CHAPTER II Existing Transportation Providers Chapter II provides an overview of the various transportation providers on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Not all the providers reviewed here are transit agencies in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, the various providers are agencies that serve the population potentially served by public transit. The chapter discusses all types of transportation school-related transportation, healthrelated transportation, elderly transportation services, and other providers. CASINO APACHE AND INN OF THE MOUNTAIN GODS Casino Apache and the Inn of the Mountain Gods facility is currently under renovation to expand. Transportation is available to guests between the facilities and parking lots. Employee transportation is also available to residents. The casino has several different types of transportation. For casino guests, peoplemovers are available from the upper parking areas to the casino. Two Kia sevenpassenger vans provide this service Thursday through Sunday. Service is available from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays. Friday and Saturday, the service is available from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. The people-movers are not liftequipped. The major transportation service for the casino is for employees who have a designated parking area located one mile from the casino. For this service, three 25- passenger buses (1992, 1994, and 1995) are used 24 hours per day. Two buses and one van are used during the day shift. The remaining hours have two buses serving the employee parking area. Approximately 400 employees use this service daily. A new temporary transportation service began in April 2003 for construction workers who are constructing the new Inn. Approximately 100 workers are sched- Page II-1
uled six days per week. This service will cease as the buildings are finished, which is anticipated to be November 2004. The workers park at the Mescalero Inn, call the casino dispatcher, and the 25-passenger buses travel to the Inn to pick-up and drop-off at the work site. Some employees begin at 3:00 a.m.; however, the majority of workers arrive at 5:30 a.m. The shuttle is available throughout the day for the workers. The final service operated by the casino is the Employee Van service where the driver pick up employees at their homes. This service is available from 6:00 to 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. The service is for any employee living on the Reservation. Maintenance for the vehicles is available on-site through the Tribe. Funding for the transportation service is through casino revenues. The casino employs 17 fulltime and 2 part-time drivers. Approximately 3,000 employees and guests use the transportation services each week. ELDERLY CENTER The Mescalero Apache Elderly Center provides senior programs and meals to residents on the Reservation. Two vans are operated by the center, which operate Monday through Friday. Transportation is available from 9:00 a.m. to approximately 3:00 p.m. The program participants are picked up at their residence and taken to the center for activities, noon meal, and then taken home. The center also delivers home-bound meals during this time. Each Wednesday, the Elderly Center takes participants to the casino as a recreational trip. The agency has a 1985, 15-passenger van without a lift, and a 2002, 15-passenger van with a lift. Both vehicles are used each day and travel in opposite directions from Mescalero to pick-up elders in the program and bring to the Elderly Center. A fare is not charged for the transportation service. The agency has approximately 15 one-way passenger-trips per day. Page II-2
Existing Transportation Providers MESCALERO APACHE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB In 1994, the Mescalero Apache Tribe began the Boys & Girls Club. Approximately 36 percent of the population is under age 15 years. The Boys & Girls Club has approximately 400 members who can participate in numerous activities. The club meets in one part of the Tribe s community center in Mescalero. The agency has two (1998 and 1999) 15-passenger vans for members. The vans are not accessible. Throughout the school year, the children take the school bus after school to the Boys & Girls Club facility in Mescalero. After the activities, the club transports approximately five children to their home each weekday. During football and basketball seasons, the Boys & Girls Club also transports approximately 10 children to their homes after practice. In the summer, the vans are used to get children to and from summer activities. MESCALERO APACHE HEAD START The main office for the Head Start Program for the Mescalero Apache Tribe is in Mescalero. However, there is also a Head Start facility in Carrizo. The program has approximately 120 children, from three to five years old. Transportation is provided to get students and childcare participants to their Head Start classes and daycare. The Head Start program has three vehicles and operates a fixed-route schedule for their services. The services are Monday through Thursday from 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. and from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. A fare is not charged for transportation. Head Start operates two vehicles during the peak hours. The fleet includes two, 39passenger buses, one with a lift and the other is not accessible. The third vehicle is a mini-bus that seats approximately 18 passengers and is used as the back-up vehicle. The vehicles are parked in a fenced area at the Mescalero Head Start facility. Minor repairs are contracted at the local garage and major repairs are contracted with mechanics in Roswell or Alamogordo. Two full-time drivers and two part-time drivers are employed by the agency during the school year to provide transportation. The agency operates 160 days per year, Page II-3
