RTC Transit is a public transit system in the Las Vegas metropolitan area in the US state of Nevada. It is a subsidiary of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. While it services most of Clark County with regularly scheduled routes, most of the service is in the immediate Las Vegas Valley; outlying communities such as Mesquite and Laughlin provide transit services to their residents via the separate Silver Rider Transit system, which uses several vehicles acquired from RTC Transit. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History The privately owned Las Vegas Transit System, Inc. ("LVT") provided bus service on the streets of Las Vegas for more than 40 years. LVT service mainly consisted of loop routes that made many turns throughout the city, sometimes doubling back on its own routes and making several "subloops" within a loop. At one point, LVT was named America's worst transit system.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTCSNV or RTC) was formed in 1965 by state legislation to oversee federally-mandated transportation planning in Clark County. Under pressure by the county and state, and by order of the state court, the company was ordered to cease operations except on Route 6-The Strip and relinquish all its city-owned buses to the Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County as of November 15, 1992. LVT and its successors continued to operate service in competition with Citizens Area Transit until about 2005.
Citizens Area Transit era (1992–2008)
Citizens Area Transit ("CAT") was formed by the RTC to provide reliable bus service to the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Las Vegas Township, Mesquite, and Laughlin. The system began on November 15, 1992, under the direction of Kurt Weinrich, its general manager. Initially the old LVT routes were operated unchanged except for route 6–The Strip, which LVT still retained. The system was totally reconfigured and Strip service begun December 5, 1992. The fleet consisted of mostly inherited LVT vehicles, later augmented by a large order for new buses. The initial route structure was soon seen as deficient and second complete revision was made in June on 1993. In 1997, the American Public Transportation Association awarded CAT with their highest honor, Best Transit System in America (within its category).
However, things began to change in the following years. In 2002, the Amalgamated Transit Union and the contractor ATC entered contract negotiations but failed to agree on operator wages, leading to CAT’s first strike in May. Some drivers walked off the job, forcing service suspensions on several routes. Operators from sister agencies were brought in to maintain limited service until a settlement was reached.
In 2004, CAT received its first shipment of Irisbus Civis bus rapid transit (BRT) vehicles. These buses served on the new Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) route, which serves Nellis Air Force Base via North Las Vegas Boulevard. RTC was a member of the BRT Consortium organized by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in 1999. North Las Vegas Boulevard had been restriped in spring 2000, which converted what had been a breakdown lane into a dedicated transit lane; RTC subsequently applied for a federal grant in 2002 under the Bus Rapid Transit Initiative. The Civis featured an optical guidance system (OGS) to automate docking at level-boarding platforms, similar to a light-rail system; however, the OGS proved to be unreliable in service due to the difficulty of maintaining pavement markings. Revenue service on MAX started on June 30, 2004; ridership increased by 25% by the end of 2004, and end-to-end travel times were cut approximately in half, from 50 to 25 minutes. A year later, CAT received its first delivery of double decker buses from Alexander Dennis.
RTC planned to build a terminal in Henderson, which was to begin construction in mid-2005. The location was to be near the northeast corner of College Drive and Horizon Drive. According to the RTC, plans included "eight bus berths; covered outdoor waiting; and a small terminal building to include an information/security desk, public restrooms, a driver's lounge, and mechanical spaces." Opposition from residents of the nearby Black Mountain Condominiums caused the project to be canceled following a vote by Henderson City Council on February 15, 2005.
In March 2007, additional double deck vehicles from Alexander Dennis arrived, and the RTC unveiled a new rapid transit system which uses the new Diesel-Hybrid RTV Streetcar from Wright Group. The first line was called the "Gold Line", which serviced the downtown and strip corridors.
RTC Transit era (2008–present)
In late 2007, the RTC began to rebrand the Citizens Area Transit system as RTC Transit. The CAT bus stop signs around the city were replaced by "Transit Stop" signs using the RTC logo. All rider alerts, bus announcements, publications, and recently acquired buses no longer used CAT branding. The re-imaging was completed on January 1, 2009, when RTC vehicles started featuring "RTC TRANSIT" along with the normal route destination headers.
