Las Vegas tourists forgo Strip bus routes in favor of Uber and Lyft

A growing number of tourists appear to be dropping two bus lines running along the Strip and hopping aboard rides offered by transportation network companies Uber and Lyft.

Ridership aboard the Deuce and the Strip &Downtown Express routes dropped more than 17 percent between March and August compared to the same six-month period in 2015, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada reported Thursday.

The steep decline was connected to the rising popularity of ride-sharing companies in Las Vegas. The RTC has watched bus ridership gradually decline along the Strip ever since state regulators allowed Uber and Lyft to operate in September 2015.

“It’s just part of the new mobility options for our tourists,” RTC Deputy General Manager MJ Maynard said.

More than 6.4 million boardings were reported on the Deuce and the Strip &Downtown Express routes between March and August, down from more than 7.7 million boardings during the same period last year, Maynard told the RTC’s board of directors.

Residential bus ridership, however, increased about 3.5 percent during the same time to more than 25.8 million boardings, Maynard said. Overall, 32.3 million boardings were reported on RTC’s network from March to August, a 3.6 percent drop from last year.

County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani warned that private bus companies should not be granted permits to operate on the Strip because “it creates more congestion and it affects ridership opportunities for folks, and I don’t want to drive people away.”

Despite the recent ridership declines, the RTC’s dual bus lines along the Strip are the most profitable routes in the United States, said Brad Seidel, public affairs administrator for the RTC.

Combined, the Deuce and the Strip &Downtown Express routes generate up to $9 million in profit annually, helping to pay for residential service in other areas of the Las Vegas Valley, Seidel said.

If the drop in ridership on those routes continue to decline over the next five to 10 years, then service frequency may be affected in those outlying residential neighborhoods, said Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown, who serves as the RTC’s board chairman.

“If this trend continues … we need to take a real, hard look at the financial impacts,” Brown said.

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.