CAT hopes to fund cross-town express

Friday, Nov. 8, 2002 | 11 a.m.

Las Vegas Valley bus users are likely to face the third major service reduction in January, but regional transportation officials said today that there is some good news for the riders.

The Citizens Area Transit service could receive more than $3 million in federal funds for a new bus route, now slated to run from Nellis to Rainbow boulevards along Charleston Boulevard.

The new express line -- designated route 808, or the coral line -- could begin in January, Regional Transportation Commission spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman said.

Unfortunately, what the federal government gives it can also hold back. The same "congestion mitigation-air quality" dollars funding the new route are running out for two other routes in the valley.

The 801 express, which now runs from downtown to Nellis Boulevard along Las Vegas Boulevard, will lose federal funding in January, as will the 802 line, running from Lone Mountain Road to downtown along Rancho Drive.

"CMAQ" funds can be used on new bus routes for three years, and both federally funded routes are reaching their expiration date, Reisman said.

The RTC is trying to find other ways to make getting around the valley easier despite a cash crunch, she said. That could include changing route timing to better serve customers.

But under state law, the bus agency must have a balanced budget. RTC officials say they must cut service to stay within that budget.

"By law we cannot provide transit service we can't pay for, and the only way to meet our budget this year is to reduce service now," RTC General Manager Jacob Snow said. "The proposed service changes will eliminate only duplicative express routes or routes that have very low ridership and are therefore not cost-effective for the public to fund."

Besides the 801 and 802, four other lines are under the ax: an express route serving the Strip and routes serving Oakey Boulevard, Craig Road and the community of Summerlin.

RTC officials said they tried to minimize the negative impact of the cuts.

The frequency of Strip route 301 will be increased from 10 minutes to just over seven minutes to offset elimination of the Strip express route. At least six other routes valleywide are slated for more frequent service to offset the route cuts.

Reisman said the Strip, 801 and 802 routes duplicate existing service. The three other routes are among the least popular in the 50-route system, she said.

"They represent less than 1 percent of ridership," based on September numbers, Reisman said.

For more substantial good news, riders will have to look up to a year ahead. A planned MAX express line -- using state-of-the-art French-built buses that look and feel like commuter trains -- should begin service in November 2003. The federally funded service will run along the route now traveled by the 801 express, one of the routes likely destined for the scrap heap.

But the long-term salvation of the regional bus service lies now with the Legislature, RTC officials said. The Legislature will weigh approval of a $2.7 billion tax initiative passed by Clark County voters this week as Question 10, an advisory measure.

About half of those dollars are slated for regional mass transit. But even if the Legislature approves the tax increases for the funding, the earliest those funds would be available is July.

Reisman said transit improvements probably could not come before September 2003.

"It is a reality we face and have expressed all year: Whether or not Question 10 passed, we were going to have to reduce service this year," Snow said. "Fortunately for our community, the passage of Question 10 means there is now relief in sight to help address our transportation crisis."

The RTC already has implemented two rounds of service reductions throughout Clark County this year. Those changes have so far trimmed an estimated $3.5 million deficit this year to about $2 million.

"We're just trying to stop the hemorrhaging," Reisman said. "If we can get through this year, the future is looking brighter."