketing coordinator for the train system. That action also will boost the cost of a three-zone day pass, to $5 from $4. The cost of the monthly passes typically used by regular commuters isn't affected.

The changes take effect Feb. 15.

On the weekends, passengers will pay the same fare as weekday riders. Until now, it had been $2 cheaper per trip to ride on Saturdays and Sundays from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.

On Saturdays, early and late trains will be eliminated. The system will no longer offer the 500, the 501 or the 513 trains — the first train to Santa Fe from Albuquerque and its return trip, and the last train to leave Santa Fe for Albuquerque at night. Sunday service won't change.

Faught said the board chose to eliminate the trains with the fewest riders but he hopes the service can be expanded again at a later date.

"Hopefully as the economy changes and we start to get more money back in gross receipts taxes, we can look at it again in the future," he said.

State officials say sagging local gross receipts tax revenues — a large part of the train's operating cash — are to blame for the shortfall. Voter-approved taxes are projected to provide $14 million of the train's $22 million operating budget. Money collected at fare boxes is projected to provide just $2.7 million.

To make up the rest of the shortfall, state officials earlier this week found federal funding that will be used to save the weekend service from being completely eliminated.

The Department of Transportation will take money for surface transportation and transfer it into an account that can be used for traffic congestion mitigation, the agency said.

The higher fares are expected to generate an additional $75,000 in revenue. The Rio Metro Transit Board still could discuss undetermined cuts to staff salaries and expenses.

In 2009, riders systemwide took 228,258 one-way trips on Saturdays and 37,267 on Sundays. Sunday service began on Labor Day 2009.

During the week, riders systemwide in 2009 took almost 1.4 million one-way trips.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.

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