RTC Washoe County to launch Virginia Street Rapid extension to University of Nevada, Reno

Beginning March 8, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County will launch the final piece of its Virginia Street Project Bus RAPID Transit Extension Project with the extension of the RAPID Virginia Line service to the University of Nevada, Reno.

Transit riders including University students, faculty, and staff will be more connected to our region than ever before. The new extended service will begin operation March 6, ahead of the official launch. The official launch on March 8 will be livestreamed on RTC’s Facebook page.

The university and the community will benefit from the extended RAPID service and new stations with their convenient locations and quick access to destinations along Virginia Street from campus to downtown Reno, Midtown Reno and Meadowood Mall. The RTC will offer free rides on the RAPID Virginia Line starting March 6 through March 19.

The RAPID Virginia Line is an enhanced transit service. The route has features that allow buses to travel more quickly on Virginia Street and with fewer stops than on regular bus routes, including transit stops approximately every half mile, raised level-boarding platforms to allow passengers to get on and off quickly, dedicated bus lanes in some locations, and technology that allows the bus to communicate with traffic signals to help keep the route on schedule. The electric coaches are quiet and passengers waiting at RAPID stations will be encouraged to pay extra attention when the bus is arriving. RAPID buses are scheduled to have 10-minute headways along Virginia Street.

The RAPID Virginia Line is the highest ridership route in RTC’s transit system. Extending the RAPID Virginia Line to the university is anticipated to continue to increase ridership while providing students, faculty and staff with an enhanced travel option through the Virginia Street corridor in Reno.

As part of the Virginia Street project, there are five new RAPID transit stations near the university on both sides of Virginia Street. The RTC has also made sidewalk improvements and added a roundabout on Virginia Street at the entrance to the university’s West Stadium Parking Complex to improve safety and traffic flow. The project also included the restriping of Virginia Street from two lanes of traffic in each direction to one traffic lane and one shared bus/bicycle lane for both northbound and southbound traffic flow. The Midtown improvements are similar, including three upgraded RAPID stations and a roundabout.

With parking being limited in and around the campus, the extended RAPID service will reduce congestion and ease parking hassles.