LV, Reno bus operator is sold to British firm

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

ATC Group, the privately held company that operates the Citizens Area Transit bus system in Las Vegas and buses in Reno, is being sold to a British company.

London-based National Express Group PLC, a leading bus operator in the United Kingdom, said Tuesday that it acquired ATC Group for $172.5 million.

North Las Vegas-based ATC/Vancom, the division that operates the CAT system for the Clark County Regional Transportation Commission, will retain its name and maintain all current operations and staffing with its 1,329 employees.

The RTC owns the 324 fixed-route buses and 124 paratransit vehicles as well as two Las Vegas-area maintenance facilities. ATC/Vancom, the second-largest employer in North Las Vegas, operates and maintains the buses in what is considered the largest public-private bus transportation system in the nation.

The RTC also owns two maintenance facilities, one at on Simmons Street, south of Cheyenne Avenue, and a satellite facility on Tompkins Avenue, west of Industrial Road. The Simmons Street facility, just east of the North Las Vegas Air Terminal, is the primary maintenance facility and the satellite unit fuels the diesel and natural gas-powered vehicles.

"We've been told everything will remain the same," said David Boggs, general manager of ATC/Vancom. "It will be straight business as usual."

About 900 drivers are employed by ATC/Vancom and about 130 employees service the fleet. The rest of the employees are in supervisory or management roles.

Boggs said the CAT fleet carries 52.6 million passengers a year and the Las Vegas system is the ATC Group's largest. The company operates public-transit services in 44 U.S. cities in 18 states, including Denver, Phoenix and San Diego.

ATC Group also has a similar public-private relationship with the RTC of Washoe County to run the paratransit bus system in Reno.

Lea Rogers, paratransit administrator, said ATC operates 38 vehicles owned by Washoe County's RTC for the Reno-Sparks area's CityLift program. ATC has held that contract, covering a 246-square-mile area, since 1988.

ATC/Vancom has operated the CAT system since 1992. The company was the successful bidder on a three-year contract with an option. In 1996, the company won a similar competitive bid. The company currently is in an option year and the RTC will decide within a few months whether to extend the option or call for bids again. The bid process takes about eight months.

Boggs said Las Vegas is an important contract for the company and he expects the National Express Group to continue to pursue it.

Kurt Weinrich, director of the Clark County RTC, said ATC/Vancom is paid based on the number of hours revenue-generating vehicles are on the road. Currently, the company receives about $55 million a year for fixed-route operations and $10 million a year for paratransit vehicles.

"They did give us a courtesy call on Monday to let us know about the transaction with National Express Group," Weinrich said. "As far as their obligations to us, they have assured us that it will be business as usual through the transition."

ATC Group is based in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.

National Express Group, which in August acquired Durham Transportation Inc., an American school bus operator, said ATC Group had an operating profit of $10.9 million in 1999 on sales of $153.1 million.