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RTC Transit is the name of the
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
system in the
Las Vegas metropolitan area The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...
of Clark County,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
. It is a subsidiary of the
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) is a government agency and the transit authority and the transportation-planning agency for Southern Nevada. It was founded by the Nevada Legislature in 1965. RTC Transit The Region ...
. While it services most of Clark County with regularly scheduled routes, most of the service is in the immediate
Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...
; outlying places such as
Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...
and Laughlin provide transit services to their residents via the Southern Nevada Transit Coalition, which uses several vehicles acquired from RTC Transit. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .


History


Las Vegas Transit

The privately owned Las Vegas Transit System, Inc. ("LVT") provided bus service on the streets of Las Vegas for more than 40 years. LVT service mainly consisted of loop routes that made many turns throughout the city, sometimes doubling back on its own routes and making several "subloops" within a loop. At one point, LVT was named America's worst transit system. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTCSNV or RTC) was formed in 1965 by state legislation to oversee federally-mandated transportation planning in Clark County. Under pressure by the county and state, and by order of the state court, the company was ordered to cease operations except on Route 6-The Strip and relinquish all its city-owned buses to the Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County as of November 15, 1992. LVT and its successors continued to operate service in competition with Citizens Area Transit until about 2005.


Citizens Area Transit era (1992–2008)

Citizens Area Transit ("CAT") was formed by the RTC to provide reliable bus service to the cities of
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, North Las Vegas,
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...
,
Las Vegas Township Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, acro ...
,
Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...
, and Laughlin. The system began on November 15, 1992 under the direction of Kurt Weinrich, its general manager. Initially the old LVT routes were operated unchanged except for route 6–The Strip, which LVT still retained. The system was totally reconfigured and Strip service begun December 5, 1992. The fleet consisted of mostly old vehicles such as
Flxible The Flxible Co. (pronounced "''flexible''") was an American manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars, funeral cars, ambulances, intercity coaches and transit buses, based in the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1913 and closed in 1996. The co ...
Grummans, GMC RTSs, TMC RTSs and
Gillig Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
Phantoms. They had also purchased 90 new New Flyer D40HFs. The initial route structure was soon seen as deficient and second complete revision was made in June on 1993. Soon after, CAT began to catch on with the city and blossomed. In 1997, the
American Public Transportation Association The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit group of approximately 1,500 public and private sector member organizations that promotes and advocates for the interests of the public transportation industry in the United S ...
awarded CAT with their highest honor, Best Transit System in America (within its category). However, things began to change in the following years. In 2002, The
Amalgamated Transit Union The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a labor organization in the United States and Canada that represents employees in the public transit industry. Established in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, the un ...
and the bus contractor, ATC, began contract renewal negotiations, but the two sides were unable to reach a compromise on operators' wages and in May of that year, CAT suffered its first
strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
. Several drivers walked off the job and onto the picket lines, and service had to be suspended on several routes. Coach operators from sister agencies were called in to drive the buses and serve the city before a settlement was reached. In 2004, CAT received its first shipment of 10 Irisbus Civis bus rapid transit (BRT) vehicles from
Irisbus IVECO Bus (formerly Irisbus) is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. IVECO Bus is now only a brand division of IVECO which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana. History IVECO (1975 - 1999) In 1975 ...
. These buses served on the new Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) route, which serves
Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
via North Las Vegas Boulevard. RTC was a member of the BRT Consortium organized by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in 1999. North Las Vegas Boulevard had been restriped in spring 2000, which converted what had been a breakdown lane into a dedicated transit lane; RTC subsequently applied for a federal grant in 2002 under the Bus Rapid Transit Initiative. The Civis featured an optical guidance system (OGS) to automate docking at level-boarding platforms, similar to a light-rail system; however, the OGS proved to be unreliable in service due to the difficulty of maintaining pavement markings. Revenue service on MAX started on June 30, 2004; ridership increased by 25% by the end of 2004, and end-to-end travel times were cut approximately in half, from 50 to 25 minutes. A year later, CAT received its first shipment of 50 double decker buses from
Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, E ...
. As new vehicles arrived, the RTC started a vehicle replacement program and began to retire its older CAT fleet. In March 2007, CAT received its first shipment of 30 Diesel-Electric Hybrid vehicles from
New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
. Later that year, an additional 40 double deck vehicles from Alexander Dennis arrived, and the RTC unveiled a new rapid transit system which uses the new Diesel-Hybrid RTV Streetcar from Wright Group. The first line was called the "Gold Line", which serviced the downtown and strip corridors.


