ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – ABQ Ride believes the more people you have in the race, the more likely you are to catch up.

The department is tackling public safety from a few angles, with plans to expand efforts soon.

KOB 4 shares details on its newest program, putting more eyes in places that need them.

“The idea is just getting folks out into the system,” said Bobby Sisneros, deputy director of ABQ Ride’s transit department.

For ABQ Ride, the more eyes on the system the better.

Sisneros came to the department in 2022, after years with Family and Community Services working with the homeless population.

“I don’t want to just go in and strong arm with the law, right? Sometimes folks just need resources. Sometimes folks just need help, and sometimes they just need somebody to talk to,” said Sisneros.

That somebody could be a volunteer through ABQ Ride’s new Ambassador Program .

“We’re just looking for people that want to give back to the community, that want to be help us increase the customer service side of the Transit Department,” said Sisneros.

The department is asking for two hours a week, and you pick the time and route. Each volunteer will go through de-escalation, situational awareness, and customer service training — on top of learning the system itself.

“Instead of handing them a flyer, this now ambassadors will be able to actually help them. They can have conversations with them. They can make a phone call, get ACS there, get a PD there, whoever they may need at that moment,” Sisneros said.

ABQ Ride has implemented several other safety initiatives over the past year like the See Something, Say Something app to report issues, and a new suspension policy.

So far, 400 people have downloaded the app, and ABQ Ride has issued one suspension.

“What we’re trying to accomplish is to create a system where folks can get to where they need to get without any worries or any fears that anything may happen,” Sisneros said.

Sisneros says it will also triple its security force and create a new safety division by the end of 2025.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever, ever really solve everything, but we have to be there, and we have to be ready to try to respond and try to mitigate some of this bad behavior,” said Sisneros.