RTC Future

Well, 30 years ago the Regional Transportation Commission formed.

The goal was to coordinate transportation solutions for the entire valley.

The goal may be the same 30 years on, but some of the challenges, of course, have changed.

Managing those challenges is M.J. Maynard, CEO of the RTC.

She's here now to talk about the agency's future plans for managing transportation.

Welcome.

Thanks for being here.

(M.J. Maynard) Thanks.

I'm happy to be here.

-Now, I'm excited to talk to you because I don't think a lot of people realize what the RTC does.

We know the buses.

We see the buses out there.

But it goes beyond that.

-It sure does.

And it's funny.

When I speak to the committee, many times I ask, "Raise your hand.

How many know of the RTC and what we do?"

And every time it's, "Oh, you're the bus people."

We are, but we are also the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

And in that role, we oversee the entire transportation planning process for Southern Nevada.

We work directly with the jurisdictions.

We are also the roadway funding agency.

We are the traffic manager for the entire region.

And again, people are always surprised to hear that.

And then we also implemented and oversee the bike share program in Downtown Las Vegas.

-So you have a lot on your plate.

And I bring that up because yesterday, well, earlier this week, there was an incident, and I was getting all my updates on the road closures from the RTC's Twitter account.

-First of all, I'm so-- Thanks for following us.

We do our best.

We have great relationships with all of the, you know, it's Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

We co-locate with Department of Public Safety.

And so we have obviously the app, the camera system we tap into.

We, by Tweet, by text, we ensure that as we learn what's happening on the arterials or the freeway system, we want the committee to know so that they can better plan their commute.

-And let's talk about 30 years in Southern Nevada.

You had a big celebration in December.

Also honored some of your bus drivers who have been there from the get go, as well as your mechanics.

Tell me a little bit about that celebration.

-You know, I know for us here in Southern Nevada, we think, 30 years!

Such a long time.

But when you compare the RTC to some of the transit systems on the East Coast.

For example, the subway system in Boston is over 100 years old.

So 30 years, you know, the fundamental role of the RTC is to connect people.

And so for the last 30 years, we've been really privileged to be able to provide folks public transit connections to where they work, where they live, where they play.

But for such a young system, I think people are surprised to learn just what a busy system we are.

Pre-pandemic, so 2019, we were ranked as the 12th busiest bus system in the United States.

We provided over 65 million annual passenger trips.

Coming out of the pandemic, we are now ranked about 14th busiest.

Just last year, we moved more than 41 million passenger rides on our transit system.

We're also-- and I'm really proud of the team-- we are ranked as the most efficient bus system in the United States.

Again, for just a 30-year-old transit system, we try to work really diligently with the assets that we have.

And so we have-- We rank as having the lowest operating cost.

And so we're really proud of it.

But it's been a, it's been a journey.

And there's more to come.

-And let's talk about those incredible bus drivers.

How many do you have on board?

-So we contract out our service.

Our drivers work for NV Keolis.

Combined, there's probably close to 2,000 employees that work diligently to ensure that transit is out on the roads every single day.

-And let's talk about those bus drivers.

Obviously, there's safety, a top priority.

There's-- It was recently mentioning some of them might be getting, you know, death threats or a lot of disgruntled bus riders.

They're frustrated.

How are you keeping your bus drivers safe?

That's so important.

-You know, it's really important, and we actually meet with the drivers, quite frankly, just to hear what it is that they need.

So back in 2016, we actually introduced driver enclosures on board the buses.

I think we're the first transit system in the United States to do that.

So this-- And then during the pandemic, we made sure those driver enclosures were fully enclosed.

So there's a safety barrier, if you will.

But, you know, one incident against, whether it's against an operator or a passenger that takes public transit is one too many.

And so we again, we work closely with the police department.

We work closely with our federal government to identify federal dollars to-- We've invested in a new camera system.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department asks us to have the ability to have a live look in.

So if there's something happening on board a bus, we're able to look on board in realtime.

We-- Oh, I'm sorry.

-I was going to say it's wonderful you are keeping them safe.

We're going to meet a bus driver in just a bit.

You mentioned federal funding.