RTC Transit era (present)

In late 2007, the RTC began to rebrand the Citizens Area Transit system as RTC Transit. The
New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
900 series coaches were the last to be purchased with the CAT logo, and the first to be purchased with the RTC logo. The CAT bus stop signs around the city were replaced by "Transit Stop" signs using the RTC logo. All rider alerts, bus announcements, bus books, and new
NABI Nabi may refer to: People * Adil Nabi (born 1994), English footballer *Heiki Nabi (born 1985), Estonian wrestler *Isadore Nabi, satirical pseudonym of Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin, scientists in the 1960s *Mohammad Nabi (born 1985), Afghan ...
Hybrid,
NABI Nabi may refer to: People * Adil Nabi (born 1994), English footballer *Heiki Nabi (born 1985), Estonian wrestler *Isadore Nabi, satirical pseudonym of Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin, scientists in the 1960s *Mohammad Nabi (born 1985), Afghan ...
Diesel and
New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
buses no longer use the CAT logo. The RTC received 50
NABI Nabi may refer to: People * Adil Nabi (born 1994), English footballer *Heiki Nabi (born 1985), Estonian wrestler *Isadore Nabi, satirical pseudonym of Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin, scientists in the 1960s *Mohammad Nabi (born 1985), Afghan ...
vehicles and the final shipment of 40 42 ft "Deuce" double-deck buses in summer 2008. The RTC also began to receive 45
New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
vehicles in late fall 2008. The rebranding was completed on January 1, 2009 when RTC vehicles started featuring "RTC TRANSIT" along with the normal route destination headers. All remaining CAT buses are in the process of retirement or being refurbished to the new RTC gold/blue livery. In 2007, nine RTC executives received pay raises which averaged 22%. The raises were based on the findings of a consultant, Peter Ronza, who was once employed by Clark County. The RTC faced serious legal issues in 2008 after several car accidents involving bus shelters occurred. The public demanded that the RTC improve the safety of its shelters, while the RTC stated that there was only so much they could do. The RTC created a Bus Shelter Advisory Committee, and made studies concerning bus stop safety. In 2009, the RTC raised bus fares despite public outcry. In 2009 and 2010, proposed bus fares increased from 62% for monthly passes to 100% for full day fare passes. The RTC argued that the fare hikes were due to higher fuel costs, however the largest increase in transit expenditures came from a tripling in capital outlays, rising from $54.5 million in 2007 to $162.9 million in 2009. The price for thirty-day bus passes increased 225% from 1999 to 2010. Ridership was at an all-time high in 2008 due to the very high gas prices, with many people deciding to try transit instead. Ridership numbers declined in 2009 when fuel prices dropped back to reasonable levels, and riders either returned to their own vehicles or began carpooling with co-workers and family. In January 2010, RTC introduced the ACE branding for its bus rapid transit offerings. The first ACE route was the ACE Gold Line, connecting downtown Las Vegas, the
Las Vegas Convention Center The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As one of the largest convention centers in the world, it h ...
, the Strip, and the South Strip Transfer Terminal. In addition, ACExpress was introduced as branding for its express bus service, with an express bus line connecting the Centennial Hills neighborhood northwest of the city with downtown Las Vegas, the Center Strip, and
UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...
. In May 2010, RTC rebranded its lines away from the "ACE" name due to a lawsuit from Ace Cab, a local Las Vegas taxi operator; ACE Gold became the Strip and Downtown Express (SDX); ACExpress became Centennial Express (CX), and ACE Green became the Boulder Highway Express (BHX) The
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is a non-governmental non-profit organization that focuses on developing bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, promoting biking, walking, and non-motorized transport, and improving priva ...
(ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has classified the Strip and Downtown Express as a "Basic BRT" corridor.


