Residents in remote communities in Northern New Mexico have started doing something they've never done before: riding the bus to neighboring cities and towns.

People in Questa, for example, can now take a public bus as far south as Santa Fe if they wish.

The free service, which started in October, is being provided by the North Central Regional Transit District.

In November, the four-county district will ask voters in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Los Alamos and Taos counties to approve a one-eighth cent gross receipts tax to continue and expand the transit network.

Half the approximately $4.5 million the tax is expected to generate in Santa Fe County each year will go toward operating the Rail Runner commuter train. The other half will be spent on bus service in the district.

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For many riders, a vote in favor of the tax is a no-brainer.

"Oh yeah, heck yeah," said Karen Denailaikai, a nurse who uses the bus to go from Española to her job in Santa Fe.

Denailaikai and her boyfriend, Carl Padilla, a construction worker, live in Ohkay Owingeh. He works in Santa Fe, too. They used to drive in every day. "It was really expensive, like $20 a day," said Denailaikai, who was applying cosmetics as she rode the bus south one recent morning. "I was like 'Why do we do this? We need to conserve.' It's convenient. It drops me off right at my work," she said, coating her lashes with mascara. "And I can do my makeup," she said, dropping the tube into a box on her lap and snapping the lid shut. More people need to do this."

"We save like $100 a week, easy," said Padilla, sipping his coffee and glancing at a newspaper as the bus sped past the scenery outside the window. "And it's the same people on the bus every day."

"It's like our little family," Denailaikai said.

That morning, not one empty seat could be found on the blue bus heading from Española to Santa Fe. All 11 people on board — including an artist, an administrative assistant and an auditor — said they would vote in favor of the tax to continue the service. "This is a godsend," said Adela Chavez, 32, who takes the bus from Hernández to Española and then to Santa Fe three days a week to study film at the College of Santa Fe.

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Despite the new service's popularity, the tax initiative almost didn't get on the ballot. Santa Fe County Commissioner Jack Sullivan opposed it, citing what he believes is NCRTD's poor management, the district's disproportionate voting structure, the focus on rural bus systems and the casino shuttles.

In July, he and Commissioners Harry Montoya and Paul Campos voted to quit the district. Sullivan said the city and the county should form their own transit district rather than subsidize service in the other three counties.

The withdrawal lasted only three weeks, but it resulted in significant changes to what was being proposed. In a series of last-minute meetings, NCRTD agreed to reduce the tax from a quarter cent to one-eighth cent, apply half the revenues generated in Santa Fe County toward funding the Rail Runner commuter train and allow Santa Fe County and the city of Santa Fe to share control of 86 percent of the other half. The remaining 14 percent would be used to subsidize NCRTD.

The deal was sweet enough to convince Montoya — who represents northern Santa Fe County — to side with Vigil and Anaya in voting to rejoin the district.

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But Sullivan is still advising voters not to approve the tax. He opposes using any revenues raised by the new tax for the Rail Runner, arguing this amounts to "taxation without representation."

"We get to raise the baby, but we weren't there at conception," he said. "The Legislature needs to pay for it. Local gross receipts taxes should be reserved for local county services."

Sullivan also says the way the district is set up gives a voting advantage to rural counties. Each of the 11 members has one vote, plus additional votes based on population. The city and county of Santa Fe, for example, each get five votes; Taos County gets 4; Los Alamos County, 3; Española, 2; and each of the pueblos, 1. Although the city and the county together represent about 60 percent of the population of the district, they only control 10 of the 28 total votes.

The district has a total taxing capacity of a half cent, and the current proposal only uses one-eighth cent, meaning other members could propose additional new taxes in the future.

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The cost of operating the fledgling bus system is another issue of concern to Sullivan and others. It costs the district $40 per passenger per trip — the highest per rider cost of any transit system in the state. The state average is about $9 per passenger. And close to 50 percent of the district's expenses are administrative.

But NCRTD Director Josette Lucero said those figures are misleading taken out of context. Most of the 23 other transit systems in the state are municipal systems with routes that average about two miles, she said. NCRTD's routes can be as long as 86 miles.

Of the three regional transit districts created in New Mexico since the Legislature paved the way for them to have taxing authority in 2004, NCRTD is the only one that operates its own service in the far flung corners of its district.

"Comparing NCRTD to other providers on the basis of cost-per-trip alone is not a fair comparison due to the difference in service coverage area and service type," said New Mexico Department of Transportation Transit Manager Dave Harris. "The other systems serve a more compact and denser population. ... NCRTD's coverage area is very large and density is scarce."

And, as advocates point out, per-rider costs will decline as more people choose the bus. NCRTD ridership has increased from 2,729 riders per month in October 2007, its first month of service, to 6,053 riders this past July.

Currently the district relies solely on federal grants and local government matches to fund the service, which is offered free to riders until the end of the year. The district will discuss the fare structure early next year.

Lucero said many objections about the service are normal for a start-up district operating on a shoestring budget. Those issues, she said, will be resolved when voters approve the tax.

To Sullivan's complaint that NCRTD's rural focus will result in Santa Fe County subsidizing transportation in other northern counties, she pointed out that rural residents take the bus into Santa Fe to spend money.

