Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
RTC outlines transit ridership growth, BRT projects and road work; residents ask about Hidden Valley service and hydrogen buses
Summary
RTC officials reported 5.5 million transit rides last year, continued BRT expansion, microtransit pilots and regional roadway projects; speakers raised questions about Hidden Valley service, hydrogen-bus costs and funding sources.
The Regional Transportation Commission provided a multi-part update on transit, planning and road-construction projects affecting the Truckee Meadows region.
Paul Nelson, government affairs officer at RTC, said the region’s fixed-route system delivered about 5.5 million rides in the last 12 months, with 60% of those trips for work. Nelson said bus-rapid-transit (BRT) service on Virginia Street carried nearly 1 million riders last year and the Lincoln BRT line had about 450,000 rides.
“We’ve had 30 straight months of ridership growth,” Nelson said, and described fleet diversification that includes diesel‑electric hybrids, battery-electric buses and two hydrogen fuel-cell buses in service with six more expected. Nelson and RTC staff said a typical bus—whether hybrid, electric or hydrogen—costs roughly $1 million to procure; they also said hydrogen fuel is currently delivered from out of state and noted a per‑kilogram cost discussed in a recent staff briefing.
RTC presented ongoing and near-term projects: Meadowood Mall Circle rehabilitation and preventive pavement maintenance; safety and lane improvements at the Veterans Parkway/Geiger Grade area and Exit 29 on South Virginia Street; Virginia BRT station upgrades and a bus‑only lane between Peckham Lane and Thunder; Pembroke Drive capacity work planned for 2026; and a long‑range Geiger Grade realignment targeted later in the decade dependent on funding.
Nelson described regional planning items including a 2050 regional transportation plan expected for board adoption Feb. 21, a neighborhood network/active-transportation program that will solicit local input, and a regional CAD program for first‑responder dispatch scheduled for completion this fall.
On revenue, RTC said roughly 42% of its funding comes from local fuel tax, 18% from sales tax and the remainder from grants and other sources; transit operations represent about 30% of RTC’s expenditures. Nelson said RTC is pursuing federal discretionary grants for major projects and noted ongoing state and local funding discussions.
Residents asked whether Hidden Valley has transit service; RTC staff confirmed there is no fixed-route service to Hidden Valley and said microtransit/flex-route pilots have been added in areas with sparse demand and could be considered for other neighborhoods. Citizens also asked for comparative operating-cost data on hydrogen buses versus diesel; RTC staff offered to follow up with cost comparisons and fuel‑cost details.
Ending: RTC urged residents to engage in neighborhood planning sessions and said the 2050 plan and project‑specific outreach will include public meetings; staff offered to provide written summaries and contact points for neighborhood transit and access programs.