Future

In 2018, RTC began examining the possibility of installing light rail or enhanced bus rapid transit service along high-ridership routes, particularly the Maryland Parkway corridor.


Operations

The RTC currently operates 36 routes with 12 routes operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including The Deuce on The Strip. Most routes run from early morning (04:00) until late night (01:00). On weekends & holidays, some routes either operate less frequently, operate with less hours, or not operate at all. Las Vegas has one of the most comprehensive
night bus Night service, sometimes also known as owl service, refers to the public transport services operated during the night hours. These services are operated, mainly using buses but in certain cases using trams (or streetcars), not including int ...
networks in the United States, owing to the 24-hour nature of the casinos and hospitality industry. RTC Transit is the largest outsourced transit operation in the United States, having overtaken the title from the now-defunct
Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
's Long Island Bus service in late 2011. As of 2011, the contract is worth approximately $600 million over seven years. The fixed route system had been operated by
Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...
and its predecessors, ATC-Vancom and
National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
, since inception. Bus operators, mechanics, and most other contractor employees are represented by
Amalgamated Transit Union The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a labor organization in the United States and Canada that represents employees in the public transit industry. Established in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, the un ...
Local 1637. Paratransit and dial-a-ride services are operated by
First Transit First Transit is an American transportation company. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, First Transit operates over 300 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 39 states, Puerto Rico, Panam ...
. The fixed route contract was scheduled to expire September 25, 2011, and was awarded to First Transit, the apparent low bidder and highest scorer on the comprehensive review, however, Veolia has complained to the RTC board of bidding irregularities in the First Transit bid as well as an unfair emphasis on price in comparison to other technical factors. The RTC board approved the First Transit bid on a 4-3 vote, but after the Nevada Attorney General reprimanded the RTC for approving the contract without a majority of the eight members on the RTC board (as opposed to merely those present), which was determined by a district court judge that all 8 members were not required and the award was legitimate. However, in the fallout of the court decision, the RTC returned for a re-vote in which the board then deadlocked at 4-4 for multiple months. The RTC board decided that it was best to cancel the award and bring forward a new fresh proposal for bid, and gave Veolia a 1-year extension while the board found a means to obtain a majority to make a decision. First Transit subsequently sued the RTC to force them to make a decision. In November 2011 First Transit and the RTC settled their lawsuit. First Transit continued to operate the paratransit system and Veolia continued to operate the fixed route bus system until the end of 2012. The new fixed route transit contract will be split into two, to allow smaller vendors to bid. The two contract system is similar to that of
Foothill Transit Foothill Transit is a public transit agency that is government funded by 22 member cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys. It operates a fixed-route bus public transit service in the San Gabriel Valley region of eastern Los Angeles Cou ...
in the Los Angeles area, which is the third largest outsourced fixed route public transit system in the United States. In December 2012, the contractors for both yards submitted their 1st round proposals with Veolia,
Keolis Keolis is a multinational transportation company that operates public transport systems. The company manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus and funicular services. ...
(no relation to Veolia), and
MV Transportation MV Transportation, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas., is the largest privately-owned passenger transportation contracting services firm in the United States. The company can provide paratransit, fixed-route, campus and corporate shuttles, and studen ...
advancing to round 2 and First Transit failing to advance. In January 2013, the remaining contractors submitted their final proposals to the board, and on February 14, 2013, the RTC voted to award the Sunset Maintenance Facility to Keolis, and the Simmons Maintenance Facility to MV, beating out the original two contractors. Keolis and MV began operations of RTC Transit on July 7, 2013 at 12:00am. MV operates routes 101, 102, 105, 106, 110, 111, 113, 115, 120, 121, 203, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 214, 215, 218, 219, 603, 604, 607, CX, & DVX. These routes are primarily in the northern portion of the service area. MV also operates the 700 series (Silver Star) routes. Keolis operates routes 103, 104, 108, 109, 117, 119, 122, 201, 202, 212, 217, 401, 402, 601, 602, 605, 606, 608, The Deuce on The Strip, BHX, & SX. These routes are primarily in the southern portion of the service area. MV also operates RTC Paratransit operations as of March 2020.


