MARK WAITE / PVT A sign on the counter at the Pahrump Nugget Hotel check-in counter advises passengers on the cancellation of services, effective Sunday. Advertisement

Regent Holidays will discontinue offering bus transportation from Pahrump to Las Vegas effective Sunday, less than six months after it began.

Jason Chen, the Regent Holidays owner, said a loss of customers for his charter business, because of the hysteria over the swine flu, made him shut down the Pahrump shuttle. Local drivers also indicated there wasn't enough ridership from Pahrump as well, as indicated in a sign on the counter at the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino, one of three stops the shuttle made in Pahrump.

The notice read:

"We here at Regent Holidays regret to inform you that due to the current economic state and low ridership numbers we are forced to suspend the services of the Pahrump Express shuttle indefinitely. The drivers of the Pahrump Express are greatly disappointed that this much needed service had to be stopped. The drivers were hoping for a little more support from the community in which they live."

Chen was scheduled to appear before the Nevada Transportation Authority in April on a request to extend a temporary permit to pick up toll-paying passengers. That 90-day permit was extended through June 1, so Chen could appear before the authority last Friday.

Liz Babcock, applications manager for the Nevada Transportation Authority, said Chen told the authority he wouldn't need to extend the permit after all.

"He's sustaining substantial losses in his regular business and he's also, as was expected, sustaining losses to the Pahrump shuttle, which he expected to do for the first year," Babcock said.

Chen began operating the Pahrump shuttle last June, using a full-length, 55 passenger bus, but shut it down a week later when he didn't have the proper permit.

During a hearing before the Nevada Transportation Authority in November, the board voted 2-1 to allow Chen a temporary permit to resume service based on exigent circumstances. It normally takes eight months to process an application.

Regent Holidays resumed service in December using smaller, 22 passenger mini-buses that took passengers from Pahrump to Las Vegas four times daily.

Chen said he may shut down his charter business as well, business is so bad.

"I have no business here in Las Vegas. Even my traditional customer isn't coming right now because of the swine flu," Chen said. "My major customer is Asian: Japanese, Chinese, Korean."

Asian tourists began canceling trips to Las Vegas a few weeks ago, Chen said. The cancellations now stretch into July, he said. Regent Holidays takes customers to places like the Grand Canyon, Disneyland and Utah besides the Pahrump shuttle.

The expenses of the Pahrump shuttle never covered the ridership, Chen said. It cost $5,000 per month to support the shuttle, he said.

Debbie Dauenhauer, executive director of the Southern Nevada Transit Coalition, said she worked with Regent Holidays in requesting the Nye County Commission to provide matching funds for a bus service throughout Pahrump Valley that would link up with the shuttle to Las Vegas. The commission last March voted not to subsidize the service, which would require a $120,000 match from the county.

"That's very sad. We're very disappointed. We had hoped they would continue to prosper and continue to offer that transportation to the community," Dauenhauer said.

The Southern Nevada Transit Coalition also helped Chen apply for a federal transportation grant, but Chen said that money wouldn't be approved until October.

"Now it's only May, so I have five months to go. We just cannot hang on another five months," Chen said.

Patrice Rollins was waiting for the Friday 12:30 p.m. departure from the Pahrump Nugget Casino to visit her family in Las Vegas. The shuttle left a half-hour late. Rollins, who was traveling with her boyfriend Jason Moses and his son Jason Moses Jr., said she doesn't have a car.

"If they take it away that's going to make it hard, very hard," Rollins said. "Hopefully they change their minds. It's helped a lot of people who don't have vehicles."

Driver Jeff Raub said the drivers were thinking of paying for circulars to be inserted in the Nifty Nickel to promote the bus service, but now it's too late.

"It's a needed service to the community. With everybody losing jobs, not as many people are riding, and there's a lot of people hurting. We have a lot of riders that ride every day. We had one lady who about cried yesterday. She works at the airport. Her name's Kelly. She was very upset. She rides five days a week, both ways," Raub said.

The closing of the latest shuttle continues a pattern of failure to offer a consistent public transportation to Las Vegas, despite the rising number of people commuting to work over the hump.

The Acme bus was a full-sized bus that ran from Pahrump to Las Vegas for two years until it was discontinued in 2001. Tecopa Hot Springs Transportation began service to Las Vegas using smaller shuttle buses similar to Regent Holidays, but that lasted only another year.

Dauenhauer held out some hope the Northern Nevada Transit Coalition may be successful at getting funds to resume a Reno to Las Vegas bus that would swing through Pahrump, similar to the route used by Silver State Transportation five years ago.