The Deuce

The Deuce is a transit bus service serving the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Operated by RTC Transit, it began service on October 27, 2005. Originally The Deuce meant four things: (1) buses on the route were double decked; (2) the one-way fare was $2; (3) the route served the two primary gaming areas, the Strip and Downtown; and (4) the first batch of vehicles bought primarily for the service were assigned fleet numbers starting with "2". Although the double decker buses also serve other local routes and the price is no longer $2, the name The Deuce on the Strip is used by RTC to emphasize that the route refers to just the tourist route. In 2022, The Deuce had an anuual ridership of 4,251,482. Background Before the Deuce's debut, the Las Vegas Strip corridor was served by route 301, which ran between Downtown Las Vegas and the former Vacation Village resort. It was also accompanied by its express counterpart, route 302. (When the transit authority was branded as Citizens Area Transit (or CAT), it categorized routes serving the Strip under the 300's.) In March 2010 a new bus rapid transit line connecting the Strip to downtown Las Vegas and Town Square and the South Strip Transfer Terminal became operational. This new 11 mile service was called ACE Gold Line and is similar to the Metropolitan Area Express BRT Line which had been operating since June 30, 2004. Due to a lawsuit by Ace Cab, the line was rebranded as the Gold Line. On November 7, 2010, it was rebranded to be known as the Strip and Downtown Express (SDX). The SDX bus was discontinued due to impacts to revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, RTC planned to shorten The Deuce on the Strip from the current 9.3 miles to just the 5 miles of the Strip from Mandalay Bay Casino to Palace Station on Sahara Avenue. This would have been the first time in 45 years (including Las Vegas Transit System) that the main Strip corridor route had undergone a major route change and be shortened. However, the first week of the service change, the northern portion of the route was reinstated with buses continuing to serve the Downtown Transportation Center, while still ending at Mandalay Bay the hours that the SDX operated. When the SDX was cancelled, buses returned to the Deuce's original route, from South Strip Transit Terminal to Fremont Street.