In response to his question about why the buses stop at casinos, Lucero noted they are centrally located, and many pueblo residents work there. And the routes, which Sullivan says aren't the result of formal studies, are based on need and input from member representatives whose job it is to know the needs of their constituents, she said.

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Sullivan is not the only person who has raised doubts about NCRTD's performance. Riders on the Greater Eldorado Express, the only NCRTD route that originates in Santa Fe County, have complained about changes in stops, mechanical failures and a lack of publicity that would draw more passengers.

The Santa Fe City Council was concerned enough to follow the county's lead in dropping out of the district. It still has not formally rejoined, although city Transit Director Jon Bulthuis said a resolution to do so is making its way through city committees and will likely be approved, with a few tweaks on how the tax money will be disbursed.

In September, Commissioner Paul Campos joined Sullivan in voting against the county's resolution to put the tax question on the ballot. Campos didn't return phone messages seeking comment.

City Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger has also expressed frustration with the performance of the district. But she said she's satisfied the deal giving the city and county control over most of the money not earmarked for the train will ensure that taxpayers' interests are served. "Let's raise the money, and let's provide the service," she said.

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Other members of the district seem baffled by Sullivan's foot-dragging and say his idea for the city and county to start their own district misses the point of regional transportation.

"If you analyze them very clearly, none of his objections are valid," said Los Alamos County Councilor Jim West. "I can't imagine what his agenda is."

West said NCRTD has done a great thing by connecting the many tiny villages of the northern part of the state. "I think personally the staff and executive director have done a magnificent job," he said. "Now grandma from Peñasco can get on a bus and go to Santa Fe for a doctor's appointment. Public transportation is not a money-making scheme. ... The point is to provide a service that the people need and want."

West said he has no doubt voters in Los Alamos County will approve the tax. "People up here are really sold on public transportation and on helping others in Northern New Mexico," he said.

Española City Councilor Alfred Herrera said he works closely with NCRTD staff and hasn't seen any of the managerial inadequacy Sullivan alleges. If Sullivan doesn't like NCRTD's actions, Herrera said, he should take it up with the elected officials who govern them. "They aren't doing it in isolation. They get direction from us," he said.

"We've invited him to our meetings," said Rio Arriba County Commissioner Elias Coriz. "He was more than welcome to come on many occasions so he could share his concerns with the board, and he never did."

Herrera said he'll urge his constituents to approve the tax. "It's something we need, and it will be a great benefit to them," he said. "It will certainly help with economic development all the way up and down the central part of the state. People will have more discretionary funds if they aren't spending $4 per gallon on gas. There are going to be a lot of benefits for the community."

"Regionalization is the way of the future," said Santa Fe County Commissioner Mike Anaya. "We need to stretch our dollars. ... We have to come together and drop the boundary lines between all the counties. We are a region. We need to start thinking as a region. It's OK to help out those other counties. What good is the Rail Runner if you can't bring people to it?"

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Sullivan still argues that the state should fund the Rail Runner through the general fund like other transportation projects. "It was the Legislature that approved it, not the counties. And originally (Gov. Bill Richardson) said we are not going to tax you. He and (Transportation Secretary) Rhonda Faught both said it on the record. Then suddenly, oops, the DOT convinced the governor to change his mind," Sullivan said.

Richardson's office issued a statement saying the state has paid for the train and the tracks, and also contributes to other public transportation projects.

Of the estimated annual operating expenses of about $22 million, the NCRTD tax will generate about $2.2 million per year for the train in Santa Fe County. The Rio Metro Regional Transit District — which was formed to serve Sandoval, Bernalillo and Valencia counties — is also asking voters to approve a tax that will go partially toward funding the Rail Runner. If that tax passes, it will raise about $14 million for annual operations of the train.

The state has committed $7.5 million per year for the train.

Faught said she tried, unsuccessfully, to get legislators to fund operations of the Rail Runner, but most balked at paying for something they felt didn't directly benefit their constituents.

"When I said (counties would not be taxed), that is what I believed at the time," Faught said. "I thought we would be able to get something passed. I thought it was something we could do as a transportation bill. But it just wasn't going to happen."

If voters defeat the new taxes, Faught said, it will be up to the Legislature to determine how to fund the Rail Runner. "Then we are totally dependent on an annual basis to go to the Legislature begging for money. It would be very difficult, not impossible, but difficult."

Faught said residents of Santa Fe, Valencia, Bernalillo and Sandoval counties are supportive of the Rail Runner. "So it seemed only appropriate to go to the voters and ask them if they are interested in paying for it."

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

In November, Santa Fe County voters will be asked to approve a one-eighth-cent tax to fund transportation.

IF IT PASSES

The tax will raise about $4.5 million per year in Santa Fe County for the next 15 years. Half will be spent on operating the Rail Runner Express commuter train. The other half will be split between the city and county of Santa Fe and the North Central Regional Transit District, with the city and county sharing 86 percent and the NCRTD getting the other 14 percent.

IF IT FAILS

The North Central Regional Transit District will have to find other funding sources for bus service in the four-county region it serves. The New Mexico Department of Transportation will have to find another way to pay for the operation of the Rail Runner. The state may propose a different tax to cover these costs. The city and county of Santa Fe may form their own district and choose to impose a different tax to cover buses in the county and city. The NCRTD must wait at least one year before requesting another tax.