RTC boosting bus service, safety measures as ridership grows
Following an uptick in passenger volume, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is increasing bus service in the Las Vegas Valley after it reduced service amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Weekday bus service will begin operating on a Saturday schedule starting Monday while the agency also pursues additional ways to protect riders during the pandemic. The system was running on a Sunday schedule because of a severe drop in ridership since mid-March.
Transit planners with the agency noted an increase in ridership demand with an average of 82,000 riders this month. That’s up from the low seen in March of around 68,000 riders, according to RTC data.
A sharp increase was seen in the week of June 1-5, when nearly 100,000 riders were reported to have ridden buses, the same week as casino properties along the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas reopened.
The schedule change provides more frequent service to many routes, which the RTC says will make the service more reliable.
The RTC also has launched an online dashboard feature that will provide information on how the pandemic is affecting the transit service.
The data on the dashboard includes ridership, vehicle on-time performance, vehicle capacity updates and more revenue information.
Data on the site shows the RTC saw $4.7 million in revenue in February, dipping to $398,943 in May.
The dashboard also reveals bus reliability dipped since the pandemic began, with buses being on time 95 percent of the time in early April and 87 percent during the last week of June into the first week of July.
On top of RTC’s 14-point safety plan, which includes disinfecting vehicles nightly and requiring face coverings, the agency is looking at other ways it can increase safety.
Possible additions include:
— Using air ion cleaners to kill airborne germs and viruses while RTC vehicles are on the road.
— Providing live passenger counts to enable riders to review a vehicle’s current ridership data to help them make a decision about boarding the next bus or waiting for another vehicle.
— Displaying sanitation information on each vehicle to alert passengers when the vehicle was last sanitized.
The RTC is also looking at applying micro-bacterial shields to seats and high-touch surfaces of new vehicles purchased in the future.
The additional safety measures are in the planning phase, but the RTC plans to implement most of them by the end of the year.
NHP cruiser contest
The Nevada Highway Patrol is looking to residents to help them earn the title as the best-looking state police cruiser.
NHP entered its silver 2019 Ford Police Interceptor SUV in the seventh annual American Association of State Troopers Best Looking State Police Cruiser Contest.
If the department places high enough in the competition, the vehicle will be included as part of the AAST’s annual calendar.
The photograph of the vehicle was taken in Reno with the Reno Arch in the background.
The public can vote via the AAST website and Facebook page through July 22.
“Every vote counts, we need the public’s assistance to help us bring home the title of America’s Best Looking State Police Cruiser,” the NHP said in a statement.
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