Election Day bus service to be free as always with Santa Fe Trails
Oct. 23—Election Day means free Santa Fe Trails bus and van service in the city, the same as always, officials said Friday.
Buses will provide their usual fixed-route service on Election Day for free, and vans will drive disabled customers and senior citizens straight to polling places, also for free, if they have made reservations for the ride.
A separate city bus service, through the Senior Services Department, has limited its rides to medical and pharmacy visits during the pandemic.
City of Santa Fe spokesman Dave Herndon said the two services are separate. He said the suggestion there is a "voter suppression" effort through the bus service is "ridiculous." Santa Fe Trails will conduct its free Election Day services as it has in the past, Herndon said.
The Santa Fe Trails van service for the disabled and those 62 years of age and older requires a one-time sign-up, and a card is given to the registrant. Those rides are free on Election Day, too (typically they are $5 per ride for seniors and $2 for disabled riders), but the riders must schedule a van ahead of time, said Thomas Martinez, director of Santa Fe Trails.
Reservations for a van ride may be made a couple of weeks in advance, Martinez said.
Generally four people may ride in a van, but that depends on how many wheelchairs are being carried.
Martinez said Election Day is being handled by Santa Fe Trails in the same way it has been handled in his eight years with the entity.
