End of line for routes?

Friday, March 30, 2001 | 11:50 a.m.

Routes at stake

Route 701:

Runs every day from Campbell Road and Alta Boulevard down Charleston Boulevard, past the University Medical Center, then south along Maryland Parkway to Rochelle Avenue and back. Average cost per rider: $7.48.

Route 702:

Runs Mondays and Thursdays from the Galleria mall on Sunset Road down Boulder Highway, through downtown Henderson and nearby neighborhoods, and back. Average cost per rider: $17.67.

Route 803:

Runs Monday through Friday from Fort Apache Road, down Flamingo and Tropicana avenues to Las Vegas Boulevard, and back. Average cost per rider: $6.49.

Upcoming public meetings:

Tuesday, 4 to 7 p.m., Clark County Library conference room, 1401 E. Flamingo Ave. Use CAT routes 202, 203 or 701.

For information, call 676-1500.

"Room for one more?" asked Ron Nutter, as he boarded the 702 bus in Henderson.

Nutter was joking with Wilfredo Alejandro, the driver. The bus was empty, a common occurrence on the express Citizens Area Transit route that snakes from the Galleria mall on Sunset Road down Boulder Highway and circles through downtown Henderson.

The 702, like two other CAT routes, could soon be terminated. The routes are the victims of low ridership and demand for service in other parts of the Las Vegas Valley, Regional Transportation Commission officials say.

The economics of funding a bus system with 295 buses and 49 routes in Clark County forces the RTC to place priority on routes that draw the most riders, said June DeVoll, a commission transit operations administrator.

Of the three routes slated for termination, all are significantly lower in ridership and higher in cost per rider than others in the Las Vegas Valley, RTC officials say.

"We just don't have a lot of resources," DeVoll said. "We have huge needs all over the valley."

"This is the last thing we wanted to do. The very last thing we wanted to do was cut routes," RTC spokeswoman Ingrid Yocum said. "Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of choice."

Of the 46 routes in the valley -- two more serve Laughlin, and one is in Mesquite -- the 702 route is dead last in ridership, Yocum said.

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, who also is a member of the policy board that oversees the RTC, said he doesn't like to see service reduced -- especially not for his town.

But it might be necessary, he said.

"I'm not happy, but it may be that this is one that for the sake of the greater good may have to fall by the wayside," Gibson said. "We've got to run the system as efficiently as it can be run."

Alejandro agreed. Driving down Boulder Highway, the eight-month veteran of the CAT system said he has relatively few riders -- a half-dozen or so in the morning, a similar number during the afternoon route.

Sometimes, as for a few miles and minutes Thursday, the bus is completely empty.

The 702 runs only on Mondays and Thursdays, from shortly after 8 a.m. to about 7 p.m.

But Alejandro said he enjoys driving the route and will miss some of "the regulars" he sees twice a week. Like other routes in the valley, the 702 has built a small but devoted constituency.

Don Neal, a retired Henderson resident, said he depends on the route. Some of his friends do, too.

"We're really upset (about the proposal to end the route)," he said. "It's really convenient for us.

"I ride this twice a week because it only runs twice a week," Neal said. He's been a faithful rider since service on the route began a year ago.

Neal said instead of ending the service the RTC should provide it more frequently. He said people don't take the 702 because, at two days a week, people forget it is there.

"There's not that many people, but I don't think that many people know about it," he said.

Two other bus routes also serve Henderson, the 107 and the 216. Neal said he could take those buses, but they can add two hours to what is ordinarily a 15-minute trip for shopping.

DeVoll said one reason that the 702 is targeted -- beyond simply not carrying many passengers -- is that other buses largely duplicate the route. She admits that they might not be as convenient for all passengers, but the system will ultimately get passengers from point A to point B.

That doesn't provide a lot of comfort to Elvyra Koppas, a 16-year resident of Henderson who takes the 702 almost every Monday and Thursday.

Looking out the window, the retired woman said the 702 has been a constant in her life.

"We know where we are. We know when they're coming," Koppas said. "We'd be lost if we lost it."

She takes the route to pick up medication for her heart troubles, but Koppas adds that she occasionally rides the bus "to get out of the house."

DeVoll said most riders will not lose a lot with the proposed changes, which will be the subject of public meetings next week.

Only one replacement route has been identified: the 803, which runs from Fort Apache Road and Flamingo Road to the Strip at Tropicana Avenue, would be replaced by a route running from The Lakes, a residential community on the valley's west side, to Pecos-McLeod interconnection on the east side.

Savings in funding, manpower and buses will be redeployed to bolster existing services or start new routes by September, DeVoll said. RTC staffers are discussing where those resources will be, she said.

The decision to axe the routes isn't necessarily a done deal. Riders can protest the proposals or give other feedback to RTC officials during several upcoming public meetings.

Neal, the 702 rider from Henderson, said he'd be at the one affecting his route.

"It's handy for us. We don't want to let it go."