Editing RTC Transit (section)

=== RTC Transit era (present) ===
[[File:RTC Transit LOGO.PNG|thumb|125px|left|Current logo]]
In late 2007, the RTC began to rebrand the Citizens Area Transit system as '''RTC Transit'''.  The [[New Flyer Industries|New Flyer]] 900 series coaches were the last to be purchased with the CAT logo, and the first to be purchased with the RTC logo. The CAT bus stop signs around the city were replaced by "Transit Stop" signs using the RTC logo. All rider alerts, bus announcements, bus books, and new [[North American Bus Industries|NABI]] Hybrid, [[North American Bus Industries|NABI]] Diesel and [[New Flyer Industries|New Flyer]] [[Compressed natural gas|CNG]] buses no longer use the CAT logo.

The RTC received 50 [[North American Bus Industries|NABI]] vehicles and the final shipment of 40 42&nbsp;ft "Deuce" double-deck buses in summer 2008. The RTC also began to receive 45 [[New Flyer Industries|New Flyer]] [[Compressed natural gas|CNG]] vehicles in late fall 2008. The rebranding was completed on January 1, 2009 when RTC vehicles started featuring "RTC TRANSIT" along with the normal route destination headers.  All remaining CAT buses are in the process of retirement or being refurbished to the new RTC gold/blue livery.

In 2007, nine RTC executives received pay raises which averaged 22%. The raises were based on the findings of a consultant, Peter Ronza, who was once employed by Clark County.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

The RTC faced serious legal issues in 2008 after several car accidents involving bus shelters occurred. The public demanded that the RTC improve the safety of its shelters, while the RTC stated that there was only so much they could do. The RTC created a Bus Shelter Advisory Committee, and made studies concerning bus stop safety.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}
[[File:BRT Las Vegas 08 2010 289.jpg|thumb|RTC express [[bus rapid transit|BRT]] line in Las Vegas]]
In 2009, the RTC raised bus fares despite public outcry. In 2009 and 2010, proposed bus fares increased from 62% for monthly passes to 100% for full day fare passes. The RTC argued that the fare hikes were due to higher fuel costs, however the largest increase in transit expenditures came from a tripling in capital outlays, rising from $54.5 million in 2007 to $162.9 million in 2009. The price for thirty-day bus passes increased 225% from 1999 to 2010. Ridership was at an all-time high in 2008 due to the very high gas prices, with many people deciding to try transit instead. Ridership numbers declined in 2009 when fuel prices dropped and riders either returned to their own vehicles or began carpooling with co-workers and family.

In January 2010, RTC introduced the '''ACE''' branding for its bus rapid transit offerings. The first ACE route was the ACE Gold Line, connecting downtown Las Vegas, the [[Las Vegas Convention Center]], the Strip, and the South Strip Transfer Terminal. In addition, ACExpress was introduced as branding for its express bus service, with an express bus line connecting the Centennial Hills neighborhood northwest of the city with downtown Las Vegas, the Center Strip, and [[UNLV]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lvrj.com/special_sections/guide_to_lasvegas/50802252.html |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal |title=RTC to launch new ACE rapid transit services in January |date=July 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007022024/http://www.lvrj.com/special_sections/guide_to_lasvegas/50802252.html |archive-date=October 7, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In May 2010, RTC rebranded its lines away from the "ACE" name due to a lawsuit from Ace Cab, a local Las Vegas taxi operator; ACE Gold became the Strip and Downtown Express (SDX); ACExpress became Centennial Express (CX), and ACE Green became the Boulder Highway Express (BHX)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/17/lawsuit-prompts-rtc-drop-ace-name-bus-lines/ |newspaper=Las Vegas Sun |title=Lawsuit prompts RTC to drop 'ACE' name from bus lines |author=Green, Steve |date=August 17, 2010}}</ref>

The [[Institute for Transportation and Development Policy]] (ITDP), under its [[BRT Standard]], has classified the Strip and Downtown Express as a "Basic BRT" corridor.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.itdp.org/library/standards-and-guides/the-bus-rapid-transit-standard/best-practices-2013/ | title = BRT Rankings | date = 2020 | publisher = [[Institute for Transportation and Development Policy]] | access-date = April 26, 2020 }}</ref> The SDX was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and did not return.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-18 |title=RTC to suspend Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Express bus route |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/traffic/rtc-to-suspend-las-vegas-strip-and-downtown-express-bus-route-1985079/ |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>