RTC

Where to begin? The fact that the 30 day pass costs $ 65 is amazing to me. It is so expensive. Especially for buses that are always full. People who use the bus system generally can’t afford a car, but can apparently afford $ 65 per month to ride on a bus system that doesn’t even run consistently.
You cannot buy your passes from customer service anymore, but must use their kiosks. These machines are so old that they cannot take cards anymore because the software is not compatible with them (What I was told by customer service). The ATM only dispenses $ 20.00 bills and the kiosks only allow a maximum of $ 10.00 change. So you have to find someone to break a $ 20.00 for you.
If you are at the Victorian Station, there is no longer any customer service there ever. So, if you are like me, and had to pull cash out because the machine can’t take cards and there is no one to break a $ 20 for you, you are already having a bad day.
Then the machine ate my money. There is no maintenance on site and when this happened to me, they had all gone home anyways. So no I have to wait for them to get back to me today because I cannot afford for them to steal $ 60.00 from me. I am so livid I cannot contain it.

The bus is constantly running late. In order to be on time for work I have to plan on getting to work an hour before my scheduled shift. They should really look into better bus routes. I live in Sun Valley and in order to get to Lemmon valley I have to go all the way downtown in order to travel to Lemmon Valley when it is just over the hill.

not bad as it gets the job done. $ 2 a ride or the kiosk inside will get ya a 24hr pass for $ 3.75. now if only they could incorporate gps units at the stops around town to tip ya off w/​eta
nice downtown station the city has pumped good money… or bad money, nonetheless $ and resources have been injected as its clean and efficient
a small waiting area as its obviously not union station but great they have indoor seating as i’d imagine winters can get down right frosty here
i thought the mens room was comical as it appears to be a project in the works or are discouraging you to do #2 as its full disclosure equipped w/​half side doors and no front doors
i recall our local ymca havin full on doors, the fraternity house not so much

Aside from the rude drivers and the occasional jam-​packed buses. it’s not too bad. I mean it is public transportation.

If I didn’t HAVE to take the bus, I’d avoid it at all costs… The majority of the drivers I’ve met have been self entitled assholes. They almost always have a stick up their asses and always have an attitude. One guy even uses his phone at every stop he makes, sometimes sitting at the stop for a long period of unreasonable time to finish his texting.
Twice now the bike rack in the Rapid buses have malfunctioned and my bike even fell this last time. I know I put it in right because of the first time it didn’t work properly. I’m paranoid about it.
Can’t wait until the semester is over so I don’t have to deal with this shit anymore.
I do not recommend taking etc for anything ever

After a full year of riding RTC I’ve cooled on it a bit but I still maintain it’s one of the better transit systems in the U.S. and beats out most of the liberal California cities I’ve been to that are supposed to be all about the public transit.
Downers — A few drivers are real shitheads who seem to take delight in pulling off on people who are running and trying to catch the bus and going aggro on bikers on streets where there’s no bicycle lane. There’s also some really great drivers too but there’s a few bitter old farts that just need to hurry up and retire because they’re pissing it up for everyone else.
Also, a 24 hour pass is 24 hours from when you first use it … but a 7 day pass cuts off before 7 full 24-​hour periods, so you actually only get 6-​and-​some-​change days of use out of it.
The bus shelters could be better designed to actually shield people from the intense summer sun here too. The 4^th Street Station is nice but seriously man what is up with the prison toilets, even bumaphobe San Francisco and LA don’t do anything that crazy. And the craziest thing is, whenever I stop in to take a piss someone is poopin’ up in there with no shame whatsoever. I’ve tried to get a pic of the stalls but someone always squattin’ on one when I go in now. Strangely the terminal in Sparks has normal toilet stalls. I guess it’s because the Record Street shelter is right there.
On the positive side, the reduced fares have held so far and they have a number of free ride days, which you’ll never see California buses do anymore.

I have never actually used this bus system, but as a pedestrian I absolutely hate these guys. I have nearly been hit countless times. The other day I was in the MIDDLE of a cross walk while the bus shot right in front of me. The drive made eye contact & smirked. Jerk. I can’t imagine that this is a safe way to travel, since these drivers blow off the rules of the road. Oh, you’re upset that you’re a bus driver? Keep driving like that & you won’t have to worry, because you’ll be in jail for killing a pedestrian while they were in a cross walk. Totally ridiculous. If you are strolling across a cross walk & see one of these buses coming towards you, you best run, because these guys don’t stop for anyone.

