Public Education and Engagement
Many Las Vegans have never ridden a train before or experienced daily life without being car-dependent. We educate and inspire residents so they can see the value of a transit-oriented city and imagine one here.
About Las Vegans for Better Transit
Las Vegans for Better Transit is a nonprofit advocacy organization in the Las Vegas Valley. We educate residents about the value of public transit, organize them into a constituency that wants it, and push government to implement it.
- Legal name
- Las Vegans for Better Transit
- Tax status
- 501(c)(3) Candid
- EIN
- 42-1995935
- Founded
- April 17, 2026
Our mission is to advocate for world-class public transportation and supportive land use policies in the Las Vegas metropolitan area through public education, community outreach, and coalition building.
Educate
We help Las Vegans see how the way we get around, what our neighborhoods look like, and what daily life costs in time, money, and lives are all connected.
Organize
We build the constituency for transit that Las Vegas has never had, from riders and neighbors to business owners, students, faith communities, and labor, and we bring it to the people who write the budget.
Advocate
We show up at the Legislature, the RTC board, planning commissions, and in the press, and we push for dedicated funding, transit-oriented zoning, and the projects the Valley needs.
Our story
"Las Vegas never had an organized public voice for transit. I started LVBT to be it." — Willie Chalmers III, founder
For a metro of 2.4 million people, we run the largest bus network in the American West and have almost no organized public voice defending it. In April 2026 that gap stopped being abstract. The Regional Transportation Commission warned the State Legislature that, without dedicated funding, about 42% of the Valley’s bus service would be cut by 2028. A city that already asks too much of the people who can’t drive was about to ask far more.
On April 17, 2026, I stopped waiting for someone else to organize a response. I started Las Vegans for Better Transit.
I want bus stops with shade. I want a kid to be able to cross town to see a friend without a parent in the driver’s seat. I want hubs where we have strip malls, and streets that invite you to stay. None of that happens on its own, and no one else was going to build the constituency that makes elected officials answer for it.
A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.
Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, 2018
For where we go from here, read our strategy.
For periodic updates, read letters from leadership.
Our approach
Our theory of change for fulfilling our mission.
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Youth Engagement
Young people are the future of our country and have the most to gain from well-designed neighborhoods. We give them opportunities to grow, learn, organize, and use their voices.
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Direct Advocacy
Public investment is the only sustainable way to build better transit. We push government to align funding, land use, street design, and transit service with the needs of residents.
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Civic Belonging
Better transit depends on the people and places it connects. We are building a community of riders, neighbors, students, workers, and local leaders who can make the case for a safer, more affordable, and more connected Las Vegas Valley.
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Coalition Building
Citywide change requires alignment across the public sector, business, labor, education, neighborhoods, and civic life. We bring partners together around practical improvements and a shared long-term vision for the Valley.
Membership
Membership is free and takes a minute. LVBT is a volunteer-powered organization, and the number of Las Vegans behind this campaign is part of the case we make to the people who write the budget.