No No not the ACE or Goldline; now it is SDX

edited on October 23, 2010

Strip Downtown Express
This bus will pick up at the same stop as the Deuce.  So don't be waitin' at Neonopolis and expect the ACE because it won't be comin', not even if you call it the Goldline.

However, it will not run certain hours of the early morning 12:30 am to 9 am.  Then the only way to go downtown to strip is on the Deuce.

5 Day Pass reported alive and well

http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?p=437978&posted=1#post437978

The woman I talked to at RTC said it was a "glitz that they don't really advertise" but anyone with a five day pass could ride the Gold Line and the Deuce without a local ID being checked.
This was further confirmed in an email response to a poster at the end of the above link.  All buses can be ridden with the 5 day pass.

tnvegas gives a Mixed Review of the ACE experience

tnVegas from Blonde's Board experienced his first Vegas bus recently (August 2010) and wrote this review:

They have changed the price of the 3 day bus pass to $20 which doesn't represent much of a savings, and we only needed it for two days, so we choose a daily pass for $7 each day.
The first day we caught the Deuce downtown bus stopped at a few places before we got town town - very good trip.
On the way back we caught the ACE back - avoiding most of the stops, but it was a very crowded bus and we never got a seat. Also, it was weird that there was no place to swipe our bus pass on this bus. There was a guard who looked for our pass, but it seemed like we could have used a week old pass since we just had to show him we had a pass in our hands. Later that night we took the deuce North and that was a nightmare - very slow and very crowded.
Day two on the bus we opted for the ACE bus again - first trip downtown was ok, but on the way back it was crowded again. We stopped at the back of the Sahara and went there for a bit.
On the way back we thought we would take the ACE bus again,  but we had to wait forever to catch it, and then the first bus was packed and we could not get on. The 2nd bus was crowded too, but at least we got on. However, we had to stand.
We were going to the Luxor. The stop for the Luxor was somewhat far from the Luxor entrance, but I guess we should not be too picky. It also took forever to travel on the strip due to traffic.  We wanted to go from the restaurant off of Tropicana but bascially gave up since we had to be back at the Luxor for a show and felt we didn't have enough time to do that and still make the bus.
So we felt the bus is a cheap alternative - you just can't be in a hurry to go anywhere since you never knew how long any single trip would take on the strip. I do think any route off strip would have been a lot better. We ended up not taking any of those.
We longed for a monorail system that actually was more convenient to use and would allow us to avoid the traffic on Las Vegas Blvd - like just above the Blvd,  not a couple blocks behind it. We are going to NY next month and know the subway system there is a lot better system than this.

NEW TRANSIT CENTER

 

NEW TRANSIT CENTER (coming sometime this Fall)


What will all that mean?

No more easy walks to the DTC.


The new transit center is to be located on Casino Center and Bonneville:
To get a sense of what it will look like, click on the link below
and scroll down to the Bonneville Transit Center.
That is the replacement for the DTC.

http://www.rtcsnv.com/transit/terminals.cfm#ccitt


 

For other routes at the new Bonneville Station folks can catch the ACE from downtown and transfer at the station to other buses.  Coming into the station late at night from the lesser used bus routes, folks can make one transfer to get to downtown casinos.
However, this will increase the costs because the ACE /DEUCE  requires either a all access pass or an upcharge.
As the routes develop, we'll have to see if there is a way to access the new Bonneville DTC from downtown on a reduced fare general market pass rather than the more expensive all access pass.  This means a $5 savings a day for seniors who will do all their traveling that day on non strip routes because in the new fare schedule there is no reduced fare for 24 hours of the strip routes, only for 3 days or strip routes.

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Because the bus company will actually own the new Bonneville Transit Center, it has been designed with sustainability in mind.  We can expect it will serve us for many years and that it can more easily be adapted to rider needs as they emerge.

I don't have answers to all the details.  We will have to wait and see how things develop.
The Bonneville Station will be very comfortable itself and state of the art.
One thing I learned is that those with bicycles will not only be able to store them at the station, but will be able to shower before heading out to work on the ACE and will be able to arrange to service and repair bikes right there at the bus station.   
Multi-modal is the word of the day.

RATES/ HOW AND WHERE TO BUY BUS PASSES
updated June 2010

WHAT BUS PASSES COST:
Fares and the use of vending machines is explained in various links at this site:
http://www.rtcsouthernnevada.com/transit/fare_passes.cfm

A NOTE ON 24 HOUR PASSES:

There are two 24 hour passes. One is the All Access pass. One is the General Market   pass. The General Market is cheaper, meant for people who are not going to ride the Deuce or ACE.
the General Market 24 hour pass is especially cheaper for ID carrying seniors.  $2 versus $7 per day when a senior chooses an all access pass.  Hopefully, soon there will be a 24 hour reduced fare for seniors  purchasing the All Access 24 hour pass.  Presently the 3 day senior option is the best bargain.

BUYING FROM TICKET VENDING MACHINES


For the ACE you will have to buy tickets ahead.  No ACE drivers will sell tickets, and the RCT is hoping folks will buy Deuce tickets as well from the vending machines. Upcharge fees also need to be bought from the vending machines.

Locations listed on the RCT website:



Ticket vending machines sell and validate full-fare, reduced-fare, one-day and one-ride passes and soon will both sell and validate 3 day passes as well.

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