which is approximately 1,120 vehicle-hours. Approximately 6,000 annual one-way trips are provided by the agency for the children. The 2002/2003 annual budget is approximately $50,000. This amount includes $4,000 for gas; $3,500 for repair and maintenance; and $42,100 for drivers and bus aides. Future transportation needs for the agency include vehicle replacement, repair, and maintenance. The agency follows national Head Start policy and provides drop-off and pick-up service for children at the end of their driveways. This has been a challenge for the Head Start agency to educate the parents that Head Start no longer provides door-to-door service, but will pick-up at the end of the driveways. MESCALERO COMMUNITY HEALTH REPRESENTATIVES PROGRAM The Mescalero Apache Community Health Representatives (CHR) Program provides transportation to medical appointments in the Mescalero area. The program provides outreach health care services for the Reservation. CHR operates a free demand-responsive system for its clients. Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance. The program has four vehicles to provide services to clients. One vehicle is dedicated toward transportation. One vehicle is dedicated toward home visits, and at the current time, the remaining two vehicles are not used due to budget constraints. Transportation is provided Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The vehicles include two sedans, one Explorer, and one four-wheel drive extended cab pickup truck. The vehicles are parked at the Bureau of Indian Affairs parking lot. To use the vehicles, case managers drive their personal vehicles to the lot and check out the CHR vehicles to use for clients. MESCALERO FOREST PRODUCTS Mescalero Forest Products operates the local sawmills Monday through Friday from timber in the Sacramento Mountains. The agency provides employee transportation for each weekday. One 12-passenger van is used for the transportation. The driver parks the vehicle at his house and drives a fixed route each morning, Page II-4
getting employees to work by 6:30 a.m. Approximately seven employees use the service each day. RUIDOSO TAXICAB Ruidoso Taxicab provides public taxi service in Lincoln County. The company is approved for Medicaid service and has statewide operating authority. SAFE RIDE Safe Ride provides passenger transportation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The main office for Safe Ride is located in Las Cruces, with a satellite office located in Socorro. The satellite office serves the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Residents of the Reservation call a toll-free number to schedule a ride. Safe Ride provides medical transportation to participants in the Salud Medicaid Program for medically necessary appointments (prescription pick-ups, lab tests included). It is also possible for other individuals to use this service by paying regular fees. Presbyterian HMO and fee-for-service (New Mexico Medicaid) programs are also included. This service is for non-emergency medical transportation. The cost for the services is covered through New Mexico Medicaid-Exempt, Presbyterian Salud HMO, Children's Medical Services, and other programs. The Socorro facility has three vehicles available for transportation. One fourpassenger minivan with one wheelchair tie; one sedan; and one full-size van with two wheelchair ties. SHUTTLE - RUIDOSO Shuttle-Ruidoso provides shuttle service to the El Paso Airport, coordinating with the Alamo Shuttle in Alamogordo. This service is provided daily with three trips to El Paso and four trips from El Paso. Charter trips may be scheduled to El Paso or to the Albuquerque airport. Charter trips may be scheduled to other destinations as well. The Shuttle has three 15-passenger vans and three all-wheel drive 8-passenger vans. Service was provided to the Inn of the Mountain Gods, but that Page II-5
was discontinued in September. Service to Ski Apache will be only for groups of 10 or more people. SKI APACHE Ski Apache, owned by the Mescalero Apache Tribe, is open from Thanksgiving to Easter Sunday. Shuttle service for guests from Ruidoso was available for the past few years, but is not going to operate this year. The service was provided by private companies in the Ruidoso area. Employee transportation is available from Mescalero. Three all-wheel-drive buses are driven by Ski Apache staff, with Commercial Drivers License, for the employee transportation. The buses seat approximately 40 passengers and are not wheelchair accessible. One bus is operated during non-peak weekdays. During the peak weekends, three buses are available to travel to Mescalero for employees. Approximately 60 employees from Mescalero use the service during the peak weekends. All employees must be at work by 8:00 a.m. Ski Apache expressed interest in obtaining a new all-wheel-drive vehicle for future transportation needs. TNM&O TNM&O Coaches provides intercity bus service as part of the Greyhound system. Service is provided three times a day to either Alamogordo or Roswell. There is a station in Ruidoso which is open 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays. TNM&O will stop to pick up or drop off passengers at Big Chief in Mescalero. ZIA TRANSPORTATION SERVICES Public transportation in Alamogordo is provided by Zia Transportation Services, a division of Zia Therapy Center, Inc. The service is funded by Public Transportation Programs Bureau (PTPB) of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department (NMSHTD). The majority of revenue is federal funds made available from the Bureau Page II-6
and Transportation Department. The City of Alamogordo provides matching funds for operating and administration for the public transit service. The capital match is provided by Zia Therapy Center. Z-Trans operates three routes in Alamogordo. The Space Route serves the north end of Alamogordo. The Cottonwood Route serves the inner city, and the Stealth Route serves the south end and Holloman Route. Service is available Monday through Friday. The accessible bus traverses the city five times, starting at 6:27 a.m. and ending at 7:45 p.m. The cost is $1.00 per one-way trip, and transfers are free. Z-Trans also offers curb-to-curb service for those residents not able to access the fixed-route service. The charge for this service is $2.00 per one-way trip. Page II-7