Service area

RTC Transit operates a grid-type system within the Las Vegas Valley, which includes the four incorporated cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City; in addition, the remaining service area is in unincorporated Clark County under the
Las Vegas Township Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, acro ...
, which includes
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...
,
Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...
(home of the
Strip Strip or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...
), Spring Valley, Sunrise Manor,
Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...
(formerly East Las Vegas) and Winchester. The system's two busiest routes, The Deuce on The Strip and Route 109 Maryland Parkway, provide service to the Las Vegas Strip and McCarran International Airport, respectively. Approximately 40% of Clark County residents do not live within close proximity of a bus stop. RTC Transit also operates special routes for occasions such as sporting events at
Sam Boyd Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium (formerly the Las Vegas Silver Bowl) is a football stadium in the western United States, located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley. It honors Sam Boyd (1910–1993), a major figure in the hot ...
,
T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...
, and
Las Vegas Ballpark Las Vegas Ballpark is a baseball stadium in Summerlin South, Nevada, Summerlin South, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley. It is the home field for the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League. The stadium is owned by the Howard Hughes Corporati ...
.


Route numbers

*100s: Local North/South routes. *200s: Local East/West routes. *300s: "The Deuce" Strip Corridor routes. *400s: Regular Shuttle routes. *500s: Surface Street Express routes. *600s: Special Shuttle routes. *700s: Silver STAR routes. *900s: Freeway Commuter Express routes. *FDRs: Flexible Demand Response routes. ;Notes


RTC Paratransit

Even though all buses in the system have wheelchair lifts, RTC operates RTC Paratransit for people who have difficulty in accessing the regular transit system. By-appointment-only paratransit is a door-to-door service. RTC also maintains an open charge account with a local taxicab company to service paratransit ridership when unforeseen delays occur, frequently caused by traffic congestion.


Fares

Fares effective as of May 1, 2021


Fixed routes

For all vehicles, children 5 & younger ride for free with fare-paying rider; 3-kid limit applie


U-Pass: UNLV, NSC, & CSN Student, Faculty, & Staff

Purchased through campus bookstore; provides a 50% discount on monthly passes and a 68% discount on semester passes. Valid on all routes.


Paratransit

Door-to-door service for riders who are unable to use the fixed-route system. Fares effective as of July 1, 2013: ;Notes


Equipment

RTC currently operates mainly
New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
,
Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, E ...
and
Wright StreetCar The Wright StreetCar is an articulated bus developed by Wrightbus and Volvo for FirstGroup. It was built on the Volvo B7LA chassis, featuring a separate driver compartment at the front, resembling to some extent similar designs in Europe. It ...
RTV coaches for fixed routes, and mainly Ford Econoline vans for paratransit. On October 27, 2005, CAT added a fleet of
double decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...
es on The Strip Route. The route is now called '' The Deuce''.


Active

All buses are fully
ADA Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...
compliant and are wide.


On Order

All vehicles will be wheelchair accessible.


