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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, November 12, 2007

Vegas.com launches shuttle bus for Strip

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS— Move over, Deuce. There's a new bus in town.

After two years of driving tourists up and down the Las Vegas Strip for $2 each way, the regional transportation authority's double-decker Deuce bus is getting some new competition.

www.Vegas.com, the travel and booking Web site owned by the Greenspun Family of Companies, on Tuesday launched its "Arrow," a high-tech alternative that goes door-to-door to hotel-casinos on the Strip and downtown and costs $2.50 per ride.

The buses feature touch-screen monitors with GPS capabilities that allow passengers to buy show tickets and make restaurant reservations along the way. For $10, passengers can ride the bus and Las Vegas Monorail all day.

www.Vegas.com chief executive Howard Lefkowitz said the service, which runs morning to midnight, is expected to carry 2,000 to 5,000 tourists a day.

In comparison, the Deuce carried about 30,500 a day last year, while the monorail took about 24,500 a day in the third quarter.

"I don't think our expectations are unrealistic," Lefkowitz said. "There's plenty of room for all of us to peacefully coexist. You know, lions and zebras living together."

The company hopes to sell ad revenue, as well as plaster the Vegas.com logo across its bus fleet. www.Vegas.com claims to have 2.7 million visitors to its site every month and has about 500 employees.

Transportation consultant Tom Skancke said with about 40 million visitors annually, there's room for both services to thrive on the Strip.

"The more public sector and private sector transit there is ... the better," said Skancke, president of the Skancke Co. "Las Vegas Boulevard is a busy place."