The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) launched RTC Bike Share last year and is celebrating the first birthday with major milestones.
With 21 stations and 180 bikes located throughout downtown Las Vegas, RTC Bike Share has been a popular transportation option with more than 9,000 passes sold in its inaugural year of operation. In the first year alone, riders completed over 18,000 rides, spanning nearly 60,000 miles while burning more than 2.3 million calories. As a result, users were able to eliminate over 56,000 lbs. of carbon monoxide from the valley.
One organization took notice of the healthy benefits of bike share. The Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) last month partnered with the RTC for a one-year sponsorship to brand 10 RTC Bike Share bikes that will travel the downtown area until next winter. The specially-branded bikes can be found at any of the 21 stations.
“This program is a prime example of how people can incorporate active transportation into their daily lives to boost their activity levels, lead healthier lives, and contribute to healthier communities,” said Dr. Michael Johnson, Director of Community Health Division for the Southern Nevada Health District. “We are pleased to partner with the RTC on this project and to contribute to a program that provides our residents and visitors the opportunity to bike share as a way to be active and make connections with family and friends while discovering all the great amenities Southern Nevada has to offer.”
To celebrate bike share’s first birthday, the RTC is inviting the community to participate in these activities:
New Station Location Survey
Following a full year of operations, the RTC is evaluating potential new locations for bike share stations within the downtown Las Vegas area. The RTC is seeking community feedback on specific locations including: Plaza Hotel on Carson Avenue, Stratosphere Hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard, Regional Justice Center on Lewis Avenue, El Cortez Hotel on 6th Street and Las Vegas Medical District on Alta Drive and Shadow Lane.
The quick, two-question survey will be available until Nov. 30, 2017, and comments received will be used to assess the locations for new bike share stations. To participate in the survey, visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RTCbikeshare
Gold Bike
A special gold bike will make its first appearance at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop bike share station on Las Vegas Boulevard today and will be made available for bike share riders. Unicorn bikes, or bikes that exist within the system but have a custom design, are gaining popularity in other cities across the country, and the one-year anniversary is a great opportunity to introduce this concept to downtown Las Vegas.
The RTC will offer clues to its location on its social media accounts and encourage bike share users to find the gold bike. Users who post a photo of themselves riding the gold bike with the hashtags #RTCBikeShare #VegasGoesGold will be entered to win prizes such as Vegas Golden Knights tickets, free bike share rides and other giveaways.
$1 Promotion
Starting today, residents and tourists can take advantage of a special one-year anniversary promotion and partake in the birthday celebration by purchasing a 30-day bike share pass for $1 for the first month when selecting the auto-renew option. Users can use promo code: BDAY1 at check out to receive the first month’s discount. All subsequent months will be charged at the regular price of $20 per month. The promotion will run until Sunday, Dec. 31, and is only available on the RTC Bike Share website.
Birthday Party
To finish the celebration in style, the RTC will host a birthday party at the green space inside the Downtown Container Park from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3. The party will include music, entertainment, food and a raffle for a free one-year bike share membership.
The event will conclude with a free community bike ride during the First Friday festivities. This event is free and open to all.