Shortfall prompts revamped bus routes

Friday, March 22, 2002 | 9:43 a.m.

Local commuters will see fewer buses on some Citizen Area Transit routes when changes are instituted this weekend.

The service reductions -- which affect the frequency and time of operation for routes throughout Clark County -- are due to a loss of revenue from fares and sales taxes in the county, Regional Transportation Commissions officials said.

"We had a mandate," said RTC spokeswoman Heather Curry, to trim 56,000 hours from the bus service to save $2.5 million. "We took a good look at all of our routes. We wanted to minimize the impact so we wouldn't have to eliminate entire routes."

But federal funding also is providing for two new express routes serving Eastern Avenue and Flamingo Road. The RTC also is adding a new circular route serving Summerlin by adjusting other routes that served the area, Curry said.

And the bus route serving Charleston Boulevard will go to 24-hour service and be extended to cover nearly the entire road, she said.

Bus drivers, fearing loss of income with the hours lost, had protested the service cuts. But Frank Opdyke, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union representing the drivers, said the changes now don't seem as hard to accept.

"They may be rolling back some of these routes, but they are picking up several new ones," he said. "This is an expanding city, so how can they be cutting back?"

The bus system provides about 50 million rides annually to residents and visitors.

The bus route changes are included in the March edition of the CAT system guides. For more information, call 228-7433.