Gotta say that as I’ve been utilizing public transportation for the past five years, the RTC has its ups and its downs.
The ups:
–Several routes available.
–Moderately priced — you’re usually best off getting a 24 hour pass which has been recently reduced to $ 3.75. A much better deal than paying $ 2 for a one way.
–A few brand new buses in the fleet.
–There are a handful of certain days where you can ride for free.
The downs:
–The cost (but I’m only saying that as the last city I lived in had a completely free bus system.)
–The asshole rent-​a-​cops at the bus stations. Worst I’ve ever seen. It’s almost like they intentionally try to start fights with people. But with the «Reno Clientele» being rampant, particularly at Fourth Street Station, a few of ‘em have literally been put in their place for such harassment, a couple even in blood! I was reprimanded one day for stepping two inches outside the crosswalk zone and was told to walk back and cross again. Yeah, right!
–The drivers. Slackest, rudest bunch of people I’ve ever seen — there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve had a pass expire by seconds simply because the driver can’t start his 1:15 route until 1:18.
–The timing, delay, and coverage on certain routes. Mainstream lines like the Connect and the Rapid run several times on the hour, and there’s usually always one you can jump on as the other is leaving or arriving. However, other routes only run a couple of hours in the morning, then stop for several hours, then pick up again in the evening, while still others only run once on the hour. Sometimes, it either takes three different transfers and/​or a lot of crosstown backtracking to get to a destination, where it’s literally easier to walk, skateboard, or bike.
–As other reviews have mentioned, coverage decreases the further you venture from downtown.
Oh well, it is what it is! Better than nothing — and never a dull moment! A few tips in addition to the ones previously mentioned:
–Check the website
for the most current routes and timetables. Pay particular attention to those that have both weekday and weekend schedules.
–Don’t dare pull out your wallet, your smokes, your phone, or anything else out of your pocket at the stations, particularly at Fourth Street Station, because you will be approached. Not in a threatening (usually,) but more just annoying, way. Hell, it’s Reno! Just say no!
–Check all of your options. Determine if you’re better off waiting an hour for a particular route to arrive/​depart, taking multiple transfers, or if it’s quicker to walk or take another route.
–Don’t take any lip from the drivers or rent-​a-​cops.
–Purchase your passes inside the stations, where all types of payment methods are accepted. Purchasing on-​board is cash only, exact change, and holds a higher price.
–Have fun! It’s free entertainment to say the very least!

Everyone that voted five stars for this system must either be delusional, or have confused it with the Las Vegas version.
I have lived in Reno for FOUR miserable years utilizing this piece of shit example of overpriced public transportation.
The buses won’t run after 11:00PM and does not start until 6:00AM. The drivers are assholes that are blind, dumb, and can’t take any backtalk. And the bus stations are packed with spanging juggalos and other homeless youth that’ll take away the piece of quiet you are having with your iPod just to ask for change.
Anyone who works a night shift will be shit out of luck, and might either have to walk FIVE miles UPHILL (like me) or pay for overpriced taxi cabs. I used to live in El Dorado and McCarren, try walking from 4^th and West in Downtown all the way uphill while only making no more than $ 7.75 an hour.
I remembered a whole bunch of bullshit that happened on the bus, on the occasion of almost every day in Reno. Both inside the station and on the streets.
I remembered a homeless guy trying to pick a fight with my friend Josh, yelling at him that he should be a «man». What the fuck are you talking about? Josh is a little kid. Your gonna get your jollies from picking on kids?
Then I remembered cops arresting folks all the time when I was coming back from work on the very last bus headed home. There were these bonehead «gangsters» that were talking about a «hit» they were going to do in the bathroom. Apparently that hit is targeted towards someone else on their way to the station. Saw a bunch of cops rush into that bathroom and lock down half the station 5 minutes later, and my bus is FUCKING LATE because of that.
The drivers are miserable and butthurt that they can’t get free buffet meals at the nearby casinos anymore. If you are running late because some methhead was bothering you on the way to the bus stop, and because of that the bus driver ignores you and forgets about the sign you were running towards… then you’ll be stuck at that same spot next to a crackhead for the next 35 to 45 minutes.
There was this one time that a creepy burly dude was chatting me up late at night here. I was waiting for the last bus and he just comes up and starts chatting with me. He says that I «look strong», and that he needs someone to «be with him», you know, «for safety».
You mean to bonk me in the back of my head with a rock and fuck me in the ass, right?
Don’t light a cigarette at Citicenter. So many spanging little street kid shits are going to pounce on you like vultures. They got nothing better to do because they live in the tent city encampment blocks away at Record Street. I saw 6 fights break out here over stupid shit between kids that call themselves «juggalos».
Also they hired a bunch of dickhead Wackenhut Security to replace the far more professional Securitas folks a few years back. These Wackenhut motherfuckers are a bunch of clowns, I got 86ed for a day for sitting next to the «wrong person» while waiting for a bus. Apparently that guy was starting shit a while back.
And to pay for all of this, they raised the cost of our monthly passes to $ 75-​$ 80? Without improving the service?
Fuck you.
I drive now, and while I definitely hate the drivers in my new home, at least I can reliable get from Point A to Point B.

