RTC warns of drastic cuts in bus service

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002 | 9:52 a.m.

An administrator for the regional public bus system warned that if service cuts and fare hikes don't stem the flow of red ink, whole bus routes will have to be eliminated.

The Regional Transportation Commission has already announced fare hikes for its paratransit buses serving people with disabilities. It also will begin cutting the frequency of service on popular Strip routes on Sunday.

On March 24 the agency will cut the frequency and service hours of routes throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

"The next step -- I will be back in front of this committee asking which routes to eliminate," June Devoll, RTC transit operations administrator, said. She spoke at a meeting of the RTC's Citizens Advisory Committee.

The meeting also included pleas from frustrated Citizens Area Transit service bus drivers to stop the service reductions. The drivers said they believe increasing service will attract more riders and reverse the fiscal damage.

Devoll said further cuts will happen if the changes instituted since the beginning of the year don't save enough money. The RTC has wiped out reserve funds, she said, and without the changes will be in a deficit by the end of the year.

The RTC is not allowed by law to run at a deficit, she said.

The first scheduled cuts aren't likely to be noticed. Beginning Sunday buses that have traveled up and down the Strip every seven minutes will instead come every 10 minutes. The RTC has always posted the wait as 10 minutes, however.

Paratransit riders will feel the bite of fare hikes Feb. 10, when fares from 6 to 9 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. double to $2. Fares at other hours will go up 50 percent to $1.50. Strip fares for Paratransit service will go from $2 to $4.

On March 24 the agency plans to cut the frequency of buses and some late-night and early morning service on 30 routes crisscrossing the valley.

The March service cuts are designed to minimize the impact, Devoll said, although some riders will be affected.

"We've targeted specific trips either very early in the morning or late at night with very low ridership," she said.

Other cuts seem likely. The RTC staff is researching the effect of reducing and eliminating service outside the area mandated by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Staff should present their findings to the full RTC board Feb. 14.

Devoll said about about 370 riders -- out of a pool of 9,000 approved Paratransit customers -- appear to be in the area that is not legally required to be served. About 125 of those riders used the Paratransit service four or more times a month, she said.

The further service cuts concern Paratransit users.

Linda Lueck, a member of the advisory committee who is blind and relies on Paratransit, said she understood the equation would be one or the other: reduce the service area or raise fares.

Now the RTC is talking about both, she said.

"It's going to affect a lot of people," Lueck said.

Fixed-route drivers also are concerned about the changes to Paratransit along with the service reductions on their own buses. About a dozen drivers attended the advisory committee meeting, which usually is sparsely attended.

The increased fares for disabled riders will mean more will use the regular bus service, driver Denise Spann said. Disabled riders on the fixed-route system can ride for free.

But loading and unloading wheelchairs can take much longer than loading those with full mobility, and Spann warned that some routes will be delayed.

"We're turning, we're burning, we're busting our tails out there," Spann said. "But when you put the wheelchairs out there, we're never going to be on time."

Drivers can be fined if their buses aren't on time.

Steve Mora, also a driver, said the RTC should shift money now used to build bigger and better to roads into buses and other mass-transit systems. He argued that putting more buses onto the roads, with greater frequency and longer hours would encourage more paying customers.

"We are punishing the citizens of our town by reducing the system," he said.

Mora criticized the RTC for contracting out route and driver management to an Illinois-based company. Mora said the RTC can do the job more cheaply than ATC, which charged $52 million last year.

The drivers' union, a federal mediator and ATC are negotiating a new contract.