Vegas, baby!
By Shawn Wells
Recently, I travelled to Las Vegas, Nevada. Now, for anyone who has never taken the trip to Sin City, one thing you need to know is it's a super expensive trip to take. Sure, the airfare can be cheap, but that's how they get you. So, in an effort to penny pinch where I can I decided that I would go as inexpensive with my in town commuting as possible. No rental car, cabs or Uber for this guy. I figured, almost everywhere I wanted to go was within walking distance. Especially since the hotel I was staying in was somewhat centrally located. It worked out well... Mostly.
When planning my trip, I realized that there were a couple of sights that I wanted to see that weren't in the nice, compact walking distance of most of the other stuff on the strip. Again, if you've never been there, the strip is one straight stretch of road about 6 miles long (at least the "popular" stuff is in this distance... Las Vegas Blvd itself carries on through the rest of the city.) It's bookended by that iconic Welcome sign in the South and the 103 storey Stratosphere Tower in the North, with a high concentration of casinos and hotels in between. The famous part you see in TV and movies... The pyramid of the Luxor, faux skyline of New York, New York, the replica Eiffel Tower of Paris, the fountains of the Bellagio, the fireball shooting lake and pirate ships of the Mirage and Treasure Island, and so on. When wandering along the strip, you can weave your way in and out of all the different buildings, taking in the sights of all the shops and casinos. The problem is, all that stuff makes up about 3/4 of the strip between the Welcome sign and the Wynn. After that, there's a dead zone until you get north to Circus Circus and finally the Stratosphere. Nothing (at the moment) to see except "planned" buildings. A long, boring walk.
This is how I came to experience "The Deuce". Unlike all the shuttle and tourist sightseeing busses, this one is actually run by the local transit authority. It's a double-decker that runs 24 hours a day, whose sole purpose is driving up and down the Las Vegas strip. I'd like to say that my only reason I took this route was to save money, but deep down there was the nerdy thrill I received from experiencing a bus in a city other than my own. See how the "other half live" so to speak. And I must say, I was fascinated by the differences.
The first thing that I noticed was the payment part of the bus. It was much fancier than payment in my city because in Vegas, they have swipe cards that you buy from vending machines at the stops and then swipe them as you get on. My bus has an old school fare box that you drop your coins into. So, I purchased myself a 24 hour pass (with the help of the helpful transit worker stationed at the stop, handing out maps) and hopped on board the Deuce, swiped my pass and because this was my first ever time on a double-decker, I headed right upstairs. I was truly mesmerized by the bus as I made my climb. Video screens displaying the upcoming stops, as well as what touristy stuff could be found there, accompanied by recorded announcements telling you the same information. Talking busses are nothing new to me since my city has converted to their "Smartbus" technology, but it was the additional information this bus voice provided that was interesting to me. Telling me which connections could be made at the next stop or which hotels were accessable, for example. All my bus at home does is list the closest street and avenue, or the name of the transit center I'm pulling into. I was giddy... This bus was detailed in it's information.
Over the next 24 hours, I took several rides. Mostly on the Deuce, but on a couple other busses as well. I took in all that these busses had to offer, from their plastic seats (unlike our cloth covered ones) to the relaxed Nevada open container liquor laws (unlike our passengers who just sneak it when I'm not looking... I've found the empties...) and even just the style differences of the bus themselves. The way the "priority seating" differs, or the way the seats are laid out. But it was observing the drivers that really impressed me.
This is the point that it occured to me, I would be so overwhelmed driving the Deuce. I have high respect for these operators. You see, the city I live in isn't a HUGE tourist destination. Sure, we have a few tourist draws here, but it's nothing like Vegas for worldwide recognition. When I started listening to the drivers, I realized that I don't know nearly as much about my city that some of these Deuce drivers knew about theirs. The knowledge these people have to know about their route... Stores, restaurants, casinos, hotels, shows, clubs, museums.... The list goes on. Too often when I'm working, I find myself going "oh there's a concert downtown today?" or "huh... I didn't know there was a grocery store there." And not just the strip itself... North of the Stratosphere you get into the area less travelled in Las Vegas. A bit of a seedier/sketchier part of town. The downtown area where all the pawn shops and wedding chapels start making appearances. And of course Fremont Street, the original strip, now a party headquarters.
Beyond Fremont, I went to the Mob Museum and from there was going to visit "The Boneyard" a museum of old neon signs from famous casinos of the past. And when we told the people who worked there that we were looking to be pointed in the right direction to get there and told them we were willing to walk, we received the advice of "I've lived here all my life and I wouldn't walk through that neighborhood", we decided to hop a different bus. And this time I watched the passengers. Got to watch the bus from a different perspective... And see different walks of life that aren't in my city. I also got to see different rules that are enforced on their busses. For example, in my city, standing behind the yellow line is just a suggestion. In Vegas, it's a rule. The driver got really upset when someone tried to break that rule. Same with exiting out the front door. They actually redirect people to the back. With our busses you just hope the common courtesy will shine through, but it often doesn't. And only on a couple occasions have I "suggested" someone use the back.
It isn't just the knowledge that these drivers have either. It's that this city is also well known... There are songs written about it, movies and TV shows set here, world famous shows. "Friends" popularized "Vegas, baby!" as part of our pop culture. This is a place people from all over the world come. So now, you aren't just giving directions to places, you also have to try to understand them all too. A few days ago I had a woman on my bus with an incredibly thick Chinese accent. She was asking if I drove past a certain doctor's office. I still don't know what the actual name was because I had that much trouble understanding her. But I told her "I pass several offices but unfortunately I don't know if it's the one you want. I don't memorize every store I pass." And that is true... Even if I had been able to interpret what she said, there's still a good chance I wouldn't know. I see this as a struggle that any driver in a tourist heavy city, not just Vegas, would deal with constantly. Translating AND knowing. There's been times with my own job where an international sporting event has happened and you see more out of towners than usual, but it's only for short periods. It isn't 365 days a year. My hat is definitely off to these drivers in tourist destinations. I would struggle to do the extra things involved with their jobs.
One thing I can say is that I definitely saw just how proudly Canadian I was when I was there. I was the only one who thanked the driver when I got off.
From in front of the yellow line, that's how I see it.
