Service Change May 6, 2023

The RTC Board approved the following transit improvements at their February 23, 2023 Board Meeting. The changes are set to be implemented beginning on May 6, 2023.

These improvements were recommended by the community and the RTC Board as part of the RTC’s Transit Optimization Plan Strategies (TOPS) to improve transit in Washoe County. The TOPS recommendations are outlined on the RTC’s website. The RTC began rolling out the recommended improvements in 2021. This is year two of the five-year improvement plan and additional improvements are planned to continue as staffing and funding allow.

The RTC will implement the following improvements in May 2023:

Improved Northwest Reno Service

Route 11: Extend west to McCarran Boulevard and 7^th Street, Coit Plaza and Walmart in Reno via the Sky Mountain/Sky Valley loop. Maintains 30-minute service. Provides a connection to Route 4, and Somersett-Verdi FlexRIDE. Also extends east to Sparks and Sparks Spanish Springs FlexRIDE. Modifies the time-table.
Route 4: Modify to loop around Walmart. Eliminates library extension. Fill in Sunday service gap. Modifies the time table.
Somersett-Verdi FlexRIDE: Extend FlexRIDE service zone eastward.
Route 3: Discontinue this route and replace the southern half with the Route 11 modification noted above, offering 30-minute frequency instead of the current 60-minute frequency and operates bi-directionally (the same line of route in both directions). The northern portion of this route will be replaced with an expanded Somersett-Verdi FlexRIDE zone.

Modified Sparks Service

Route 11: Extend east to McCarran Boulevard in Sparks and Howard Drive. Provides connection with Sparks-Spanish Springs FlexRIDE and service to Iron Horse Shopping Center and Food Maxx. Maintains 30-minute service. Also extends west to Northwest Reno to provide a connection to Route 4, and the Somersett-Verdi FlexRIDE. Modifies the time-table.
Route 21: Extend to Northern Nevada Medical Center maintaining service along Sparks Boulevard outbound and remains on Lillard Drive for the inbound trip. Modifies the time table.
Route 26: Discontinue this route and replace with expanded Route 11 and expanded Route 21.

Enhanced Senior Services

Washoe Senior Ride Program: Improve CardONE loading process. Each month, participants will automatically receive a subsidy of $60 for taxi trips.
Washoe Lyft or Uber Rides Program: Each month participants will automatically receive a $60 Lyft or Uber voucher.

Other Improvements

Regional Connector: Approve a reciprocal fare agreement with Jump Around Carson (JAC), the transit system in Carson City, to eliminate transfer fees for users connecting between the JAC and RTC transit systems.
All routes: Continuation of timetable adjustments to continue improving travel times and on-time performance.
Ongoing Technology Improvements: Introduce a new transit app called Transit and provide ongoing support and technology updates. The app allows passengers to coordinate and plan trips on both RTC RIDE and RTC FlexRIDE at the same time and is integrated with the Token Transit app to allow passengers to pay for their trip within the app. The Transit app will also allow passengers to view real-time bus locations and see when the next bus will arrive at their stop.

The RTC continually analyzes its transit operations to maximize resources and improve efficiency to enhance and provide quality customer service to riders. This analysis tracks ridership data, gathers input from the transit operators, and input received from passengers and the public.

New Schedules:

RAPID Virginia Line	Route 5	Route 12	Route 18
RAPID Lincoln Line	Route 6	Route 13	Route 21
Route 1	Route 7	Route 14	Route 54
Route 2	Route 9	Route 15	Route 56
Route 4	Route 11	Route 16	Regional Connector