MARK WAITE / PVTRon Fiala talks on his cell phone after stepping off the Pahrump Express bus in front of the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino Monday afternoon. Advertisement

Electrical worker Ron Fiala was one of the first passengers to take the new Pahrump Express bus to Las Vegas, stepping off in front of the Pahrump Nugget Casino about 6 p.m. Monday.

Fiala, who rents a studio apartment in Las Vegas and has a home in Pahrump, said he'd take the bus even if gas was a dollar cheaper.

"It's beautiful -- seats recline, you got four monitor TVs, the air-conditioner's perfect, they got shade you can pull down for the sun -- ten bucks, man? It's beautiful," Fiala said.

Pahrump resident Robert Gutierrez said he was visiting Las Vegas with his wife, who came back to Pahrump by herself Saturday.

Robert decided to stay in Las Vegas a couple more days knowing he could take the bus home. Gutierrez said it will come in handy if he has to run into Las Vegas on business, then his wife can use their one car for work.

"Hopefully those people will get noticed and they'll be able to keep going. I was thinking a suggestion is people, at least once a month, take a trip to go down there just to use it. It keeps them in business because you need it. It's definitely convenient," Gutierrez said.

Regent Holidays, a motor coach company from Las Vegas that typically uses the 55-passenger buses to haul vacationers to the Grand Canyon or Death Valley National Park, started the first Pahrump-Las Vegas bus service in almost seven years last Friday.

Marketing Manager Deborah Poulter, a Pahrump resident, broached the idea once before to company owner Jason Chen.

"When the fuel prices started going up, I walked up to him and had a meeting with him and said now is the time to start it, help these people," Poulter said.

She's now the general manager of Pahrump Express.

The company is offering four departures per day.

The first one leaves the Pahrump Nugget Casino at 3:30 a.m., followed by departures at 6:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The bus makes two other stops in Pahrump, leaving the Mountain View Casino 15 minutes later and Terrible's Lakeside Casino 20 minutes after that, before departing for Las Vegas.

The buses then arrive at the Silverton Casino on I-15 and Blue Diamond Road an hour to an hour and 10 minutes later, though Poulter said they could be delayed by Las Vegas traffic, road construction, even wild fires in the Spring Mountains.

From the Silverton, the buses travel up the Strip to the Tropicana, the Sahara, and park near the Downtown Transportation Center for a layover before returning back to Pahrump.

The buses are ending up at the California Hotel in downtown Vegas, pending approval to use the Transportation Center, Poulter said.

Buses return from Vegas at 6:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 3 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. After stopping at the Sahara and Tropicana resorts, buses leave for Pahrump from the Silverton 45 minutes after departing downtown.

The fare is $10 one-way or $18 round trip.

Poulter's husband, driver Alan Poulter, said he took five passengers into McCarran International Airport Monday. Pahrump Express will pick up a passenger at the airport for an additional $10.

Deborah Poulter said that's because the bus company is charged $10 when they pull into the airport terminal, a short detour from the Tropicana Resort.

By comparison, Pahrump Valley Taxi charges $120 one-way for an airport ride.

"If it really starts going, what we're thinking of doing is bringing in a different bus twice a month for people who like to go shopping," Poulter said. "Where they get off at the Tropicana or the Sahara, they can take a CAT bus or take a taxi."

The Pahrump Nugget stop is for people who live on the north side of town, the Mountain View for the west side and Terrible's Lakeside is convenient for people living on the south end, she said.

Several individuals came around the bus to inquire when it was parked in front of the Pahrump Nugget.

Ian Pollock, a supervisor with Regent Holidays, said casinos will announce the departures of the bus on the public address system, helping get the word out there is now a bus going to Las Vegas.

"We looked at every possible angle before we decided to come in and do it. We looked at the price of gas, we looked at the amount of people who work in Vegas who live here, and I think this would be a great opportunity for people who live here to save some money," Pollock said.

The Nevada Department of Transportation estimated in 2006 an average of 10,100 vehicles per day passed a traffic counter at the Clark County line, the latest traffic count available. That was almost double the traffic load in 1998.

Acme Bus used to operate six departures from Pahrump to Las Vegas before it shut down in December 2000 after a two-year run.

Acme Bus General Manager John Del Mare blamed mounting losses and inaction by the Pahrump Town Board in applying for a $120,000 government subsidy during an interview at the time with the Pahrump Valley View.

Acme charged $7 one-way and $11 round trip. Del Mare said his company put $500,000 into the bus service but ridership never got to where it was anticipated.

Poulter said they aren't operating with subsidies, but if business really picks up, they may consider it. Pollock said he'd like to see at least 15 to 20 passengers per trip.

Otherwise the Pahrump Senior Center operates a thrice-weekly van to Las Vegas for medical appointments. Many Nevada Test Site workers take the Coach USA bus to work, parking next to the Pahrump town offices.

Regent Holidays started Pahrump Express without much advertising, Pollock said. "These times that we got right now are not set in stone. If people want these times to change to suit them, we can sure do that," Pollock said.

Pahrump Express can be reached at 1-702-257-1303 or 1-800-518-5225.