Sun Metro invites the public to join city and community leaders at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sun Metro Brio — El Paso’s future rapid transit system — at 10 a.m. June 19, at the Glory Road Transfer Center, 100 E. Glory Road.
Sun Metro Brio introduces El Pasoans to a high-quality transit service that offers similar benefits to light rail transit, such as improved speed and reliability, but at a much lower implementation cost.
Rapid Transit Systems (RTS) uses modern, rubber-tire, high capacity vehicles; improved fare collection systems and controlled traffic signals to move passengers more efficiently.
The Sun Metro Brio will be made up of four corridors: Mesa, Alameda, Dyer and Montana. The system is expected to cost about $141.6 million.
Brio will have uniquely branded 60-foot articulated buses in mixed traffic; free Wi-Fi at the stations and on the buses; a frequency of 10 minutes (peak service) to 15 minutes (off-peak service); stations that are about a mile apart; branded and landscaped stations with improved pedestrian amenities and signal prioritization (lengthen green traffic signals), to name a few system amenities.
Construction along the Mesa corridor — the first of four corridors — begins this month and is expected to last about 12 months. The construction consists of the installment of 22 Brio stations from the Downtown Transfer Center, 601 Santa Fe, to the Westside Transfer Center, 7535 Remcon.
The total project cost for the Brio Mesa corridor is $27.1 million, of which $13.5 million is funded by the Federal Transit Administration. The Mesa corridor will be followed by the Alameda corridor which is expected to be operational by spring 2015. Alameda will be 100 percent locally funded and is expected to cost about $35.5 million. The Dyer corridor is projected to cost $35.7 million and anticipated to be operation by fall 2016. The fourth corridor, Montana is expected to cost $43.3 million and projected to be operational by fall 2017.
Ultimately, passengers using Sun Metro’s Brio will not only save money and reduce their carbon footprint; they will get to their destinations faster.