USA Bus Lines

WHY do the busses in las vegas park at bus stops for extended periods of time?!?

every morning when i go to work a bus is parked at the bus stop on flamingo and durango. it blocks the whole right lane. the bus is not in service at this time... it's just parked there, engine still running. it could be there for up 30 minutes since i usually leave my house at 6am and am sometimes late up to 30 minutes and the bus is still there. anyone know?

Public Comments

1. THERE ARE TWO BASIC REASONS WHY BUSES ARE PARKED AT BUS STOPS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME...ONE IS TO CATCH UP TO SCHEDULE...BUSES ARE ACTUALLY ON A SCHEDULE IN LAS VEGAS....AND BECAUSE OF GPS TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS CAN TELL IF ANY GIVEN BUS IS ANYWHERE CLOSE TO SCHEDULE....WHEN THEY ARE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE THEY ARE REQUIRED TO WAIT AT A STOP UNTIL THEY ARE BACK ON TIME...THE SECOND REASON IS BECAUSE BUS OPERATORS CHANGE SHIFTS ON THE ROAD..IN OTHER WORDS A NEW DRIVER WILL TAKE OVER AT A DESIGNATED STOP....THUS THE BUS STOPS AND MUST WAIT FOR THE NEXT DRIVER TO SHOW UP.....THE LAST POSSIBILITY IS THAT THE BUS IS WAITING TO BEGIN ITS SCHEDULED RUNS
2. Flamingo/Durango is the terminus for one of the CAT bus routes. This means that the buses wait there until their appointed time to begin their route. When one bus leaves, another usually takes its place in the queue shortly thereafter to wait until it is scheduled to run. This is why it seems like a bus is "always there". This is a frequent occurrence in the area around where bus routes begin and end. The buses have to stage somewhere as they await their appointed time to begin driving the schedule. Also, if a bus is running ahead of schedule, they will often simply wait at a major bus stop until some time passes. For instance, if the bus is not scheduled to reach Flamingo/Decatur until 7:15am, and the bus arrives at Flamingo/Dacatur at 7:09am. The bust will wait at the intersection for 6 minutes in order to get back on schedule. Since the schedules are published on the CAT website and in directories, people expect them at certain intersections at certain times, and if the bus arrives early, the people using the schedules will miss the bus and have to wait for the next bus (which could be anywhere from 1/2 hour to a full hour). Besides Desert Breeze Park ... on the west side, another common staging area Sahara and Grand Canyon (next to the library). You will almost always find a bus sitting idle in that area. They have started putting cutouts in local roads so that the buses do not block lanes when they are sitting idle, but it will be a long time until they get around to putting them in every road. Until then, buses will continue to block the right lane at the beginning and end of a particular line. I know it is a pain and inconvenience, but I hope this helps to explain it. Sorry I can't actually solve the problem ;-)
3. Perhaps the bus drive is on a well earned break. He cannot just leave the bus so he sits there, motor running, and relaxes.