NV: RTC warns of funding shortfall, deep cutbacks in bus routes

Southern Nevada's transit agency is warning of deep service cuts that could end bus programs for veterans and seniors, and sharply reduce paratransit rides — part of a looming fiscal crisis that may wipe out nearly 40% of bus routes across the region.

Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada CEO M.J. Maynard-Carey told state lawmakers this week that rising labor costs, inflation, last year's decline in sales tax collections and rideshare competition on the Las Vegas Strip are pushing the agency toward a financial cliff that could force service reductions as soon as 2028.

The RTC, which relies heavily on sales tax revenue, passenger fares and grants, is searching for new funding sources before next year's legislative session.

Speaking to the Nevada Legislature's Joint Interim Standing Committee on Growth and Infrastructure, RTC Deputy CEO Angela Castro said the additional dollars could come from the state, a ballot question or some other solution.

"I remain committed to coming back to all of you as soon as I can figure out and determine with the community, with our board, what are some of the solutions and ... identify that a little bit better," she said.

Without a fix, the agency projects weekly ridership could fall nearly 30% — leaving more than half a million people without access to regular public transit. Assemblymember Howard Watts III, D- Las Vegas, who chairs the interim committee, emphasized that Las Vegas was already lagging behind other major metropolitan areas in its transit services. It's one of the largest metros in the country with only bus transit, Watts said.

"The community wants a much more robust transit and transportation system, but we have also seen that when there are measures brought before the public to fund those improvements, it is difficult," Watts said.

He added that it was important for officials to "step up and make some of these decisions."

Maynard-Carey said the RTC had potentially made a "generational mistake" by not investing in high-capacity transit such as light rail earlier. A decade ago, the system would cost $130 million for each mile, she said. Now, Maynard-Carey said it's $230 million per mile.

"It's very tough to go out and talk to folks about a funding deficit when it's just maintaining the current level of transit service that we have, rather than something that I think folks want," she added.

The RTC, Maynard-Carey said, has been warning about its transit funding shortfall since 2017, but the issue has repeatedly been kicked down the road.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the RTC started cutting transit services but was saved by $303 million in federal stimulus funds, Maynard-Carey said. That funding wasn't intended to last forever.

Before the 2023 legislative session, Castro said, the agency prioritized new state funding for transit. But lawmakers and private industry pivoted to extending the Fuel Revenue Indexing program — a 2016 voter-approved gas tax adjustment for inflation that has tripled combined annual transportation capital budgets to $300 million for Clark County and cities including Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas.

The RTC suddenly faced a dilemma: The fuel indexing program faced a Dec. 31, 2026, sunset without action. Additionally, the original ballot question specified that the indexing could not support transit.

Castro said the RTC faced a stark choice and backed indexing to preserve transportation improvements like roads, bridges, signals, interchanges, sidewalks and bike lanes.

The push to extend the indexing program fizzled in the 2023 Legislature. Last year, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 530, which allowed indexing to be extended with approval of the Clark County Commission, bypassing voters. On Nov. 18, 2025, commissioners extended the program through 2036, when voters would be able to weigh in again.

With Southern Nevada transportation improvements secured for a decade, the RTC is now refocused on transit.

"We are committed to spending the next year in the community explaining to members of our community what our challenges are from a transit perspective and what the impacts will be, prior to us having to make any cuts in 2028," Castro told the committee.

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