Discount on RTC Bus Passes

By Rodrigo Vazquez

Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada gives students a 60 percent discount on monthly bus transit passes. This helps College of Southern Nevada students save on transportation costs.

Reduced-fare passes, which can be purchased at any of the three College book stores with a valid student I.D., can be purchased for $32.50 per month or $104 per semester.

Currently, more than 460 monthly passes and 140 semester passes have sold at CSN, according to the RTC.

“We understand that our future riders are our college students,” says Tina Quigley, general manager for the RTC. “During our interaction with our college community, they made it known that they wanted a discount pass to either try or to continue to ride transit.” That is why the RTC reached out to CSN and implemented a U-PASS program, which is a nationwide bus-pass program for colleges and universities.

“We are fully aware and support the important role transportation plays in allowing students more opportunity to earn an education by removing potential boundaries that may occur as a result of access to transportation,” Quigley says.

CSN Student Edelia Vazquez is familiar with the cost of public transportation as she spent roughly $780 last year riding the bus. With the cost of books, attending school and other expenses, she is happy she can save money on transit now.

“Not a lot of us have money and we are actually spending a lot of money on the bus,” says Yesica Placencia, a CSN student. “For example, I’m spending $80 a month as opposed to $32.50.” She is going to buy the pass.

Responses about the program have been successful. “Since the launch of the program just this fall, sales from CSN’s Charleston, Henderson and Cheyenne campuses are showing early success of this program as well as the need for it from students and faculty,” Quigley says.

To purchase a pass: get a valid student I.D. from student government, go to the bookstore to buy a pass, and show pass and student I.D. when boarding city busses.