I’ve used public transportation all over the united states and Reno is one of the worst. Within one week i was stranded several miles from my destination, made late for work cause the bus driver didn’t see me standing at the door, and dropped three blocks from my intended stop cause the driver wasn’t paying attention. When i brought these matters to the attention of the complaint department, all i got was an «I’m Sorry», I will look into the matter. I had to walk 3 MILES cause of an incompetent bus driver!!! And received no compensation for it!!! Gas has gone down in price, Drive, Don’t take the bus!!!

OK check it out… we took the bus from Peppermill to downtown and it was easy-​peasy. We walked across the street to the very convenient Peppermill bus stop, bought our tickets at the machine, and waited like 6 minutes for the bus to arrive. Once we got on, I was pleasantly surprised to enter a new, super clean, air conditioned bus (rapid line). We got downtown in no time. I wish I had looked up the bus schedule a day earlier, b/​c I wasted 10 bucks on a cab when I could’ve taken the bus for $ 2 pretty much door to door. Definitely recommend!
Oh, and I should also say that this was on Sunday, and I was impressed with the route frequency and coverages!

I had planned to rent a car while in Reno but lost my drivers licence at the Las Vegas airport so that was out of the question. Turns out I didn’t need to. Way cheaper than taxi’s ($ 4 for a day pass) and they can get you practically anywhere you want to go, other casinos, even the airport and Carson. Main station is only 2 blocks from main casino strip and Biggest Little sign, near Aces park, bowling stadium and arena, very convenient. Clean and safe, but when walking back to strip you may need to dodge some of Reno’s less fortunate.

I had just checked out of the Peppermill and taken a cab down to the Eldorado ($ 10 + tip) when I realized that I had left a few things in my room at the Peppermill.
Since I didn’t want to spend the money on a cab back to the Peppermill I asked the ladies at the Eldorado front desk what my options were and they directed me to RTC.
The bus stop was right outside the door of the Eldorado. When I got to the stop the bus was already there. The driver was helpful when I asked about the route. The fare was very reasonable at $ 2 and he even gave me a transfer that I used for the return trip (good for 90 minutes and can be used multiple times during that period). This line also has buses running every 10 minutes, so very convenient.
I will definitely keep this form of transportation in mind the next time I go to Reno. Good option if you want to get up and down the strip and save some money.

Cool, downtown bus ride for FREE! Too bad there really isn’t much to look at in Reno though. Very sad some old school spots like the Fitz are gone, sign of the times…

I didn’t rent a car in my time in Reno. And with Reno lacking shows and entertainments, I can’t spend my remaining time continuing to lose my money prematurely.
The RTC’s #1 line’s beginning terminal is like a block away from Reno’s big three casinoes; and that line goes on South Virginian Ave. and to the Meadowland Mall, which is the final stop.
The fare is $ 2.00 and get a transfer for 90 minutes. But I got an all-​day pass for $ 4.00. Just for precaution, I don’t know how long will I be at the mall and that all-​day pass was useful and a better bargain. I purchase the all-​day pass at the machine at the bus station with my credit card.
The bus ride took 30 minutes to the mall and the clean fuel-​emission bus wasn’t even crowded.

There are other buses, but this is about the very cool RTC Sierra Spirit.
On our recent getaway to Reno (on the cheap because that’s how we do it), we were thrilled to find out about this FREE bus that loops you around downtown from the Art Museum up to the University. You can catch it out in front of most of the hotels (see their map on website), and it was a nice little brief reprieve from path of drunkenness and almost penniless we’d started down in the casinos. The bus was clean, there were no weird people and it was simple enough that you didn’t need to study 7 maps to ride it. It basically just does a loop and shows up at each stop every 10 minutes, so you can get off and on and not worry about fares or waiting too long for the next one or winding up lost. Plus, it was a great way to do a quickie tour of downtown Reno while saving the walking for places where you wanted to walk (like the University or the River Walk — both nice).
Oh, and it sounds like it has WiFi, too (sadly, my laptop is broken, so I couldn’t tell you if it’s true).