LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Tens of thousands of Las Vegas locals ride a Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) bus in the valley every day, and with the temperatures we've seen this week, that means most riders have to wait for the bus in extreme heat — sometimes at bus stops without shade.
RTC officials tell Channel 13 that hundreds of new shelters are on the way, though, to help make the wait a little more bearable during our scorching summers.
WATCH | Vegas bus riders discuss the need for shelters
If you ride the bus daily like Lipa Ricks, you have to find some nifty ways to stay cool.
"Definitely bring cold water," Ricks said Thursday. "Make sure they're frozen first, keep them in your bag with maybe a paper towel wrapped around them, so that even as it melts it still stays cool."
Drinking lots of water is the key for bus rider Shay Samuels, too.
"That's the only way I can stay cool," Samuels said. "And hopefully when I hop on the bus, they have the AC blasting too."
Trying to beat the heat in the shade can be a game changer, but out of the RTC's nearly 3,700 bus stops valley-wide, about 1,700 of them don't have a shelter, which can make waiting for a bus even more challenging.
"Sometimes you're waiting there for 45 minutes, and you're either on your way to work or on your way home from work," Ricks said. "If we could implement something, maybe like a canopy, we would definitely appreciate more shade at more frequent stops."
RTC Deputy CEO David Swallow tells Channel 13 those wheels are already in motion.
"Over the next year, we're putting in nearly 300 new shelters throughout the valley," Swallow said.
In fact, the RTC has spent nearly $30 million building and installing new bus shelters in the Las Vegas metro area over the last five years.
"We want to get as many shelters out there as possible," Swallow said. "Because, frankly, while Las Vegas has been one of the fastest growing communities in the country, it's also been one of the fastest warming communities."
A 2022 study mapped out what's called the "urban heat island effect" in Southern Nevada to find out which parts of the valley are the hottest, and the RTC used those results to figure out where they should focus their efforts to add shade at more bus stops.
A map RTC officials provided to Channel 13 shows they're planning to add nearly 500 more bus shelters in the future, in addition to the almost 1,700 already in place.
When that data is overlaid with the urban heat island map, you can see most of those bus shelters are located in the hottest parts of town.
Swallow showed Channel 13 around one of their newest shelters located near Decatur and Lake Mead Boulevard — a slimmed-down version of a traditional bus shelter with standing benches, designed to fit on more narrow sidewalks, within ADA regulations.
"We call this a 'slimline [shelter]' because it's meant to maximize the amount of sidewalk space in front of the shelter, so that people can pass along without having to worry about crowding out or walking into the street," Swallow said.
Adding more shade is just one way the RTC helps riders stay cool.
"Every summer we have a summer heat campaign where we partner with a number of other organizations to give out free water and sunscreen," Swallow said. "We also train our bus drivers to look out for signs of heat stress, and — where needed — they'll give people water to help them stay hydrated."
At the end of the day, though, riders say they're just looking forward to cooler weather, which makes it a little easier to ride the bus.
"I mean we've only got like, what, one or two months left of this heat? Then we'll be just fine," Samuels said.
Even if your local bus stop has a shelter, make sure to bring water with you so you can stay hydrated, and try and find some nearby shade if your stop doesn't have a shelter.
RTC officials also suggest downloading their app so you can track your ride in advance, and you don't have to wait too long in the scorching heat.
For more information on the RTC's new bus shelter initiative, click here, and for more tips and tricks on how to beat the summer heat while riding the bus, click here.