Retired


Color schemes

File:CAT Gillig Phantom.jpg, CAT
Gillig Phantom The Gillig Phantom is a series of buses that was produced by an American manufacturer Gillig Corporation in Hayward, California. The successor to the long-running Gillig Transit Coach model line, the Phantom marked the transition of Gillig fr ...
with the first "mountains" livery (1992–2001) File:CAT New Flyer C40LF.JPG, CAT New Flyer C40LF, 2nd variant of second "stripes" livery (2001–2008) File:CAT Irisbus Civis.jpg, CAT Irisbus Civis, first "bluenose" BRT livery (2004) File:CAT New Flyer D60LF.JPG, CAT New Flyer D60LF, variant of first "mountains" livery using blue and gold (2005) File:The Deuce double decker bus Las Vegas 08 2010 9955.jpg, CAT
Alexander Dennis Enviro500 The Alexander Dennis Enviro500 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro500) is a three-axle double-decker bus built by Alexander Dennis (formerly by TransBus) in the United Kingdom. It was unveiled in 2002 and is one of the Enviro-series bus mod ...
in third "goldbug" livery (2005+) File:CAT Coach 915.JPG, CAT New Flyer DE41LFR, 1st variant of third "goldbug" livery with dual CAT and RTC branding (2006+) File:RTC New Flyer C40LFR 369.jpg, RTC New Flyer C40LFR in third "goldbug" livery (2006+) File:Hybrid articulated bus Las Vegas 08 2010 9956.jpg, RTC
Wright StreetCar The Wright StreetCar is an articulated bus developed by Wrightbus and Volvo for FirstGroup. It was built on the Volvo B7LA chassis, featuring a separate driver compartment at the front, resembling to some extent similar designs in Europe. It ...
, second "goldface" BRT livery (2010+)
The first "mountains" livery used was a white base with a mix of broad teal and magenta stripes, black lining around the windows, and the CAT logo in the midsection body, front, and rear. This livery was used from 1992 to 2001. In 2001, the second "stripes" livery came in three variants, with the second one being the primary livery. The RTC decided to abandon their teal and magenta color scheme and adopted a white, blue, and gold scheme with blue stripes with a cat running on a white base, white around the windows, moving the CAT logo to just above the first window on either side, under the windshield, and on the engine door (with the exception of the Neoplans which had the logo placed above the rear header). Prior to the arrival of the 2001 New Flyer CNGs and Neoplans, the RTC began repainting the fleet with the blue stripe livery. Once they arrived, the RTC approved a variant to the livery and instead of having just blue stripes, it became blue and gold alternating stripes with the logos in the same positions. The RTC then started repainting coaches with this new variant, leaving the already painted coaches with the 1st variant. This livery was used from 2001 to 2005 on the fixed-route fleet. It is the current livery for the RTC paratransit fleet, using the 2nd variant. Since 2008, a 3rd variant has been used by removing the running cat, having the stripes extend around the vehicle, and replacing the CAT logo with the RTC logo. In 2004, 10
Irisbus IVECO Bus (formerly Irisbus) is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. IVECO Bus is now only a brand division of IVECO which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana. History IVECO (1975 - 1999) In 1975 ...
Civis coaches arrived for service on the new
BRT BRT may refer to: Transportation * Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains * British Rail Telecommunications * Brookhaven Rail Terminal * Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City * Bro ...
line, complete with a new MAX Line "bluenose" livery. It consisted of a blue base, with a white line that stretched the length of the coach, and with gold stars on the rear quarterpanels of each side. In 2005, the RTC again changed the livery, returning to the first "mountains" livery design using the new color scheme, extending the shapes to the bottom of the vehicle. This livery was only used on the 800 series coaches and on coach 654, and it was only used in 2005. A variant of this livery has the CAT logos replaced with RTC fleet logos on the sides of the coach. Later in 2005, the RTC received its shipment of 50 double deck
Alexander Dennis Enviro500 The Alexander Dennis Enviro500 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro500) is a three-axle double-decker bus built by Alexander Dennis (formerly by TransBus) in the United Kingdom. It was unveiled in 2002 and is one of the Enviro-series bus mod ...
vehicles, painted in a third "goldbug" livery. This one consisted of an all-gold base, with a blue trim around the bottom, and the transit logo between both decks, under the windshield, and under the engine door. Originally limited to the double deckers, the RTC decided to adopt the "goldbug" scheme for new fleet purchases starting in 2006. For non-double deck vehicles, the CAT logo remained above the windows, but the RTC logo was added to the position where the CAT logo was in 1992. To date, only 2 vehicles that were already part of the fleet have been repainted in this livery variant (buses 571 and 725). The New Flyer 900 series vehicles were the last vehicles with this livery. In 2008, the RTC made a variant of the "goldbug" livery which had the CAT logo removed and replaced by a special RTC logo only used on these buses. Coach 702 has been repainted with this livery variant. In 2009, RTC commissioned another variant of the livery by replacing the special RTC logo with an "RTC Transit" logo on the sides and front of the coach. "Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada" was placed near the bottom of the coach. New "No Right Turn On Red" and "This Bus Stops At All Railroad Crossings" stickers were placed on the rear. The numbers were moved to the right of the front and rear of each coach, and "''www.rtcsnv.com''" is placed on the rear either on the destination sign just under the screen or on one of the engine doors. In 2010, a new "goldface"
BRT BRT may refer to: Transportation * Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains * British Rail Telecommunications * Brookhaven Rail Terminal * Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City * Bro ...
livery was implemented with the
Wright StreetCar The Wright StreetCar is an articulated bus developed by Wrightbus and Volvo for FirstGroup. It was built on the Volvo B7LA chassis, featuring a separate driver compartment at the front, resembling to some extent similar designs in Europe. It ...
s, which consists of a gold base with a blue stripe and a white stripe; the one-piece windshield is outlined in white.


