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The Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference & Expo held last week in Las Vegas, Nevada provided an important opportunity to highlight the commencement of two new Rapid Transit Services featuring Wright Group’s StreetCar RTV.
StreetCar RTV (Rapid Transit Vehicle), delivered by one of Europe’s leading innovators in Public Transport – the Wright Group is at the very heart of this significant initiative by the RTC. A total of 50 StreetCar RTVs are now in daily-fare paying operation on two new rapid transit services – the ACE Gold Line and the ACExpress.
At the conference, Sandra Stanko, Director of Transit Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of South Nevada gave an insight into what is a highly significant public transport initiative in North America in recent times.
Both new services have been designed to entice existing commuters away from their cars by introducing levels of service, comfort and convenience hitherto never seen before. The services will also provide fast and efficient transit for the high numbers of tourists who visit Las Vegas and the surrounding area.
Designed, developed and built in Northern Ireland, the introduction of hybrid-powered StreetCar RTV in and around Las Vegas marks an important foothold in the important North American market, where Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) schemes are being increasingly viewed as a practical and cost effective way of encouraging modal shift and improving sustainability in urban environments.
The ACE Gold Line provides a rapid transit connection between downtown Las Vegas, the Convention Centre, the world famous Las Vegas Strip and RTC’s South Strip Transfer Terminal. Launched at the same time and also featuring Wright StreetCar RTVs, the ACExpress provides a new express transit route between Centennial Hills and downtown Las Vegas, as well as the Strip and the University of Nevada. Utilising the high occupancy vehicle lanes along US Route 95, the ACExpress Line cuts journey times from Centennial Hills by half to just 30 minutes, making it ideal for commuters and students alike.
Part of the appeal of the new ACE buses is that they have been purposefully designed not to look like buses according to RTC General Manager Jacob Snow. “This is Las Vegas - we need to have something that looks different than your grandfather’s bus.”
As well as the latest vehicle technology, both new routes incorporate elements which are common to many BRT schemes – such as prepaid ticketing from vending machines at transit stations, level-platform boarding and higher frequency of operation as well as dedicated bus lanes.
“I’d say it’s a train on tyres,” Snow says. “Every aspect of this system is designed to operate like a right rail system, except that we do have rubber tyres, so it has some flexibility.” In addition, the Park and Ride terminal buildings along the routes have air conditioning, heating, restrooms and information displays that, according to Jacob Snow, give “you have a lot more control over your experience”.
A centrepiece worthy of any integrated Rapid Transit system, StreetCar RTV successfully transfers the key attributes and technologies of a light rail service onto the road. 62ft (18.7m) long, the 30 tonne GVW articulated Rapid Transit Vehicle (RTV) has a distinctive light rail-like appearance, with a slanted front windscreen and large, seamless windows giving it a sleek, modern design. With three wide doorways facilitating easy access for all users, StreetCar RTV offers low floor boarding and level floors throughout for efficient passenger flow.
Powered by a state-of-the-art Hybrid Electric Drive System developed in conjunction with the ISE Corporation and Siemens, StreetCar RTV is the first Series Hybrid-configured articulated vehicle in the US, providing a highly fuel-efficient mode of transport with exceptionally low environmental impact.
Speaking at the recent launches of the both the ACExpress and ACE Gold Line routes in Las Vegas, Business Development Director at the Wright Group Jonathan Poynton said “This marks an important milestone for the Wright Group - having worked closely with the RTC of Southern Nevada over several years, everyone associated with this major project is looking forward to settling the vehicles into efficient operation over the next few months.”
He added, “Having fifty vehicles in service on two such high profile Rapid Transit services also gives our company an excellent platform for the further deployment of StreetCar RTV across North America – indeed we are already in discussions with a number of other transport authorities and transit operators on their potential requirements.
Source: Transport Weekly
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