A double-decker bus known as The Deuce trolls the Strip near Sahara Avenue on Monday. Transit officials are planning to deploy similar bilevel buses on routes throughout the Las Vegas Valley over the next two years. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

The double-decker buses known as The Deuce could soon be coming to a neighborhood bus route near you.

Citizens Area Transit is planning a major expansion of its double-decker bus program, with plans to expand bilevel bus service throughout the Las Vegas Valley and far beyond The Deuce's original route along Las Vegas Boulevard South to downtown Las Vegas.

It's likely that nearly half of CAT's fleet of roughly 300 buses will be of the two-level variety within two years, allowing the transit agency to carry more riders in less roadway space than other high-capacity coaches.

"It allows us to move more people without adding additional vehicles to the road," Tracy Bower, a spokeswoman with the Regional Transportation Commission, said last week. The commission oversees CAT service in the Las Vegas Valley.

Earlier this month, the commission approved buying 40 new double-decker buses for $29.8 million from Scottish-based Alexander Dennis Ltd., adding to CAT's existing fleet of 50 such coaches.

And commission General Manager Jacob Snow has said he would likely ask the commission's board to approve an option next month to buy 40 more of the buses, something the board is likely to do. The new buses would come online in late 2007 and early 2008.

"We think this is a no-brainer," Snow said earlier.

The Deuce has proven to be popular with riders since it was first launched on its Strip route about one year ago, spurring a ridership boom in that congested resort corridor thanks to the bus's extra capacity and scenic views from its top level.

The route carries more than 30,000 daily riders, about 50 percent more than its high-tech rival, the Las Vegas Monorail.

Double-deckers are 41 feet long, seat 81 people and can carry up to 98 passengers (including those seated). That compares to 40 feet, 44 seats and 71 riders for normal buses and 60 feet, 60 seats and 90 riders for stretch "articulated" buses that feature an accordionlike joint between bus sections.

Already, one route has been supplemented with twin-deck buses. Route 115 along Nellis Boulevard began using bilevel buses earlier this summer and saw ridership grow, something officials attribute partly to expanded capacity.

The route had about 137,000 riders last month, up about 7,000 from the same month in 2005, Bower said.

Which other routes will get the buses and when have yet to be determined.

"A lot of that will be determined by the actual (existing) routes themselves, the demands for service. It would likely be a route that has a high ridership," Bower said. "We'd certainly look at where we need to move the most people, and whether this would be the best way to do that."

Among the routes that have been discussed as being Deuce-worthy are Route 109 along Maryland Parkway and an express route that would utilize car pool lanes planned for U.S. Highway 95 in the northwest valley.

Snow said it's possible that double-deckers would replace most, if not all, articulated buses now used on busier routes.

While Deuce buses will eventually be used throughout the city, only the Strip route will be called "The Deuce."

"The Deuce service is what we call the Las Vegas Boulevard route," Bower said. "When they're on Nellis Boulevard, we refer to them as the double-deckers on Nellis."

However, double-decker buses anywhere in the city will retain the gold color scheme exclusive to The Deuce and bear The Deuce logos.

The commission and bus maker are also considering adding a second staircase to future Deuces that would help people in getting on and off the buses. Current buses have a single staircase directly behind the driver's seat; the proposed spiral staircase would be near the rear of the vehicles.