New CAT bus route to aid elderly

Friday, April 24, 1998 | 10:08 a.m.

A new bus route designed to make coming and going for the elderly and disabled a little easier will begin operation Sunday.

Kurt Weinrich, executive director of the Regional Transportation Commission, said Route 701 will operate seven days a week from 8:20 a.m. to 6 p.m., travelling the route of Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway to the University Medical Center core area on Charleston Boulevard.

Though everyone may use the new route, Weinrich noted it is designed to be of greatest value to the elderly and disabled who could use an alternative to the normal transit buses as well as the paratransit system, which offers door-to-door service but doesn't have a fixed schedule.

"In examining the overall service route, we determined there was a need for a form of transportation that would provide better access to specific locations for those users who don't necessarily require those services offered by the paratransit system but require more specific drop-off points than those available," Weinrich said.

Called "CAT-CAR," which stands for Citizens Area Transit-Community Access Route, the special buses will have off-street pick-up and drop-off locations, putting users closer to their destinations, such as medical establishments, offices, shopping areas and other high frequency travel destinations.

Unlike the standard fixed-route service, Weinrich said the CAT-CAR stops for riders in front of the predetermined entrances instead of on the street.

Fares will be the same as for CAT fixed-route services -- $1 for adults and 50 cents for those who qualify.

For its inaugural run, CAT-CAR will have six buses in service with two in reserve.

Eventually, Weinrich said, CAT-CAR will be expanded to other areas of the Valley.

The initial route is in the area with the densest population of elderly and disabled, according to Weinrich.

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury called the additional service "one more step toward making (the entire system) the system we want it to be."

"This will make a big difference in the lives of our senior citizens," Woodbury said.

The new route will cost $700,000 per year.

In other transit system developments, Weinrich said CAT has been installing video surveillance cameras on its buses and by the end of the year every bus will have video capability to document accidents and to stop conflicts. Also a new route is being started, No. 114 to the Green Valley-Henderson area.

Weinrich noted that in March, CAT carried 3.9 million passengers, with the Las Vegas Strip accounting for 20 percent of the ridership, or about 900,000.

CAT recovers between 45 and 50 percent of its operating costs from fares, surpassing the national average of 33 percent.

In 1997, CAT carried 41.1 million passengers on 215 buses compared to 47 million passengers on 429 buses in Orange County, Calif., 38.2 million on 500 buses in St. Louis, and 30.6 million on 400 buses in Phoenix.