[SelflessGene]

I am considering retiring to Las Vegas and do not plan on owning a car. Am I crazy? (In this respect at least.) I've been looking at the RTC web site and it seems they have the place pretty-well covered. $30 for an unlimited monthly pass seems pretty reasonable. Any LV natives care to comment? Glowing accolades, horror stories, true-life anecdotes, definite don'ts welcome.

[Kalbo]

Main routes are covered. Often those routes have very crowed buses. The other thing to take into consideration is the summer heat and waiting for a bus or walking to the stop in the heat. Ice cream would melt very fast.

[Buzz123]

Not a good idea to come here and not own a car unless you are unable to drive, or can't afford one, or plan to stay at home all the time. Las Vegas, and most all other western cities, are spread out and built for cars. "Las Vegas" is the Las Vegas Valley, not just what lies within the city limits. By my guestamation it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 miles north to south, and 20 miles east to west. It could be a fairly long walk to the bus stop, then a long ride with several transfers to get where you're going. In 110º plus heat, that's no fun, and it takes a very long time to get anywhere. We just don't have a good public transportation system because with most people owning cars it doesn't pay for itself. It may have improved over the years, but it's nothing like you find in smaller in area, but highly congested cities, like Chicago, New York, Boston, etc. We not only don't need it that much, we have a very powerful Teamster's Union and taxi cab lobby that keeps out the competition.

[Buzz123]

BTW: In the seven or eight hot months we have you'll find yourself driving three blocks to the 7/11 store. I sometimes drive one block to the mailbox.

[SelflessGene]

Thanks for the input, folks. I am somewhat familiar with the heat issue since I lived in Albuquerque for about 10 years. I never thought about it much at the time (80's) but I recently went back for a visit and was amazed that I ever was so acclimated to it. Here in Florida, by the Gulf, it's relatively cool. I just looked at the map and was surprized to see that LV is actually north of Albuquerque but, of course, it's the difference between high desert and low desert that we're talking about. More like Las Cruces there I should think. Yeah, that's HOT! Something to think about, definitely.

[macgeek]

I have friends here, who have no car
HOW THEY DO IT I HAVE NO IDEA!!
there about 1 1/2 block to the bus on west flamingo, and then transfer where they need to
they also can get the senior bus to take them specific places.

and now they have a friend with a NICE AIR CONDITIONED CAR
who will drive them places



Jonathan

[eventusstultorummagister]

I am a huge proponent of public transportation. I suggest you try the Vegas buses and make your own determination. I went carless in the S.F. Bay Area and it was very convenient and hospitable. I did the same in Phoenix however, it had many issues, the worst of which being the fact that the bus system is a private contractor (lowest bidder) and the city got what they paid for (inefficiency and unreliability). I would rate LV slightly lower than Phoenix although some of the Vegas routes can be extremely entertaining (think Federico Fellini).

Note: The worst incident I have witnessed on a LV bus was a teenage hoodlum throwing a cup of hot coffee on an elderly woman in a wheelchair, absolutely despicable.

[PinkString]

Consider neighborhoods where you have just about everything you need that is a half hour or less walking in every direction. Also with at least one bus line. Plus buy an electric bike, (you can still pedal normally when you want to, and use the electric assist now and then). Make friends with someone with a car to help when you need to go across town.

It can be done, and I will have to say that some of the places you will take the bus to, and some of the people taking the bus can be kind of scary at times. It does take longer to get to places, I much prefer a car. But if you do not do a whole lot of traveling around the valley, just kind of stay in your own area, and have everything you need close by, you should be ok.

[DavieJ89]

I agree with Buzz and Pink. Buzz in the sense that Las Vegas is a city made for automobiles. Pink in the sense that living without a car in a "sprawling" city can be done

I lived in Orlando (a city with a similar population but 2x as spread out) most of my life without a car and always managed somehow, and their bus system stops at 10 PM and 60% of their routes dont run Sunday! If I could do it there, I certainly could do it here as well. The heat wouldnt be an issue to me, I waited for buses up to 30 mins in 95 degrees and 60+% humidity, not fun, but neither is 112 and 2% humidity

The valley is pretty well covered with the exception of the far west side of town from Centennial Hills all the way down to Mountains Edge, not a lot of public transit there

far North Las Vegas (Aliante) isnt covered too well either. There IS bus service but it seems pretty limited to just the Decatur Route (103), the Simmons Route (119) and the MLK Route (105)

In Centennial Hills, I have two bus route options. The 106 (Rancho) or the Centennial Express (which I'd have to drive 2 miles to Durango and 95 to catch. Neither route runs 24 hours

[PinkString]

We went from having one bus line on Decatur, to having one on Simmons, but that took many years. I used to have to take the 105 bus and get off at Ann/Camino al norte and walk all the way home. Used to wipe me out. Now it's a 15 minute walk down to Simmons.

What is really good about where we live in Aliante, we have almost everything we need with no more than a 30 minute or less walk in all directions. Lots of shopping, banks, restaurants, a few bars, a casino, 2 grocery stores, Costco, a Super Walmart, gas stations, etc. The trail system within Aliante helps cut down on walking time, since we can take shortcuts through them.