Development · Valley-wide
RTC is installing 105 dual-directional, solar-powered bus shelters across the Las Vegas Valley to give riders more shade
The Regional Transportation Commission is adding 105 shaded bus shelters with seating on both sides, paid for with $1.35 million in federal funds, after riders said waiting for the bus is when heat hits hardest.
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What happened
The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is putting 105 new bus shelters along its 39 routes in Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The shelters have seats facing opposite directions, so riders can find shade no matter where the sun is during the day.
According to the Review-Journal, the new structures also include brighter lighting for evening hours and run on solar panels mounted on the roof. The project was announced at a news conference last week at the Robert E. Price Recreation Center in the northeast valley.
Cost and funding
The project costs $1.35 million and is paid for with federal money secured by Nevada's congressional delegation, the Review-Journal reported. That group includes Rep. Dina Titus, Rep. Susie Lee, Rep. Steven Horsford, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Sen. Jacky Rosen.
Where the shelters are going
The shelters will be placed at stops on routes with high ridership and in neighborhoods most vulnerable to extreme heat, according to the Review-Journal. Titus said at the event that 42 of the shelters are in District 1, which she described as "the heart of the valley."
What officials said
Titus, who said she sits on the transportation committee, joked that people's eyes sometimes glaze over when she mentions it. She told the crowd that projects like this make that work "very exciting."
Cortez Masto called the shelters "a perfect example of how we get things done." She said the effort is meant to make transit easier and more appealing, especially for riders who depend more on buses, such as seniors, students and veterans.
Why the RTC chose this design
The Review-Journal reported that the shelter design came directly from the RTC's Extreme Heat and Public Transit Survey, which drew 1,300 responses. Of those, 57 percent said they felt the effects of extreme heat most while waiting for a bus.
Most riders walk to their stop
RTC CEO MJ Maynard-Carey said the survey also found that 88 percent of respondents walked to their bus stop. Maynard-Carey asked listeners to picture that walk and wait on a 115-degree day. "So, we heard that feedback and we have been responding," Maynard-Carey said, according to the Review-Journal.
A daily rider's view
Caleb Jackson, a UNLV freshman who lives in the northeast valley, told the Review-Journal he rides RTC buses every day for school, work and recreation. He said daily riders spend a lot of time waiting at stops and that anyone who has lived in Las Vegas knows how hot summers get.
Jackson said he is excited about the new shelters and sees them as a beneficial investment for daily bus riders. He described the result as "a more lit and safer environment."
What to watch next
- Installation of all 105 shelters is expected to be finished by the summer of 2028, according to the Review-Journal.
- Placement of shelters at stops on high-ridership routes and in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods as installation continues.