Bus terminals


South Strip Transfer Terminal

The South Strip Transfer Terminal (or "SSTT"), owned by the RTC, is located just south of McCarran Airport on Sunset Rd. and Gilespie St. The SSTT was opened in 2003 after the
Vacation Village Vacation Village was a hotel and casino located on of land at 6711 South Las Vegas Boulevard in Enterprise, Nevada. The Heers family initially purchased of land in 1964, and planned to have a hotel and casino built on the property. Constructi ...
hotel and casino was closed, which was the southern terminus for many CAT routes. The SSTT has 18 transit bays that are serviced by 7 RTC routes,
Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...
, which began on December 12, 2012, providing service from the SSTT to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
via Riverside, &
BoltBus BoltBus was an intercity bus common carrier and a division of Greyhound Lines that operated from March 2008 until July 2021 in the northeast and western United States and British Columbia, Canada. As least one ticket on every bus was randomly s ...
to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. In 2008 the Park & Ride lot was expanded, doubling the amount of spaces available in response to the overwhelming use of the lot by commuters heading to the airport.
Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...
and
Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
started using the station in 2021. ;SSTT amenities ;SSTT Bays


Downtown Transportation Center

The Downtown Transportation Center (or "DTC") was the main transit center for the RTC systems in downtown Las Vegas. The DTC had 30 numbered bays, and 4 unnumbered bays that serviced 14 RTC routes, and a private Primm employee shuttle route. The DTC was opened in the late 1980s to serve as the main terminal for the Las Vegas City Trolley, and for the private Las Vegas Transit System, Inc. In 1992, it became the terminal for Citizens Area Transit, once Las Vegas Transit ceased operations. Originally, the DTC only had 23 bays, with two of them unnumbered. In 1999, the city expanded the terminal by building a northern plaza which required closing down Mesquite Ave. in the area. The DTC remained under ownership of the City of Las Vegas until July 31, 2009 when the city discontinued their CityRide transit system and transferred control of the terminal to the RTC. The RTC closed the aging terminal on November 7, 2010, with the grand opening of the Bonneville Transit Center. ;DTC amenities


Bonneville Transit Center

The Bonneville Transit Center (or "BTC") is a transit terminal that was built to replace the aging Downtown Transportation Center as the main downtown terminal for local fixed route service. It opened on November 7, 2010 and is located on the corner of Bonneville Ave. and Casino Center Blvd. It has 16 internal bays, 5 external bays, and an air-conditioned lobby for transit riders. The Bonneville Transit Center is served by Deuce On The Strip, Boulder Highway Express (BHX), Centennial Express (CX) and Downtown & Veterans Medical Center Express (DVX).
BoltBus BoltBus was an intercity bus common carrier and a division of Greyhound Lines that operated from March 2008 until July 2021 in the northeast and western United States and British Columbia, Canada. As least one ticket on every bus was randomly s ...
to
Los Angeles Union Station Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande S ...
is accessible on 1st St. @ Bonneville Ave. On December 2, 2018, a new external bay was added. ;BTC amenities ;BTC Bays


