202 bus questions

The Gold Coast shuttle now going to the Forum Shoppes will be more inconvenient and confusing. We just want to get to the strip quickly. Is the 202 eastbound stop in front of the Palms or more toward the Gold Coast?

And coming back westbound, is there a 202 stop right in front of the Gold Coast so we don't have to navigate Flamingo from in front of the Rio?

Thanks!

 

The 202 Eastbound stops almost in front of the Palms, but just a little bit east. It's only maybe a 2-3 minute walk from their front entrance.

The 202 Westbound stops multiple places in this area, including exactly in front of the Gold Coast. Don't be tempted to get off when it reaches the Rio. Stay on and the very next stop is the Gold Coast.

May I suggest visiting maps.google.com and putting in "Palms Casino, Las Vegas"-- doing this will show you the bus stops (little blue icons with a bus) on both sides of the street. A picture is worth a thousands words.

The 202 is considered a residential route. One-way trip is $2. A two hour pass is $3. A 24 hour pass is $5. Passes are good on all RTC bus routes.

You could also consider walking. Caesars Palace to the Rio is doable if you are healthy in about 20-25 minutes. There's also a free shuttle that stops at The Rio, in addition to a separate Gold Coast shuttle.

Have fun.

 

I think we'll take the bus to save our legs for the strip-LOL!

Thanks for your help!

 

Very fine post. I think I'll steal it.
Let me add that if you liked the old Coast drop off, that CET free shuttle out of the Rio will go almost to the same spot, but closer to the strip. Or it will go to Harrah's for a different strip location.
And technically, a residential 24 hour pass is only good on the residential buses unless you have a local ID. Practically, the drivers don't seem to check for local ID.
Let me just add a couple of thoughts about the 202.
It won't be crowded like the Deuce.
It goes all up Flamingo so you can get close to Ellis Island. It has a very convenient stop at Tuscany. You can take it to Silver Sevens. There are a number of fine restaurants along Flamingo which many people skip because they don't have a car or want to pay cab fare. These all become accessible. I made a partial list of eateries a couple years ago. Some may be closed, but it will give you the idea and if you target one, you can call and see if it is still open.

Weiner Schnitzel
Panda Express
Zoba's Mexican Grill
Chill n yogurt
REd Lobster
Buffet Asian
McDonald's classic
Olive Garden
Blueberry Hill Dine
Long John Silver
Raising Cane
jack in the Box
Mint india Bistro (at Swenson)
Buca di Beppo
Ghandi
Morton Steak House
Bahama Breeze
Hamap of Japan
Fogo de Chao
McCormic and Shmick (across from Tuscany)
Lawry's Prime Rib
Tuscany Cantina

