LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Bus riders along Maryland Parkway say ongoing construction has caused frustrating delays and longer commutes, but Regional Transportation Commission officials say improvements are on the way with the launch of the new RED LINE transit service later this month.
Channel 13 East Las Vegas reporter Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez spoke with riders near Maryland Parkway and St. Louis Avenue, where many commuters say construction has made daily travel more difficult.
“I ride the bus every day,” said RTC rider Lynita Newsome.
Newsome relies on public transportation to get to and from work and says recent delays have added hours to some trips.
“So, like right now I’m on my way to work, and I’ll get off at 9 p.m., and I’ll ride it home,” she said.
Newsome, who moved to Las Vegas from California, says transportation challenges in the valley have been difficult to adjust to.
“The construction has been very hard,” she said. “I’m out of California, I love Vegas, but Las Vegas public transportation — I hate to say that.”
She says even short trips by car can become lengthy commutes on the bus.
“To go to Walmart, which was in a car maybe five, 10, 15 minutes away… on the bus it was a two-hour trip,” Newsome said.
Several other riders along Maryland Parkway shared similar frustrations, saying construction delays have impacted reliability.
“There are a lot of delays here,” one rider said. “But once the construction is over with, then we’ll know better if we need more stops.”
RTC officials say the upcoming RED LINE service is designed to improve travel times and expand access along the busy corridor.
“The RED LINE is going to be taking the place of the current Route 109, which is our Maryland Parkway route,” said Theresa Gaisser, deputy chief executive officer for RTC.
According to RTC, the RED LINE will extend service into downtown Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Medical District while also offering more frequent service for riders.
Some riders say they’re hopeful the upgrades will improve daily commutes.
“They actually care about the feedback and how we feel about our community,” said rider Tavaraus Thomas.
Starting on Aug. 23, customers can use the rideRTC app or visit TellRTC.com to access rideRTC See & Say, RTC's new customer reporting platform.
Customers can easily report safety and security concerns, maintenance issues and cleanliness requests, helping RTC respond more efficiently to issues across the transit system.
Gaisser also said that bus routes will be adjusted to align with school times to accommodate families in the Clark County School District.
"Making it to their bell times so this actually allows us to really understand where we have high ridership demand and schedule our routes, and our frequencies to better match those demands that are here in the community, Gaisser said.
