Therewego … Get Those Kids Riding the Bus
Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill speaking at the Washoe County School Trustee Meeting on May 28, 2025 in her capacity as the Chair of RTC-Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County.
Picon was curious why yesterday's Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting wrapped up so quickly. The reason became clear when Commission Chair Alexis Hill made an appearance at the school district meeting shortly afterward. It seems the brief commission meeting was timed so Chair Hill could make it to the school district meeting and seize her fifteen minutes of fame.
Commissioner Hill went onto discuss a ‘great success’ RTC program that was launched last year by the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County but gave us no data.
“It’s an honor to be before you today Washoe County Transportation or RTC has been working on a pilot program over the last summer for kids riding free. We saw that kids needed access to food when school is not in session and we wanted to see how we could get them to locations throughout the county at all of our libraries, many parks around town, where their parents can’t necessarily take them so they can have their lunches during the day. We saw a great success with this program and wanted to continue it on.
Your team has been incredible collaborating with them. We will work with each Washoe County School District student to make sure that they have access to the buses, and then we will also be able to track how much they use this resource, so we have a better idea of how many kids are riding the bus, and what their riding the bus and when they are riding the bus, too.
It is an exciting day for us to finally collaborate on this program, and we want to help you with your absentee issues as well. When we hear the community was tackling this and the trustees were working so hard on this and we saw the transportation is one of the largest barriers we thought okay we can’t necessarily pick up all the school bus routes, today, maybe in the future, but we can help those kids access the bus and maybe on the weekends go to the mall on the bus. And like you had talked about that independence we want to see kids have.
Thank you for this opportunity and it is an honor to partner with you and we can’t wait to see what this next year brings about.”
We have some disturbing news for Commissioner Hill, and that is we don’t believe a word she says without some facts. You remember Hill told the Nevada Legislature’s Senate Committee on Government Affairs on, February 5, 2025, that Washoe County has reduced homelessness by 40%. That turned out not to be true, no matter how hard the propaganda team at Washoe County tried to spin it, and they tried hard.
Chair Hill we look forward to the facts from this Summer 2024 RTC pilot program getting kids to ride the bus for lunch and while the idea behind RTC’s free summer bus pilot program is commendable—ensuring kids can access food at libraries and parks when school is out—there are still important questions that haven’t been answered.
How many children actually used the program in 2024?
We’ve heard it was a "great success," but no specific numbers have been shared. Without data, it’s hard to evaluate the real impact.
How did RTC track student riders?
Was there a system in place to measure participation? Were passes distributed through schools, or was it on the honor system? And how accurate is the data?
What age group was eligible?
Was the program open to all students in Washoe County, or only certain age ranges? This is important for understanding both reach and effectiveness.
Finally, why is Chair Hill promoting this program as a success without offering any facts or figures?
If the program is truly benefiting families, there should be transparent reporting to back it up. The public deserves clarity—especially when public funds and community resources are involved.
Something else that was said ysterday also concerned us - Chair Hill and Washoe County School Board Trustee Beth Smith both mentioned that the bus program would help kids gain independence—citing an example like riding to the mall. But that raises a serious question.
Malls are commercial spaces filled with shops and restaurants, all of which require money to participate in. If the goal is to empower kids, shouldn’t we be directing them toward resources like libraries, community centers, or volunteer programs where they can learn, play, or become more independent and empowered without needing to spend money?
Suggesting the mall as a destination glosses over the real needs of these families. Independence is important—but independence without opportunity or access to meaningful resources isn’t empowerment, it’s just transit. We need to be clearer and more intentional about how this program serves the kids who rely on it most.
The RTC team at yesterday’s meeting couldn’t give us any date on this touted program.