The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) will soon open the Sahara Express, the valley’s newest bus rapid transit (BRT) service. The new BRT line will include dedicated transit lanes along much of Sahara Avenue, one of the busiest transit corridors in the Las Vegas Valley. 

In addition, the project will improve the experience of transit customers by featuring new solar-powered transit shelters, ticket vending machines, wider sidewalks, elevated station platforms and enhanced landscaping. These features, along with traffic signal upgrades, will improve travel for pedestrians, cars and transit riders.

Operated with double-deck buses, the Sahara Express will extend its value by operating branches on both the east and west ends of the Valley to best serve residential neighborhoods. The Sahara Express will begin service on May 20.  

The RTC received $34.4 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the project. The project helped spur local economic growth by creating or sustaining an estimated 500 private-sector jobs and improving mobility along one of the valley’s most important corridors.

RELATED ARTICLE: Click here, to read METRO's 2012 BRT Survey.