The bus will drop folks across from Sam's Town on Boulder, or if you want Eastside Cannery, the bus will go down Boulder and turn into the road )Harmon I think) that goes along the Eastside Cannery parking lot. There the drivers will take a break.
So, If you are at the Eastside Cannery late at night, you can see the bus from the lobby and then have time to walk over and know that there will be someone there. I actually think this stop is safe even late at night, but why take a chance. Some of the other stops get a little sketchy very late at night along Flamingo when heading home to the Gold Coast, but if your roaming adventures end up at Eastside Cannery, no worries. Also, bus service slows so there are longer waits, but where they used to be an hour, they are now only about a half hour in early morning.
http://www.rtcsnv.com/wp-content/uploads/routes/2014/09/202.pdf (use alt + to enlarge)
There is a gap in early morning service from the Eastside Cannery. The last bus arrives at Eastside just before 1 AM and leaves at 1:07. I go to the Claudine Castro Latin dance lounge show on Mondays, so I have to be careful not to miss that last bus.
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November 2014
I caught the last 202 bus right there at the edge of the parking lot. It leaves just after one AM. This week the driver who brought me up took time to check the new book, read the confusing schedule and interpret when the last bus was going to come.
I really appreciated his attention to my anxiety. Very much in contrast to the driver I asked for help last week although the woman who actually drove the last bus was very helpful both weeks and she remembered me from last week. I did not use up her break time on this trip.
The 202 runs 24 hours but for the route after that bus we need to go to the Nellis stop on the other side of Sam's Town. It is a bit of a walk. The BHX could be taken to that stop and save the long walk. I also noted that the BHX goes by long before that last 202 bus. If I had missed the last 202, I'd have done that night to save a bit on my worry of blisters.
As it turned out the rest I gave my feet the day before seemed to have given a chance for enough healing and the long and frantic dancing did not seem to make them much worse.
It took just 35 minutes at that time for the 202 to drop me at the Gold Coast. It was longer going out just at rush hour, but never really crowded. Both ways I sat in the front upstairs and enjoyed the view of Flamingo.
It was amazing to me that the ride coming home went so quickly. caught the last 202 bus right there at the edge of the parking lot. It leaves just after one AM. This week the driver who brought me up took time to check the new book, read the confusing schedule and interpret when the last bus was going to come.
I really appreciated his attention to my anxiety. Very much in contrast to the driver I asked for help last week although the woman who actually drove the last bus was very helpful both weeks and she remembered me from last week. I did not use up her break time on this trip.
The 202 runs 24 hours but for the route after that 1 AM bus we need to go to the Nellis stop on the other side of Sam's Town. It is a bit of a walk. The BHX could be taken to that stop and save the long walk. I also noted that the BHX goes by long before that last 202 bus. If I had missed the last 202, I'd have done that on this night to save a bit on my worry of blisters.
As it turned out the rest I gave my feet the day before seemed to have given a chance for enough healing and the long and frantic dancing did not seem to make them much worse.
It took just 35 minutes at that time for the 202 to drop me from Eastside Cannery to the Gold Coast. It was longer going out just at rush hour, but never really crowded. Both ways I sat in the front upstairs and enjoyed the view of Flamingo.
It was amazing to me that the ride coming home went so quickly.

 

Very helpful, Dewey.

Have you made your stay at the Gold Coast yet or is that later this month? lf so, any comments on the shuttle or anything else for that matter? I'm leaving in a couple weeks.

 

I ended up doing a good bit of editing after you read that last bit, so I may have made changes. I misread the schedule. The bus does go to Eastside Cannery up to around 2 but I guess it does not pick up there as the last time it shows a Westbound trip is at 1 AM.

Actually, your comments will help me.
I go to the Gold Coast from September 9 to 15 or 16, depending on whether I do a one nighter at Monte Carlo on 15. I booked on B connected and so far I'm sticking with the Premium rooms although perhaps that is silly. The last trip report I read had a good bit of difficulty finding a decent room, but better luck with the Premium.
https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?118633-Madness-at-Gold-Coast-White-Castle-Laughlin-and-more-Madness

My wife goes with me (which is rare) and she is pickier about rooms, and two sons will be at the Gold Coast for another son's 40th birthday. Birthday boy plans to be at Caesar's.
My wife heads home on 15 and then I hope to book

4-5 nights at Palace Station on MyVegas coupons (Here I am set on the Tower rooms)
one night at Monte Carlo on MyVegas
4 nights at the D
4 nights at the 4 Queens.
Prices at the 4 Queens are up high for that last weekend. I don't know why. If they comp me 3 nights that won't be an issue, but if they only comp me two, I may switch things around. I might even go back to Palace Station for my last night.
When I am solo, I go where things are free or cheap.
This is one of my shorter trips.
Then I hope to go back in October/November on the way to Denver for Thanksgiving. That might be longer. By that time perhaps my play at Palace Station will earn me some comps and I can add that to the MyVegas if it is still going strong. I can't get my air yet for November, so it is too early to plan that one. I'm hoping to swap out the Four Queens for Palace Station, unless they go back to 3 nights comp in the mailings. It just reduces my bankroll because I can play dimes at full pay VP and they have a grand poker room.
And anything can happen. I always have back ups.

Palace Station has a free shuttle to the airport. I figure that shuttle, combined with the WAX gives me an easy luggage ride to and from downtown or to and from the strip at Tropicana.

 

I just thought of something...

I intend to use the 202 to get to the strip, but I may want to take the Deuce or SDX once I get on the strip. I was going to buy a 24-hour pass for the 202 but that won't help me on the other buses. It wouldn't be very cost efficient to buy both a local bus pass and strip bus pass for the same 24 hours. Hmmmm....

