Buses World News: NEW BUSES FLEET * USA - On an ACE bus, you’ll feel a bit like you’re on light rail...

... and that’s by design

(RTC introduces their new line of Ace buses and new lines of service at the Centennial Hills Park and Ride. Regular service will begin Sunday, March 27, 2010)
Las Vegas,NV,USA -The Las Vegas Sun, by Kyle Hansen -March 26, 2010: -- The Regional Transportation Commission is spending $164.6 million of public money on the new ACE buses and their special bus stops in part because too many Las Vegans consider themselves too good to ride a bus... Surveys and focus groups confirmed the prejudice against riding a bus, the stereotyping that buses are only for the down and out. But the same studies also convinced the RTC that many more people would be willing to ride these buses, RTC General Manager, Jacob Snow, says...

(RTC introduces their new line of Ace buses and new lines of service during a media showing of the new line)
ACE, which launches Sunday, uses lavish 62-feet-long hybrid buses designed, inside and out, to look like a train car, with 44 seats, hand rails to accommodate 65 more people, interior bike racks and a cabin that separates the driver from passengers. Like many light-rail trains, the buses will stop at designated stations with raised platforms, removing the need to climb steps as passengers enter the bus through any of its three wide doors... And it will mainly use bus-only and high-occupancy vehicle lanes to provide faster service... Bus rapid transit systems have become popular in the United States because they offer the speed and comfort of a light-rail train without the high cost and inflexibility of a system that runs on tracks.

(The Convention Center stop is one of many new stops on the ACExpress C line that will open regular service)
Although far cheaper than light rail, ACE still represents a sizable investment. Each of the long, sleek gasoline-electricity vehicles costs $1 million, and the RTC has purchased 50. Plus, it has spent $28 million to build a park-and-ride facility and a downtown transfer station, and more than $50 million to build dedicated bus lanes and stations in downtown Las Vegas... And that’s just for the first two lines...

Labels: bus rapid transit - BRT, new buses fleet