Heading from Palm Springs to Las Vegas? FlixBus is starting faster weekend service

Paul Albani-Burgio, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·2 min read
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The FlixBus bus company is set to introduce a new direct service from Palm Springs to Las Vegas that will give weekend travelers a faster option.

The company announced Tuesday that the new bus line will start on Friday. From Friday through Monday, there will be one trip in both directions each day.

Buses will leave from downtown Palm Springs at 9:10 a.m., with a scheduled arrival in Las Vegas at 2:45 p.m. The southbound trip will then depart the Las Vegas Strip at 4:55 p.m. and arrive in Palm Springs at 10:30 p.m. Riders can also arrive or depart from a stop in downtown Las Vegas, which adds an additional 20 minutes to the trip.

While the trips are billed as "express," they will stop at Victorville, UC Riverside and downtown San Bernardino for five to 15 minutes each. Still, the trip is shorter than FlixBus' current service between Las Vegas and Palm Springs, which generally requires an hour wait to transfer buses in Montclair and stops in Barstow and at UC Riverside.

The new service will operate year round.

Greyhound offers service between Desert Hot Springs and Las Vegas, but with several stops and a transfer in San Bernardino.

Travel times on the current FlixBus routes range from about seven to 10 hours with tickets going for about $55 to $65, according to the company's website.

FlixBus said fares for the new "express route" will start at $24.99 when booked at least two weeks in advance. Otherwise, they will start at $34.99. As of Tuesday, tickets were available for $39.99 for Friday, $34.99 for Saturday and Sunday and $29.99 for Monday..

It typically takes about four hours to drive from downtown Palm Springs to the Las Vegas Strip. However, traffic can increase that time — and often does on weekends when many people are traveling between Southern California and Las Vegas.

In Palm Springs, FlixBus buses arrive and depart from the SunLine bus stop at Palm Canyon Drive and Baristo Road. In Las Vegas, the station is outside the Fashion Show Mall, which is across the Strip from the Wynn Las Vegas casino.

FlixBus, which says it operates Europe's largest long distance bus network, is a German company that launched its first American bus line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in 2018, according to a company press release.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Want a bus from Palm Springs to Las Vegas? FlixBus plans faster route