Double-decker buses set to arrive in May

Friday, April 15, 2005 | 10:01 a.m.

The first of the double-decker buses the Regional Transportation Commission says will help alleviate congestion on the Strip is expected to arrive sometime next month, RTC General Manager Jacob Snow said Thursday.

In August the commission approved a plan to buy 20 of the European-designed coaches for $11.7 million. Those buses added to the 30 already purchased and expected to arrive this summer. That order is currently undergoing government-ordered testing in Pennsylvania, he said.

All 50 buses, built by Swedish firm Transbus Dennis, are expected to be in service late this year, Snow said told the RTC at their monthly meeting Thursday.

The buses cost about $560,000 each, compared to $520,000 for a traditional articulated bus, which has two sections connected by a flexible joint. They carry 81 people, 21 more than their articulated counterparts.

A federal grant is expected to defray $9.3 million of the total costs, while the remaining $2.3 will be paid with local sales tax receipts, according to the RTC contract.

Planners in August said the buses have proven successful in Europe and Hong Kong.

Long-term plans call for a possible extension of the bus line to Primm and along the heavily traveled Flamingo Road route, planners said.