 

This decision by the RTC to make a two tiered bus system for tourists is frustrating.
Folks with a local ID have no difficulty starting their day on the 202 and going on strip buses with a 24 hour residential pass because they have a local ID.
They buy a 24 hour residential pass for $5 and those are good to go then on any bus.
Most bus riding posters on this board just pretend to be local because they don't expect that any driver on a strip bus is going to ask for a local ID.
No one in years of writing here, elsewhere, and on the blog has ever reported being asked for local ID. Many report being asked for Senior ID.

Once you are past a Deuce driver with your residential pass, you can relax for that trip. You have passed for local.
If you chose the SDX and an inspector should ask you for the all access pass on an SDX bus (you don't show the pass on entry) you just play dumb and at most they will put you off the bus at the next stop.
So, check your destination. If the next stop is your SDX destination, the residential pass will get you there one way or another.
And from what I'm reading and my own experience, the inspectors ask for the bus passes about 33% of the time. They are looking for people who ride with no passes, expired passes, or those who ride on a reduced priced pass with no senior/youth ID. No one has ever reported being asked for a local ID. One worker at the Binions stop confidentially told me that drivers don't ask. It just takes too much time.


Folks who feel uncomfortable with a choice that technically breaks the rules could solve the problem in a few ways.
They might take the free shuttle from the Gold Coast to Caesar's Forum and wait to buy the 24 hour pass from a strip machine. That pass works fine on all buses, including the 202. Waiting to buy the buss pass also gives you more be time for the money. So if you are going from the Gold Coast and want to walk around or gamble near Caesar's in the morning, buying the pass at noon for example will extend the life of the pass until noon the next day. They are time stamped when they are validated.
There have been complaints about finding the way out of Caesar's from the Forum Shops and the free shuttle does not start until about 9 AM, so others might pay $2 for a one way bus ride that drops off alongside Bally's. Then later buy a 24 hour all access pass from the machine in front of Paris, for example. Again, if you are going to be walking along the strip before using the 24 hour pass, this might not be any loss in value. The all access pass from the Paris machine will be $8, that is a dollar for every 3 hours. If the $2 pass buys you a few hours of time, then it is about a wash.
I don't know if the 202 bus driver sells the $8 pass when you board the 202 bus. That might also be another decision. It just has never come up. Jimbo, who no longer posts, used to report asking for one and getting the same $5 pass and the driver telling him it was good.
However, you don't want to plan on buying two 24 hour passes for the same 24 hours.

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A good bit of what you decide depends on your schedule and itinerary.
The free shuttle from Gold Coast to Orleans gets you in touch with another residential bus that connects with the strip at Tropicana the 201. From there the free shuttle at Excalibur goes all the way to Monte Carlo with a stop in Luxor. I go that way from the Gold Coast to Mandalay Bay because I want to leave before the free Coast shuttle starts and I want to avoid strip buses and perhaps have breakfast at Orleans or poke around there a bit.
There is a fee shuttle from Bellagio to Monte Carlo as well.
I often take those sorts of routes because I avoid the strip buses whenever I can, especially the Deuce.
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If you are going from the Gold Coast to downtown, pretending is more of an issue because there are some seedy places to get dropped off were for some fluky reason, you were asked for a local ID on an SDX bus. It is more risky. And you sit longer wondering. And you have to get back, perhaps late at night, through the same shady areas. I'd have the all access $8 pass for that trip.

For you this is rather a small change kind of decision. For seniors it adds up to more money because the residential passes cost just $2.50 but the strip passes still cost $8. Most of us just get a 15 day all access pass from a Walgreen's or the BTC and that covers the whole trip.

 

Thanks, Dewey. So you're saying I could swipe a local pass on a Deuce bus and it wouldn't alert the driver that it's invalid in any way, correct? I would be heading south on the strip. You're right - wouldn't want to take a chance of being put off the SDX between the Stratosphere and downtown.

Also, is the "strip" stop for the 202 bus on Flamingo then on the east side of the strip by Bally's? (Way down the side of Bally's where the GC shuttle used to let off?) Coming back west to the GC, do I get the bus by the Cromwell or by Caesars?

Thanks.

 

CA,

To your 202 questions -- the Eastbound 202 Strip stop is in front of Bally's, but closer to the Strip than where the the GC shuttle let off. You get the westbound 202 just west of the Strip by the side of Caesars.

 

We utilized the 202 a few times. There were a few oddballs on there, but the bus served its purpose.