Public Transit for the World’s Entertainment Capital

Las Vegas is an entertainment capital, welcoming more than 37 million visitors each year. Most tourist activity is concentrated on the Las Vegas “strip,” an 8-mile corridor of casinos and resorts with round-the-clock activity. The Las Vegas Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) must provide service to the tens of thousands of workers who report to work for multiple shifts on the “strip,” and in hotels and service businesses in other parts of the city, as well as for the millions of tourists. An additional challenge is that the area is one of the fastest growing in the US, with highly congested roads and freeways.

On behalf of our client, RTC, Veolia Transportation operates the entire fixed route bus service in Las Vegas. There are three components of the service we operate:

• Regular fixed route bus service
• A bus rapid transit (BRT) service called “MAX”
• An innovative double decker bus service on the “Strip” called the “Deuce.”

The Deuce operates 24 hours a day on the strip, and moves 12 million people per year, with service frequency every 7 minutes in peak periods. The BRT service, MAX, moves 2.5 million people per year on one of the city’s busiest corridors, with service frequency of every 12 minutes in peak periods.

Veolia Transportation has operated bus service and maintenance for the RTC since 1993, now transporting over 65 million passengers per year. The RTC bus network has been ranked as one of the most efficient and cost-effective large urban bus systems in the U.S., with one of the highest levels of passengers per service hour, averaging 45, versus the overall U.S. average of 27.5. To meet these significant demands, we employ almost 900 bus operators, and perform vehicle maintenance 24 hours a day.

We maintain a very diverse fleet of transit equipment in the extremely hot temperatures of Las Vegas, which demands tremendous resolve and skill. We train our operators on safety and customer care, and have a track record of passenger satisfaction and quality service. We are increasing the use of GPS control programs to further enhance performance and accountability. We are making our operations more sustainable, and focusing on conserving energy and fuel.

Veolia Transportation is extremely proud to be the exclusive operator of the RTC bus and BRT system. We are committed to assisting the Regional Transportation Commission in deploying state of the art technology and advanced service concepts such as Bus Rapid Transit and barrier free fare collection. We have brought our client many concepts and innovations from around the world, and share their vision of continuing to ensure that Las Vegas transit leads the world in operational performance, quality service and innovation. Las Vegas is a unique place, and we join our client in wanting to ensure that our service matches the unique needs of this city.

In the realm of safety, our Las Vegas team has created an innovative recognition program for drivers who operate a bus for a million miles without a preventable accident. It typically takes 12 years to accumulate one million miles–a very significant milestone for a driver. Each year a festive dinner and celebratory event is organized in which employees who have achieved “Million Milers” status are honored. In addition to the dinner, their photos are posted on the “Wall of Fame” in the Las Vegas office. By 2008, 82 drivers had reached the million mile mark; another eight have reached two million, and two more have achieved three million miles without a preventable accident.

Veolia Transportation and RTC collaborate on a number of visible community events as well, including an annual art contest where school children design a bus wrap. The contest has become quite popular at schools because the winning design is placed on a vehicle that is driven around the city for many months.