Open letter to the Rail Runner

Dear Rail Runner,

Let me begin by saying that I am happy you exist. The possibilities seem endless when I think of commuting from Santa Fe to Albuquerque without so much as a turn of a key. Those possibilities are greatly circumscribed when I try to do anything, anything at all with a time frame.

It seems that there are myriad shuttles to get from your stations (which annoyingly don't include the airport) to the airport.  Quantity, however, is not quality. According to the connection PDFs (please Rail Runner, my hard drive does not want any more PDFs and my phone doesn't know what to do with them; just post the information online), there are two different ways to the airport from your stations: Route 350 for stops north of Albuquerque, Route 222 for those south. But when I download the PDF for north of downtown shuttles, it turns out the airport shuttle is actually from the downtown station itself.

Why do these PDFs include a schedule of times (not many times at all) to catch the shuttle? Shouldn't the shuttles depart in conjunction with the arrival of your passengers Rail Runner? Why else would I want to go to the airport from your stations if not because I was making a connection from your cars? Can't you just have a feature that shows me what time I'd arrive at the airport based on which of your trains I take?

Rail Runner, why do you make it so hard to use you? Why do you mysteriously not stop south of Albuquerque from 6:56 am until 1:12 pm? Why can't I get back to Santa Fe from 8:54 am to noon and then from noon to 5:46 pm? I know you're a commuter train, but am I not commuting when I am traveling to the airport?

When I scroll over "How to read the schedule," why is it that this this new, more informative information is too light to read and placed over other text? Also Rail Runner, please note that if ever there need be instructions to read a schedule, the first item of business is to fix the schedule, not add an addendum.

Dearest Rail Runner, I want to love you but, as has become the common refrain, you don't run late or often enough to accommodate, well anything.

Sincerely, Your Wannabe Commuter

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