In January 2010, RTC introduced the ACE branding for its bus rapid transit offerings. The first ACE route was the ACE Gold Line, connecting downtown Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Strip, and the South Strip Transfer Terminal. In addition, ACExpress was introduced as branding for its express bus service, with an express bus line connecting the Centennial Hills neighborhood northwest of the city with downtown Las Vegas, the Center Strip, and UNLV. In May 2010, RTC rebranded its lines away from the "ACE" name due to a lawsuit from Ace Cab, a local Las Vegas taxi operator; ACE Gold became the Strip and Downtown Express (SDX); ACExpress became Centennial Express (CX), and ACE Green became the Boulder Highway Express (BHX).
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has classified the Strip and Downtown Express as a "Basic BRT" corridor. The SDX was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and did not return.
In 2018, RTC began examining the possibility of installing light rail or enhanced bus rapid transit service along high-ridership routes, particularly the Maryland Parkway corridor. Subsequently, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the RTC $150 million to upgrade Route 109 to bus rapid transit with 7.2 miles of bus/bike lanes. The route, dubbed the "Red Line" and would extend service west of Downtown to the Medical District, is set to open for service on August 23, 2026.
Operations
The RTC currently operates 51 routes with 17 routes operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including The Deuce on The Strip. Most routes run from early morning until late night/early morning. On weekends & holidays, some routes either operate less frequently, operate with less hours, or not operate at all. Las Vegas has one of the most comprehensive night bus networks in the United States, owing to the 24-hour nature of the casinos and hospitality industry.
RTC Transit is the largest outsourced transit operation in the United States, having overtaken the title from the now-defunct Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Long Island Bus service in late 2011. The fixed route system had been operated by Veolia Transport and its predecessors, ATC-Vancom and National Express, since inception. Bus operators, mechanics, and most other contractor employees are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1637. Paratransit and dial-a-ride services are operated by First Transit.
The fixed route contract was scheduled to expire September 25, 2011, and was awarded to First Transit, the apparent low bidder and highest scorer on the comprehensive review, however, Veolia has complained to the RTC board of bidding irregularities in the First Transit bid as well as an unfair emphasis on price in comparison to other technical factors.
RTC, once again consolidated the expiring individual fixed-route contracts, held by Keolis and MV Transportation since 2013. The 4-year contract was awarded to First Transit, which was subsequently purchased by Transdev. Transdev took over operations on July 1, 2023.
Funding shortfall For its size (12th busiest nationwide) RTC's funding mechanism is leveraged on local sales tax revenue. As of 2025, its share is three-eights of a percent and has been since 2002, despite major population growth, contributing to the system being unable to meet demand. Many other major transit systems, in contrast, get funding through multiple other sources. In a May 2025 article, RTC CEO M.J. Maynard stated that RTC's transit operations had a funding gap of $136 million, and that without an increase in funds, transit could be significantly cut by 2027 with an impact to 25-30% of service.
Rates Fare payment for the RTC is purchased through vending machines, Tap & GO smartcard/app, and contactless credit cards and mobile wallets. All methods are valid across both Residential and Premium Service routes. Services on The Deuce require premium pricing for visitors and tourists. Area residents can use these routes at special local rates by showing eligible identification. It also allows for up to three children aged five and younger to ride free with a fare paying adult. Eligibility for other reduced fares requires passengers to present an RTC issued ID or a valid alternative.
U-Pass The agency offers discounted transit fares with participating universities in the Las Vegas Valley through the U-Pass program. U-Pass cards are available for students and employees at UNLV, NSC, and CSN. They provide reduced rates on various passes and are valid on all fixed route services.
Services RTC Transit operates a grid-type system within the Las Vegas Valley, which includes the four incorporated cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City; in addition, the remaining service area is in unincorporated Clark County. The system's two busiest routes, The Deuce on The Strip and Route 109 (now the Red Line BRT) (Maryland Parkway), provide service to the Las Vegas Strip and Harry Reid International Airport, respectively. Approximately 40% of Clark County residents do not live within close proximity of a bus stop. The agency also operates special routes for occasions such as sporting events at Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena, and Las Vegas Ballpark.
The RTC service area has the second longest number of full-time bus-only lanes, second only to MTA New York City Transit. Bus-only lanes operate on portions of Flamingo Road, Sahara Avenue, Boulder Highway, North Las Vegas Boulevard, Grand Central Parkway, Casino Center Boulevard and Maryland Parkway. Fixed Routes