Moving Southern Nevada forward for 30 years

Imagine suddenly losing your ability to drive safely or legally due to an unexpected illness and not having the freedom to travel independently. Imagine having no options to get to work or school or a doctor’s appointment. Imagine not being connected to your community.

For the past 30 years, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) has worked to provide you with public transportation so that a life without mobility, access and transportation options doesn’t become reality. Even for those who have never set foot on a bus, transit has enhanced your quality of life. Each time a resident or tourist opts to take advantage of transit, that decision means one less personal vehicle or taxi or rideshare contributing to roadway congestion. And transit helps fuel our economy by connecting employees, customers, patients and students to work, shopping, health care and school. This month, we celebrate 30 years of serving the community we are proud to call home.

While the RTC has been planning and funding roadway projects for 60 years, we began transit operations Dec. 5, 1992. Our 30th anniversary gives us an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments, thank those who have joined us along the way, and plan for the future — including new services that will make our transportation network safer, greener and more equitable than ever before.

We began modestly, continuing service for 10 routes that were operated by our predecessor, the for-profit Las Vegas Transit. In the 30 years since then, our regional population exploded to more than 2 million residents and more than 42 million annual visitors. Just as Southern Nevada has grown, so has the RTC. We now offer expanded service around the valley to 39 routes.

This year, we are on track to provide more than 41 million trips, with 80% of passengers traveling to and from work. Thriving public transportation is the backbone of our community and our economy.

Over the past 30 years, we have introduced a variety of new services to meet the evolving needs of our rapidly growing region. We’ve leveraged technology to enhance convenience, access and the overall passenger experience by creating an all-inclusive mobile app and providing free Wi-Fi on board all vehicles and at our transit centers. To enhance equity, we’ve expanded services for students, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, and created a new on-demand service similar to Uber and Lyft for areas of the valley that previously lacked transit. We’ve improved connections to major destinations and sporting events with our Game Day Express service. And we’ve provided transit for Resort Corridor employees to get to their jobs.

Just last year, we celebrated our largest geographical expansion of fixed-route service in RTC history, introducing first-time transit access to more than 185,000 residents.

We at the RTC are also determined to be a part of the solution to climate change. We’ve transitioned 95% of our fleet from diesel to compressed natural gas and developed a plan to transition to a 100% zero-emissions fleet as funding becomes available. We will introduce the valley’s first hydrogen fuel cell electric and battery electric buses in 2023.

We’ve also prioritized safety, investing nearly $92 million over the past decade to ensure that passengers, operators, cyclists and pedestrians feel secure on buses and at bus stops.

We’re proud that we’ve been able to accomplish so much while remaining fiscally responsible. For the past eight years, we have operated the most cost-efficient bus transit system in the country, according to the Federal Transit Administration.

While we are excited to celebrate our accomplishments thus far, we are equally excited to work with you to plan for the future of mobility. We’re guided by our On Board Mobility Plan, developed over a five-year period as a result of four surveys that collected feedback from more than 40,000 individuals. Some of the community priorities that emerged from these surveys include improvement and expansion of bus rapid transit and better service for people with disabilities, seniors and veterans. Some of these priorities are already in the works, such as GoMed, which will connect downtown Las Vegas commuters to the Las Vegas Medical District via autonomous shuttles, and the installation of bus rapid transit along one of the valley’s busiest corridors, Maryland Parkway.

While the future of transit in Southern Nevada is promising, a long-term funding solution remains the single most significant challenge facing the RTC. A recent, one-time infusion of federal stimulus funding helped our financial situation, but only for the next several years. If you share our belief that public transportation is critical to our community’s economic vitality, we hope you’ll join us in searching for long-term financial solutions that will help fund a core function vital to our economic well-being.

We’ve spent 30 years moving our community forward, and it would not have been possible without the incredible team of dedicated RTC transportation professionals, contractors, community and business partners, board members, elected officials, nonprofits, and most importantly, Southern Nevada residents. We thank each of you for helping us drive progress during the past 30 years and invite you to join us as we continue to work to connect generations to come through efficient, accessible and equitable transportation options.

MJ Maynard is CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.