COMMENTARY: Steve Miller
Las Vegas Tribune
March 13, 2002

Prior to the Citizens Area Transit (CAT) bus system, our county suffered with the worst bus service in the US. Today we enjoy a compliment of almost 300 new buses. Ten years ago, Las Vegans suffered with only 35 buses and most of the fleet were at least 20 years old at the time.

In 1989, I was serving on the Clark County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC). One of my assignments was to supervise a financial audit of the city's old transit bus franchisee.

The audit discovered that the old bus system franchisee was keeping a very loose set of books; had removed the meters from fare boxes; was exchanging new tires and engines from city buses with worn out units from a tour bus company; was fueling tour buses with fuel intended for transit buses, and was being accused of massive profit skimming by longtime employees.

Following the release of my audit, a blaring headline in the Las Vegas Sun read "Skim cloud darkens Las Vegas Transit System."

As soon as the skimming allegation became front-page news, the owners of the old transit company filed a libel suit against me claiming I had provided the press with false information.

Their lawsuit unsuccessfully attempted to force me to recuse myself from participating in discussions or actions affecting the company's franchise.

I refused to yield to their threats and proceeded full steam ahead to have their franchise revoked as soon as possible.

The next year, in 1990, the City Council unceremoniously revoked the franchise of the Las Vegas Transit System, Inc. after forty-nine years. With only one year remaining until their golden anniversary, they got booted. Unfortunately, there was no new system to immediately take its place and therefore they remained operating on a temporary basis for the next several years.

Then in 1991, the company acquired a friend in a very high position; our city's newly elected mayor, Jan Jones.

With me out of office and off of the RTC and with Jones sitting in my place as a Transportation Commissioner, the old bus company began to regain its political strength. The President of the company served on Jones' election committee and she was very loyal to him.

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury had assisted in conducting the audit and knew that the old company had no financial accountability. The two powerful politicians locked horns.

Woodbury and I had worked together to find a company to operate the new CAT system. Jones wanted to split the system and allow her crony to cherry pick the Strip route leaving the new CAT to prowl the less profitable local routes with tax support.

With Jones at the helm, it looked as if the scheme would fall together. The taxpayers would shoulder the burden for the losing routes while Jones' friend would continue to make a fortune serving only the lucrative Strip route.

The excuse given by Jones' friend: that federal law prohibited a publicly funded company from competing with a private enterprise. He claimed to operate a private company. Then something unexpected happened.

Russ Driver and Chris Christoff put together a group called Citizens for Better Transportation. The group's sole purpose was to put the old company out of business so that a financially accountable company could provide transit service to the Las Vegas Valley.

One of the group's members was a disabled man named David Beamis. Mr. Beamis lived in Henderson and traveled by bus to the meetings in Las Vegas. One day while riding on one of the old company's dilapidated buses, David's wheelchair came lose and he sustained serious injuries.

David sued the Las Vegas Transit company. The company bitterly defended themselves by calling David names and trying to degrade him. David unexpectedly accepted an out of court settlement of $6,000 that did not cover his pain or injuries. I was very disappointed when I heard of David's low-ball settlement -- until I learned the reason why David acquiesced.

David Beamis is a very selfless man. Even though he would not be able to cover his medical bills totaling over $20,000 with the company's heartless offer, he had a terrific trick up his sleeve for Jones and her friend.

Beamis had signed a confidentiality agreement with the company that he was willing to break. David brought a copy of his secret settlement agreement to me. The agreement stated that in exchange for the measly $6,000, David would give up his right to ever ride on the company's buses again. David and the President of the old bus company had amazingly signed the contract!

By this time it looked as though, with Jones help, the old company had a lock on the Strip route because of the Federal anti-competition law . David filed a civil rights complaint with the Federal Transit Administration in Washington, DC. Within days a letter arrived at David's home. It was from the Director of the FTA.

The FTA Director stated that he was opening an investigation of the Las Vegas Transit System, and that since the company was Federally funded, they had seriously violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Las Vegas Transit was "Federally funded?" This was the first documented proof we had that the old company was Federally funded and not entitled to cherry pick the Strip.

The FTA Director stated that Las Vegas Transit had been the recipient of tax funded support because the federal government had given grants to the City of Las Vegas to purchase new buses on several occasions that were leased to the company. Bingo!

David and I immediately paid a visit to the attorneys for the Clark County Regional Transportation Commission and presented them with the FTA Director's letter. His letter shot down Jones' argument that the company was protected on the Strip from federally funded competition. The rest is history.

Jones walked out of the next three RTC meetings when Las Vegas Transit items appeared on the agenda. She apparently did not want to participate in any hearing that pertained to the buyout and shut down of her friend’s business.

The Las Vegas Transit System closed its doors forever, however they continued their lawsuit against me and even threatened to sue Commissioner Woodbury for statements he made on my radio program about their demise. The case never went to court.

Now, Clark County is enjoying one of the best public transit systems in America though it still can be improved. David Beamis received the Key to the City on the day of the inauguration of the CAT system.

Steve Miller is a former Las Vegas City Councilman. In 1991, the readers of the Review Journal voted him the "Most Effective Public Official" in Southern Nevada.