Thursday, June 27, 2002 | 11:18 a.m.
The Regional Transportation Commission proposes the cutbacks in bus service on the following routes:
Calling the move a "reality check," Regional Transportation Commission officials announced Wednesday that service would be cut on eight Las Vegas area bus routes starting in September. Another route, in Mesquite, will be eliminated, they said.
The reductions among the system's 51 routes are needed to help offset the Citizens Area Transit's $3.5 million deficit, RTC officials told the commission's Citizens Advisory Commission.
The projected 2002 budget of about $95 million was hit by reductions in sales taxes and ridership on the Strip routes -- the only routes that post a profit -- following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Curtis Myles, RTC assistant general manager, said.
"People can still get where they're going," June Devoll, transit operations administrator, said. "It may be a little less convenient, but the service still exists."
The announcement came as striking bus drivers began their vote to accept a contract that will end a three-week strike, but Devoll noted the decision to cut service was made before the strike.
The transportation system currently has no reserves to balance the budget, she said.
Only the route serving the town of Mesquite will be eliminated entirely, Devoll said. The rest will modified or reduced to compensate for low ridership numbers.
Devoll estimated that the Mesquite route served about 7,000 riders per month, leaving three buses often running empty.
"Economically, it just doesn't make sense to continue that route," she said. "Do they really need a 40-foot bus traveling down their streets? The answer is no."
The other routes will see cuts in the hours or frequency of service, Devoll said. The targeted routes also are likely to have nearby routes that maintain longer hours.
Modifying routes instead of eliminating them allows the routes to be reinstated in the future, as growth increases demand, she said.
Devoll estimates that the change will not affect the about 40 percent of core riders who rely on buses for basic transportation.
Robert Lee, a disabled Summerlin man who relies on the Summerlin Circulator route for about "99 percent" of his daily transportation, said he understands that the decision is a financial one, but said that the changes will make it more difficult to get around.
"I wish they would leave the route on," Lee said. "They say they'll still have Route 405, but that doesn't help me."
To alleviate these concerns, the RTC will put a new stop at the Santa Fe Station Hotel on North Rancho Drive. The hotel parking lot will serve as a transfer facility for passengers affected by the realignment, she said.
"The best thing we can do is try to provide as much service that we can with the resources available," Myles said. "What we had in mind in making these cuts was maintaining the same level of service."
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