TR snippet - Cat bus

THE CAT BUS

While fares on the bus are often less than just the tip after a cab ride, often overlooked by travelers in Vegas is the fine bus system available for very little money. Sometimes those who do venture on to a bus find themselves crowded into a Deuce strip bus and in high traffic. This discourages them from looking into the ease of the many other routes that are almost never crowded.
From downtown the DTC generates most of the local Vegas routes so being in Vegas without a car is less limiting.

Most exciting this trip was the change in the way old folks get reduced fares. After 62, we can get an identity card that lets us on the bus for really low rates and cuts in half the cost of extended passes. A three day pass that includes Deuce riding at no extra cost ends up being $7.50 with this card.

http://www.rtcsouthernnevada.com/transit/fares_passes.cfm

However, the identity cards used to be mailed to our houses and take two weeks to arrive. This meant you could not use them for the first trip.
This procedure is changed. I went the DTC to get mine this trip and they immediately took my photo and printed the card for me. It is good for five years. I was thrilled. I'd be riding the bus anyway, but these reductions mean that while the bus rates have gone up this year, my expense has gone down.

On the change for the worst side is a new policy of buying bus passes from the machine rather than from the window. This means that carrying correct change is important even when going to the DTC as the bus passes at some point will no longer be sold by the folks at the window. We will have to purchase them from the machine or from the drivers directly.

With my new reduced fare pass I rode the bus out to the strip and back for a total of $3 and saved that drive home late a night with a couple of rums in me and twelve hours of tiring poker play. I don't like to drive at night.
I rode the 108 out to the strip and transferred to the 201 for Excalibur to avoid Deuce traffic, and found that comfortable although it is a bit odd standing by a deserted lot with Southwest planes flying overhead while waiting for the Tropicana. I don't know if that would feel comfortable after dark. A fellow came out of the fenced in area rolling a suitcase. He knew exactly where there had been a hole cut in the fence. This would be a bit disconcerting after dark. The bus folks were as entertaining as always and the Deuce coming back early morning was quite comfortable even from as far up at Tropicana.
However, my second night I tried riding it home around midnight and that was terrible. There was so much traffic we were stalled actually a couple of us talked the bus driver into letting us off the bus and I walked down to Flamingo and played more poker until the midnight crowd had gotten home.

EASTSIDE CANNERY

My new love of the Eastside Cannery may offer me full escape from the Deuce, but if I play late at night at the Excalibur, I will probably want to walk to Flamingo and then ride back from there.

Leaving the Eastside Cannery in daylight I will probably walk to Tropicana (about a mile) and catch that bus.

I have not ridden downtown yet from Boulder but I know that one bus will take me there as well. So my next trip may include an airport 108 to Flamingo and a Flamingo bus to the Cannery. The bus lets out right at the Cannery parking lot.
At the end of my journey a Boulder bus to the El Cortez avails me of the free shuttle back to the airport.
If I do decide to put Laughlin in the mix next trip, it is helpful that the Laughlin River City Shuttle picks up at Terrible's right on Flamingo for easy access to the Eastside Cannery as well.

One added bus tip is to bring a warm shirt. Sometimes the air conditioning was just making the bus uncomfortably cold.
It is a good idea to bring a warm layer along to the casinos as well. The poker rooms can be air conditioned and drafty and you never know when some cold weather might blow up.
We had one morning in downtown when the winds were very strong and everyone walking along Freemont Street in just tees and shorts was very uncomfortable.