What the Deuce is
The Deuce is the Regional Transportation Commission's double-decker bus route along Las Vegas Boulevard. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the South Strip Transit Terminal (south of Mandalay Bay, near the outlet mall) up the entire Strip, past the Strat, and on to the Bonneville Transit Center and Fremont Street downtown. Buses come every 15–20 minutes, more often at peak. It is slow — the same traffic as everything else, plus a stop every few hundred yards — but it is the only single ride that connects every Strip resort with downtown for a few dollars.
The upper deck is the reason tourists love it: it is air-conditioned, the front seats have a panoramic view of the Boulevard, and for a first pass along the Strip it is a better sightseeing tour than most of the paid ones. Locals mostly use it as a workhorse to and from downtown. Both uses are legitimate.
Passes and how to pay
As of 2026 the Deuce uses RTC's Strip and All-Access fare structure: roughly $6–8 for a 2-hour pass, $8–10 for a 24-hour pass and around $20 for a 3-day pass; residential routes elsewhere in the valley cost less. Check rtcsnv.com for current fares. Passes cover unlimited rides on the Deuce, the Centennial Express and every other RTC route for their duration, so a 3-day pass is also your ticket to the airport bus, Chinatown and Henderson if you want them.
Pay with the rideRTC app (buy a pass, activate it when you board, show the screen), at the ticket vending machines at major Strip stops, or with exact cash on board. Drivers cannot make change, and the app is far easier than fumbling for bills at 1 a.m. Children five and under ride free; reduced fares for seniors and people with disabilities require an RTC card.
Where the stops are
Deuce stops are on Las Vegas Boulevard itself, usually in front of or beside the big resorts and marked with the RTC shelter and a Deuce sign. Southbound and northbound stops are on opposite sides of the road, so check which direction you need before crossing. Key stops running north: South Strip Transit Terminal, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur/MGM Grand, Tropicana, Park MGM, Planet Hollywood/Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Flamingo/LINQ, Venetian/Mirage site, Treasure Island, Wynn, Fashion Show Mall, Resorts World, Circus Circus, Sahara, the Strat, and then a run north on the Boulevard past the older motels to downtown.
Downtown the Deuce terminates around the Bonneville Transit Center, a couple of blocks from Fremont Street; some journeys loop closer. Allow a five-minute walk. For the reverse trip, the stop near Fremont and Casino Center is the one most visitors use. Full stop maps are in the rideRTC app.
How long it really takes
Be realistic. Mandalay Bay to Fremont Street is scheduled at around an hour and often takes longer on Friday and Saturday evenings when the Strip is gridlocked; mid-Strip to downtown is typically 35–50 minutes. Short hops between two or three resorts can be faster on foot because the bus sits at lights and stops. Between roughly 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. on weekends the buses are packed and rowdy, and the wait to board at popular stops can be 20 minutes.
The Deuce is at its best at three times: mid-morning to mid-afternoon (before traffic builds), for the full Strip-to-downtown trip where the alternative is a $25–35 rideshare, and in the small hours when you are in no hurry and rideshare is surging. It is at its worst for a single short hop in evening traffic.
The Centennial Express and other RTC routes
The Centennial Express (CX) is the express alternative for the downtown trip: it runs from the South Strip terminal along the Strip with limited stops, then heads downtown and on to the north-west suburbs. Between the Strip and downtown it can shave 15–20 minutes off the Deuce. It runs roughly 5 a.m. to midnight, so it is not a late-night option. Same passes apply.
Other routes visitors actually use: the routes serving Harry Reid International Airport from the Terminal 1 ground-transportation area connect to the Strip and downtown; Route 203 (Spring Mountain) runs from the Strip west along Spring Mountain Road through Chinatown, which is the cheap way to reach the best Asian dining in the city (see our dining guide); and Route 202 (Flamingo) crosses the Strip east–west. All are in the rideRTC app with live tracking.
Deuce vs Monorail vs rideshare
The Deuce covers more ground than the Monorail (both sides of the Strip, plus downtown) for a similar day-pass price, but is far slower and gets stuck in traffic. The Monorail is quick but only on the east side and never downtown. Rideshare is fastest door-to-door except in gridlock, and costs three to five times more per trip. A common and efficient plan: a 3-day Deuce pass for the long trips, walking and free trams for the short ones, and a rideshare when you are late, hot or tired. See Downtown to the Strip for that specific journey in detail.
Riding tips
- Board at the front, show your pass, and head upstairs for the view; the stairs are steep, so hold the rail.
- Sit on the right side heading north for the best view of the west-side resorts (Bellagio fountains, the Venetian), and the left heading south.
- The Strip stops are hot in summer with little shade; check the app for the live arrival time before you leave the casino.
- Keep bags in your lap on busy nights; pickpocketing on crowded buses is not common but is not zero.
- The buses are wheelchair-accessible with a ramp at the front door and priority seating on the lower deck.