Centennial Hills Transit Center Park & Ride

The Centennial Hills Transit Center is a transit terminal operated by the RTC to serve the northwest valley and its residents. It includes 900 parking spaces, park & ride, indoor waiting facility, next arrival information and restrooms. Construction began in July 2009, and it opened March 28, 2010 in conjunction with the launch of the ACExpress C-Line (renamed to C-Line Express in May 2010 & Centennial Express in November 2010). The facility is located at Grand Montecito Pkwy. & Elkhorn Rd. Routes that currently serve the Centennial Hills Transit Center are: 106A, 106B, and the Centennial Express (CX). ;CHTC amenities ;CHTC Bays


Westcliff Transit Center

The Westcliff Transit Center is a transit terminal built in the valley's west side community of Summerlin. This terminal is the park & ride for the residents of Summerlin and officially opened on December 12, 2010 in conjunction with the launch of the Westcliff Airport Express (WAX) connecting passengers to McCarran Airport & downtown Las Vegas from the valley's west side. Routes 207, 208 & 209 began service here on November 7, 2010. Route 120 began service here on March 2, 2014. Routes 120, 207, & 209 were removed from here while Route 121 began service here on November 8, 2015. On October 4, 2020 the Westcliff Airport Express was officially discontinued. ;WTC amenities ;WTC Bays


UNLV Transit Center

The UNLV Transit Center is a transit terminal built on the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...
campus in Central Las Vegas. It is located near Maryland Pkwy. & University Rd. & officially opened on September 4, 2013. Route 602 (special event service during UNLV football games only) & Centennial Express (CX) began service here on September 5, 2013. Route 109 is available along Maryland Pkwy. ;UTC amenities ;UTC Bays


Downtown Summerlin Transit Facility

The Downtown Summerlin Transit Facility serves Downtown Summerlin as well as
Las Vegas Ballpark Las Vegas Ballpark is a baseball stadium in Summerlin South, Nevada, Summerlin South, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley. It is the home field for the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League. The stadium is owned by the Howard Hughes Corporati ...
and City National Arena. It is located at Pavilion Center Drive and Summerlin Centre Drive and opened on October 16, 2017. It serves the Sahara Express and route 206.


