In addition to choosing a new president and four members of Congress in November, voters from Taos to Belen may decide the fate of a tax hike to help pay for mass transportation, including a hefty chunk for the Rail Runner Express commuter train.

Given the high cost of gasoline and the heightened interest in public transportation these days, a one-eighth-cent gross receipts tax increase would seem to have a good chance of passing. Mass transit measures in several other states this year have gotten the nod of approval. But while several proponents here say they are optimistic, they add that it could be a challenge to convince voters to vote yes on even a small sales-tax hike when the economy is so rocky.

Identical ballot measures would appear in two new regional transit districts — Rio Metro, which includes Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties, and North Central, which includes Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Taos counties. Voters in each district will decide whether to raise the gross receipts tax by one-eighth cent per dollar. That’s 12.5 cents on every $100 purchased.

One hurdle has yet to be crossed — each of seven counties must put the tax hike measure on its Nov. 4 ballot. Sandoval County already has. Bernalillo and Valencia have votes scheduled in coming weeks and have voiced their support. Santa Fe County originally panned the idea, but in late July signaled its intention to put the tax before voters, too.

Each transit district would require a simple majority to approve the tax. If either district votes down the measure, it doesn’t kill mass transit in the region. There would just be less money available for public transportation, said S.U. Mahesh, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

And the money in question is substantial. The Rio Metro tax is expected to raise almost $19 million in its first year. The North Central district expects to raise about $8 million a year.

One of major beneficiaries would be the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, the commuter train that currently runs from Bernalillo to Belen. Half of the Rio Metro tax revenue — $9.4 million in the first year, rising to $13.5 million by 2015 — will be dedicated to train operations. The North Central district would chip in another $2.2 million a year, Mahesh said.

But other mass transit riders would benefit, too, said Bruce Rizzieri, transit project director for Rio Metro. The district would spend several million dollars to purchase new buses and vans, expand routes and create new services to help move residents around the three-county area.

One demographic group in particular — the baby boomers — is being seen as a potential source of support for the tax, Rizzieri said. Forecasts call for the number of people aged 60 and over in the Rio Metro district to rise from 94,000 in 2006 to 230,000 by 2030, he said, and they’re expected to use mass transit more as they age.

"This plan prepares for the challenges ahead, for people like me who are getting older," and who eventually will need help getting around without a car, Rizzieri said. "It’s a plan that looks forward as well as taking care of the needs we have now."

Reaching rural areas

A big part of the Rio Metro transit plan calls for boosting bus service between popular residential areas and large employers in Albuquerque, either by taking passengers to the nearest Rail Runner station or directly to the University of New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories, Intel and the like. The plan envisions expanding routes throughout Albuquerque, with the addition of buses, bus stops and drivers.

That kind of expanded service could also translate into support for the tax in rural areas like Valencia County, said Wayne Ake, who is the mayor of the village of Bosque Farms and chairman of the Rio Metro transit district board. The plan would provide many parts of Valencia County with bus service to Rail Runner stops that don’t have adequate parking space for commuter demand, he said.

"A lot of people don’t want to live in Albuquerque," so they choose rural communities like Bosque Farms, Belen or Bernalillo, Ake said. But now they can hardly afford the gas to commute, and as the highways get more congested, the commute time is expected to triple in less than 20 years, he said.

"Mass transit is not for everyone, but there are so many people that it will work for that we have to re-educate people in their way of thinking about it," he said. "I’m hoping voters will react favorably" to the tax proposal, Ake said, but added, "It’s going to have to be sold to people."

The rural counties in the North Central district also would get more bus and van service if the tax passes, said district Project Director Jack Valencia. In fact, the tax revenue from Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Taos counties would only be used for bus and van projects, he said. Santa Fe County would contribute half its tax revenue to the train, and the rest to other surface transportation, he said.

Ridership on the bus system that currently connects the North Central district communities has risen as it has elsewhere in recent months, Valencia said, and he, too, is optimistic that the transit tax will pass. "We’ll try to show its effectiveness," especially in the poorer counties, which stand to gain $2 worth of service for every $1 worth of tax contribution, he said.

Building ‘world-class regions’

As gasoline prices inched into record territory this year and mass-transit ridership reached new levels, voters have approved mass-transit projects in several cities, including Flagstaff, Ariz.; Kansas City, Kan.; Spokane, Wash., and Wheeling, W.Va., said Jason Jordan, director of the Center for Transportation Excellence in Washington, D.C.

"Based on our experience with similar measures, we’d expect the [New Mexico] measures to pass," Jordan said. In many cities, light-rail projects like the Rail Runner are key components of the measures’ success, he said. Whether residents use the train regularly or not, their votes suggest they want a good, well-functioning rail line, he said.

"People see light rail as part of building a world-class region, and making that region competitive in the world economy," Jordan said. There will always be a demand for more funding of highways, he said. "I just think we’re living in a climate where people see that investment in roads as just part of the mix, that mass transportation is not an optional part of the program and not just for big cities."