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$11 million transit center opens in northwest valley
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks at the grand opening of the Centennial Hills Transit Center on 7313 Grand Montecito Parkway Monday, March 29, 2010.
Monday, March 29, 2010 | 7:15 p.m.
RTC: New Bus is an ACE
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del.icio.usSleek new ACE buses will take passengers down two new routes starting on Sunday, March 28. Until April 3, locals ride for free on the new ACE Gold Line and ACExpress rapid transit service from Centennial Hills to downtown, UNLV and the south Strip.
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Beyond the Sun
Transportation officials unveiled the new Centennial Hills Transit Center on Monday and recognized members of the congressional delegation who supported the federal Recovery Act, which helped to fund the facility.
The center, at 7313 Grand Montecito Parkway near U.S. 95 and Durango Drive, includes about 900 parking spaces, passenger drop-off areas, bike storage and an air-conditioned building for passengers to wait for buses.
It was funded with $8.8 million in federal money with a total price tag of $11 million.
“This project is more than moving people,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. “This event today is about moving the economy.”
Reid was joined by Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus, as well as Mayor Oscar Goodman, Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown, Regional Transportation Commission General Manager Jacob Snow and Las Vegas City Councilman Steven Ross.
Reid said the project created constructions jobs and was a small step in stabilizing the economy.
Berkley said the new center is proof that the Recovery Act is helping to fund projects that benefit citizens. She said she was involved in the project through its completion.
“There have been times when Jacob (Snow) and I have looked at the buses and felt like proud parents,” Berkley said. “I feel like the mother of the ACE bus. I am delighted and honored to be a part of this.”
The center is also one end of a new bus line called the ACExpress C line, which will use HOV lanes on U.S. 95 to travel to downtown Las Vegas, then continue to the Strip and UNLV.
Future lines are also planned for Las Vegas Boulevard, Boulder Highway, Sahara Avenue and Flamingo Road.
Snow said the diesel hybrid electric buses can get residents from the Centennial Hills Transit Center to the Strip in about 20 minutes.
Many parts of the route have dedicated bus-only lanes. Buses will stop at raised platform stations, where passengers will buy tickets before boarding.
Brown said the new transit system will encourage citizens to carpool, while also saving them time and money.
“The ACEpress is going to be phenomenal,” he said. “Today is a milestone, so we can take a breath and enjoy the moment. But the RTC will not slow down.”
Bus fare is $3 for a two-hour pass or $7 for a 24-hour pass. Students and senior citizens will get a discount.
Anyone with a valid Nevada driver’s license will be able to ride the system for free until April 3.
CORRECTION: The story was changed to correct the bus fare. | (March 30, 2010)
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Sure... transit is nice.. but NOT WHEN ITS FUNDED BY PUBLIC SERVICES!!!! Why can't people wake up and UNDERSTAND THE BEAUTY OF CAPITALISM, FREE MARKETS WITH IDEAS AND INNOVATION!!!...
Public services fail to operate when and how much these services are need and in demand.... fail to innovate and dont profit which means less progress is done.....!!!
I hope a PRIVATE commuter light rail service gets built across the valley connecting the areas of Henderson, Summerlin, and yes baby the NEW MIXED-USE DIVERSE TOWNS OF THE VALLEY!!!
SOMEONE... PLEASE FOR GOODNESS SAKE.... PRIVATIZE THE BUS SERVICE....
for competition, choice, more flexibility, and innovation........ and when it privitized.... it services when and where is needed......
Las Vegas needs this. GOOD MOVE!
Here is the NEW TRANSPORTATION PLAN OF THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY:!!!
1. Keep public influence MINIMAL... only on the matters of dispute, safety, and health conditions.
2. Allow private mass transit services to provide alternative transportation to reduce pollution, traffic, reduce local and personal costs, and provide energy efficiency...
3. Allow private design firms to create towns that are...
-Mixed Use (make the shops and housing close!)
-Diverse
-Connective Streets (AVOID CUL-DE-SACS)
-One way Roads to distribute traffic (AVOID COLLECTOR ROADS)
-Place side street parking, pathways, shade, suitable street/building ratio, and alleys for pedestrian life
-Priviatize all the freeways (I-15, I-215, I-515..)
