Organizers are making changes to the Park and Ride operation at Albuquerque’s River of Lights after encountering a few issues on opening night.
“We do acknowledge that something happened last night where we were a bit short with buses,” Kent Berry, Events director for the New Mexico BioPark Society, told KRQE. “We’ve already made adjustments and ordered more buses, especially for our busier evenings.”
Nearly 6,000 visitors attended opening night. The BioPark Society encouraged guests to take the Park and Ride, which gives guests a free ride from the zoo to the Botanic Gardens. But the availability of only three buses forced guests to wait a long time for transportation. Five buses will now be used per night.
“The real issue was just waiting out in the cold for an hour and 45 minutes," said one River of Lights visitor who took Park and Ride Saturday night. “There were a lot of families with small children. I really felt bad for them…If every weekend is like that, it’s only going to get colder, and people are going to get more frustrated."
River of Lights was kept open longer on opening night to make sure visitors had enough time to enjoy the experience. The BioPark Society told KRQE that everyone who used Park and Ride on opening night was still allowed into River of Lights even if they were late to their timed ticket. Berry noted that due to the timed ticketing, River of Lights sees peak traffic at the top of every hour.
“Just take your time,” Berry said. “Just because you have a ticket that says entry for 6 o’clock, if you get here a little bit after 7 o’clock, we’re not going to deny your entry.”