Keolis to operate Las Vegas bus service

The Las Vegas Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada awarded Keolis Transit America (KTA) a five-year contract to operate selected fixed-route bus service routes.

The contract includes service along the resort corridor of Las Vegas Boulevard as well as the Deuce on the Strip (Deuce) as well as the Strip and Downtown Express (SDX) routes. The five-year contract, with two two-year options and a one-year option, is one of two management contracts for the Southern Nevada transit system. Keolis is expected to assume management operation for its portion of the RTC’s service area on July 7, 2013.

Additionally, the contract includes operating the Lot B fixed-route local and express transit, which operates out of the Sunset Facility in South Las Vegas. There are 15 fixed routes, including 10 local routes and five express routes. Based on the latest ridership data, the Lot B routes average weekday ridership of nearly 102,000 passengers, with 87,000 and 76,000 on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Keolis will be responsible for staffing, customer service, maintenance and general operations for the system.

Keolis has also selected transit administrator Dwight Brashear as GM for its Southern Nevada operations.

Brashear has more than 25 years of transit experience, starting first as a bus operator, rising through the ranks to manage the San Diego Transit system. He also has served as GM and VP, transit operations, in other communities, including Baton Rouge, La. and Washington, D.C. In 2005, while serving in Baton Rouge, Brashear was selected by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to become the state transportation coordinator for the evacuation of the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina.

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