I want to talk a little bit about the more than $1.6 million that you recently received, or you're getting from Safe Streets and Roads, the grant program.

-Yes.

-How will that money be used here in Southern Nevada?

-So that-- That's sort of a step one of a multi-step process.

We will work closely with all of the jurisdictions, so the cities and the county, to identify almost a planning process to use criteria to identify what safety measures would need to take place to make the roads safer.

So for example, it could be a reengineering design of the roadways.

It might be more pedestrian signalization.

It might be technology, advanced intersection analytics, that will detect folks that are running red lights.

Things of that nature.

Once that criteria is put together, then we can wait for the second round of funding to look for funding to implement those changes.

-And I love that you really are about getting the community's input.

That's so important.

You recently did your On Board Mobility Plan.

This survey, more than 40,000 people responded to that survey.

Talk to us about that.

What did you find out from their responses?

-Well, so we want-- We never want to be the agency that makes decisions behind our desk, right?

And so we work for the public.

It's really-- It's we have to work very diligently to ensure that we're not just posting a flyer, Hey, we're gonna be at the library.

Come talk to us.

So we, we get out to the customers where they are.

We also do, whether it is online surveys, surveys in person, we work with community groups to talk to their folks.

And we heard that Southern Nevadans want more high capacity transit.

They would like to see safety as a greater feature, safety and comfort on board the bus.

And we were just really pleasantly surprised that many southern Nevadans, and these are folks that we not only did a survey with folks that take transit, but also folks that don't take transit.

And the folks that don't take transit were really keen on ensuring that there were services provided for seniors, for the disabled community, and for students.

And so all of those are priority in our on board plan.

-And we did visit your RTC Mobility Training Center.

And I was really impressed that that even exists.

Again, I think another facility that people might not know is around.

Tell us a little bit about that.

I was reading information you even do dog training there, as well.

-We do, we do.

Our job is really to do what we can to enhance the quality of life for southern Nevadans.

And many times it's freedom, being independent, travel independently to where you need to go.

So the Mobility Training Center helps, whether it's students, seniors, or the visually impaired, learn how to take a fixed-route bus.

So we actually have real buses inside the facility.

We also certify paratransit customers at that facility.

So I encourage, we have tours, if anybody wants to come down and take a look.

But it's, it really is about how can folks more independently travel around Southern Nevada.

-Okay, so 30 years.

What are we expecting, let's say, the next 30 years for the RTC?

-Next 30 years, our number one priority is to identify a sustainable funding source that will allow us to continue at least operating what we have, but also to implement some of the 64 projects that have been identified in our long-range On Board Mobility Plan.

And so this is-- I think funding is probably the, the most important, the most important problem, challenge, and opportunity that we face right now.

-And speaking of funding, you are keeping a close eye on what's happening up in Carson City with the legislature.

Tell us about that, because you are facing a deficit.

-We are.

We've had conversations with our RTC Board of Commissioners.

We've had conversations with our Transportation Resource Advisory Committee (TRAC) that's made up of key stakeholders here in Southern Nevada.

So the business committee, Chambers of Commerce, education, healthcare, labor, seniors, veterans, and they've all scrubbed our numbers and they said yes, RTC, you have a fiscal cliff that is approaching.

So we want you to start socializing and looking for opportunities for additional funding.

So as we start to work with the legislators, both the Assembly and the Senate, that's something that we're-- It will be a top priority for us as these conversations begin.

-I will definitely be keeping a close eye on that and check in with you in a few months when it comes to that.

And I need to ask you on a personal level, what are you most proud of when it comes to the RTC?

-I am proud of all of the employees.

And not just RTC employees, but the drivers and mechanics.

Everybody that every day they get up, they care deeply about the community in which they serve, and I couldn't be prouder of all the work that they do behind the scenes and right in front of the customer to make sure that we are serving southern Nevadans in the way they need to be served.

-And it was pretty special to see the video of the ceremony and how proud those bus drivers and mechanics were to go up there and greet you and meet the mayor and just know that they're being, you know, commended for what they do.

-They are amazing.

They're the heartbeat.

They really are the heartbeat of, of what we do.

And we could not do it without them.