Accidents and incidents

;9 March 2004 (continued to 2016) On the afternoon of 9 March, Lorraine Macdonald was cycling towards the Fashion Show Mall alongside a CAT Bus. The bus driver failed to look in her rear view mirror and side-swiped Lorraine Macdonald twice, which did not kill her but left her disable. March 2007, Miss Macdonald took the bus company to court and won the case, however the bus company appealed and the verdict was reversed in the
Nevada Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Nevada is the highest state court of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the head of the Nevada Judiciary. The main constitutional function of the Supreme Court is to review appeals made directly from the decisions of the distric ...
and another trial ordered. In March 2010, Miss Macdonald went back to court and won the case again which the bus company has again appealed & won. ;19 July 2006 On the night of 19 July, Alexander Dennis coach 224 on the "Deuce" service was deadheading north on Interstate 15. A tire failed and the bus went through an opening in the median barrier rail that had been removed for construction access. The coach continued through the median and over a barrier on the southbound side of the Interstate. The coach was spinning clockwise when it was hit by a tractor trailer, which caused the bus to spin the other way and collide again with the trailer before coming to a rest. Due to the size of the cleanup, and the need to investigate the accident, the road was not reopened until approximately 10:00 am the following morning. The driver of tractor trailer was killed in the accident. The passenger in the tractor trailer was unrestrained at the time of the accident, and was severely injured. The driver of the coach was severely injured, and partially disabled. Following the accident, the coach was retained at the RTC Tompkins yard, covered by a giant tarp to preserve it for inspection during the ongoing investigation and litigation. Upon closure of the RTC Tompkins facility, the bus was taken from the facility and moved to an off-site storage location. In 2011, with the investigation over, the bus was moved to the RTC Simmons facility where the bus was finally dismantled for any usable parts & eventually scrapped. Initial investigation revealed concerns about problems with the tire were reported a few times by drivers prior to the accident. Maintenance records show that each time a problem was reported it was inspected and evaluated by the mechanics. Additionally, the companies involved in the removal of the barrier were also investigated for contributing to the accident. ;3 January 2008 On the night of 3 January, a CAT bus collided through two brick walls before finally hitting a house. Around 9:30 pm, CAT bus 915 on route 207 was heading south on Christy Lane and turning left onto Mabel Road, when the bus hit a Ford Mustang car. This sent the bus out of control and into the brick walls and the house. There were three minor injuries on the bus, and unconfirmed injuries in the Mustang. The bus was not taken off the property until the next morning, because officials were concerned that the bus might have made the house structurally unsafe. Support columns were placed in the house and the bus was removed. ;17 March 2008 On the night of 17 March, CAT bus number 653 struck and killed a pedestrian at the intersection of Washington and Rancho. ;7 July 2008 On the morning of 7 July, a red truck hit the CAT bus stop on Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road, killing 1 woman and seriously injuring another woman. The driver was arrested and officers said he was under the influence of prescription painkillers. ;8 July 2008 The day following a deadly crash at a CAT bus stop, another incident occurred with a naked man stealing a bus. At around 07:30 hours, Charles Sell was near Washington Ave. and Lamb Blvd, when Metro police reported that, while naked, he stole beers from a
7-11 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
, and then proceeded to steal CAT paratransit vehicle 1792. He punched the door glass, boarded, and took control while the bus driver jumped off for safety. A few hundred metres away, he jumped off while the bus continued in motion. A Metro officer boarded and stopped the vehicle where the suspect Charles Sell was arrested by Metro that landed him for booking into the Clark County Detention Centre on charges of Grand Larceny Auto and Robbery. ;13 September 2012 On the morning of 13 September, a man in a 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo, crashed into the bus stop at Spring Mountain and Dectaur, killing four, and injuring 8. The impact tore some of the victims to pieces, and hurled some dozens of yards from the point of impact. According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Laura Meltzer, it was difficult to determine their identities, but Metro believe all were waiting for the bus. They were identified Thursday night only as three women, ages 65, 49 and 47, plus a 24-year-old man, all of Metropolitan Las Vegas. The man was arrested on suspicion of DUI and was listed in critical condition. ;28 January 2013 On the afternoon of 28 January, a woman, driving a 2004 Ford Taurus, crashed into a double decker bus at Charleston and Rainbow, killing herself and injuring 5 people who were on the bus. The people of the bus only suffered minor injuries. ;9 January 2016 On the evening of 9 January, a 202 bus heading west hit a bus stop sign, near Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road. The bus was pulling in, and hit the bus stop sign off of the shelter, flinging it on the road. Nobody was injured. However, on the same day, around 5am, a 201B heading east, was pulling up to the curb on Tropicana and Dean Martin Drive. The bus took out the shelter, and doing that, a woman was knocked down and hit by the bus, killing her. (Credit to KTNV 13 for the second story)


References


External links


Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
owns RTC Transit.
Keolis Transit America
operates RTC Transit Fixed Route Operations (Sunset).
MV Transportation
operates RTC Transit Fixed Route Operations (Simmons).
Veolia Transportation
former operator of RTC Transit Fixed Route Operations.
Transdev
operates RTC Transit Paratransit Operations.
First Transit
former operator of RTC Transit Paratransit Operations.
Southern Nevada Transit Coalition
operator of RTC's routes in Laughlin & Mesquite, as well as the Veterans Medical Transportation Network

Department of RTC responsible for traffic camera system. {{Las Vegas Valley Bus transportation in Nevada Intermodal transportation authorities in Nevada Bus rapid transit in Nevada Transportation in the Las Vegas Valley Transit authorities with natural gas buses 1992 establishments in Nevada