BABY I WILL START A REVOLUTION IN THE VALLEY!!! THE NEXT ERA OF LAS VEGAS IS COMING!!!
WEIRD. AND WHO EXACTLY IS *PAID* TO COME UP WITH THIS IDEA?
THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE BUS SYSTEM IS TO PROVIDE GOVERNMENT (AND AT MY EXPENSE) TAX FUNDED TRANSPORTATION FOR PEOPLE
WHO DON'T HAVE A CAR, MUCH LESS A DRIVER'S LICENSE.
"...Anyone with a valid Nevada driver's license will be able to ride the system for free until April 3. Buses operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m...."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't CAT hire private non-union contractors to drive the buses? I spoke with a driver who said he made $11.00 an hour with sorry benefits. This is probably 60% below what big cities pay for bus drivers. Maybe more.
Tell me I'm wrong. But I don't think so.
Only an idiot would suggest privatizing bus service. All transit systems everywhere have to be subsidized. If you privatized it would be the end of it.
Vc:
okay some regulation is needed... but the funding and most of policies work well under privitization....!!! Explain why in the world subsidies help???
THIS IS WHY THE VALLEY IS SCREWED!!! BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU ALONG WITH CCSD, BLM, ETC....
Well... the next ERA OF THE VALLEY WILL WORK WITH ULTRA FREE MARKET PRICIPLES!!!
And, what about the East and Southeast side of the Valley?
"SOMEONE... PLEASE FOR GOODNESS SAKE.... PRIVATIZE THE BUS SERVICE...."
Kind of like the monorail...a roaring success story.
I do not think 7am is early enough. I think 430am to 8pm would be a good time frame, if not 24 hours.
vc...you're a typical liberal.
the CAT system makes a freaking FORTUNE off advertising sales.
Yes you are correct, the operation and maintenance of the RTC's fleet is already privatized. Private transportation companies bid on the contract every few years. The contracts are currently serviced by Veolia Transportation (for fixed route operations) and First Transit (for paratransit operations). These private companies provide drivers, mechanics, training, dispatch, management and support staff. The employees are (of course) hired locally, and tend to go from contractor to contractor as the contract-holder changes.
As for the RTC itself, it is one of the most efficient and professional public transportation agencies in the country. They keep their operations streamlined and their staff both lean in numbers and highly skilled in their specialties, and are always seeking new ways to save taxpayer money.
Here we go again ,,,,,,,
More good news, more good things, more good ideas, more good policies that do good for Nevada ......
Brought to you and me by Senator Harry Reid
Think again about privatizing the bus service like some of us suggested. Either the fare will go way up to make money or the bus ervice will go bankrupt in a few months. Until someone with a lot of money to waste buy the bus service, privatization is just a wild dream.
people are so dumb. this bus system makes a TON of money from advertising sales.
it makes a TON of money.
it SHOULD be privatized.
it would NOT go bankrupt...believe me...it would not go bankrupt.
Senator Reid is working to move Nevada's economy forward
http://www.harryreid.com/content/pages/a...
We have long needed a better public transit system in this valley. The people in charge now have done a lot. The more we can do to promote public transit, the better off it is for the environment and our dependence on foreign oil. It's a win-win, and I am grateful to the members of our congressional delegation who were there to unveil it because Sen. Reid and Reps. Berkley and Titus are doing what is best for us all.
Thanks, Karl_Hungus, I thought that CAT was using subcontractors who tend to be lower paid than the Union loafers in most cities. Plus the driver told me they didn't have pensions, just 401K's.
Sounds like CAT has its act together.
Wish our city councils did. Right, City of Henderson?
Now that we have the transit center in the northwest valley, we need connecting buses to service the North Las Vegas (Centennial Blvd) areas to make it successful. The location is way out there and right now, you still have to drive a long ways to catch one of these new buses.
I think these buses are nice, but how about some North-South coverage for the Westside of the valley? It would be nice to have a bus west of Rainbow run North-South. Right now I live at W. Charleston and Ft. Apache. If I want to take a bus to Ft. Apache and Tropicana I have to take the Charleston bus east to Rainbow then the Rainbow bus to Tropicana the the Tropicana bus back west to Ft. Apache. How about a bus that runs up Durango - Rampart, Ft. Apache? or even all the way up Durango?