1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Bus phobia anyone?

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by TOWNSVILLE, Apr 24, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. TOWNSVILLE

    TOWNSVILLE Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2015
    Messages:
    464
    Location:
    TOWNSVILLE,AUSTRALIA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5
    Last month my beloved and l spent fourteen days in Vegas.We went everywhere by bus,enjoyed the experience.That's how we go:evillaught to meet the real people of the city.Had the fifteen day pass which allowed us to travel on the local buses,therefore we got a chance to see the east/west side of the city.Most tourists would not be able to say that after their holidays.In all truth we were just bored with the southern end of the strip,been there, done that,paid the price.Reading some of the reply posts to some message on today board.makes me wonder. what people are thinking that is going to happen to them if they take a bus.Is it a stigma thing?I realise watching TV here in Australia that Sheldon has his bus pants,hmmm.Don't be to hasty in dismissing the bus service that exists in Vegas,l would definitely recommend it for any tourist with plenty of time to spare whilst there.The people that you meet while waiting for the bus is an added bonus.Just get the right attitude and enjoy.
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2015
  2. sigsev

    sigsev Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2015
    Messages:
    381
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    16
    I've taken buses in Vegas, strip buses, local buses. I've walked around downtown at 3am. I've even walked to places like Frankie's that are in "bad neighborhoods". I have no idea why people are so freaked out about it. I think its just one of those boogeymen type stories that everyone perpetuates to make themselves feel safer wherever they are.
     
  3. Ty

    Ty ?

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    8,796
    Location:
    Mid Ga
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    22
    1. I don't usually have plenty of time, so I'm in a rental car or cab.
    2. Americans seem to be drawn to foreign accents, so you will have a lot more people engaging you than we do.
    3. Our first time on a public bus was in Vegas and a fight broke out on the bus. This gave my wife Vegas Bus Phobia.

    We do use it some and it's good to hear how much you enjoyed it.
     
  4. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    19,794
    Location:
    Somewhere in Middle America
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    I'm just not a fan of bus transit. I take them occasionally (mostly NYC and Chicago, seldom LV) but very much prefer other modes.

    I do admit the Deuce is nicer. My first bus trip in LV was a SLOW and HOT ride down the Strip from the Caesars corner to the Sahara. The people walking were making better time than the bus! The bus would go for a short while, pull to the stop and STAY THERE forever, then slowly go back into traffic to the next stop, rinse, repeat.

    Now I know I'm in the minority but I very much prefer the Monorail to the bus!
     
  5. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2004
    Messages:
    2,360
    Location:
    Cleveland
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    We rode the Deuce every day and the 202 several times. The 202 contained its share of weird and smelly people so we were glad the rides were short!
     
  6. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,787
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    Never been on a bus in Vegas. We do use mass transit when it is convenient to our needs -- NYC, Metrolink back when I had business matters downtown, Sydney, DC, wherever else -- but that's not Vegas.
     
  7. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2013
    Messages:
    3,473
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    45
    I've done the bus from strip to downtown but to me time is money, I'm on vacation and I don't want to spend the time on the bus. Depending on our itinerary we usually rent a car. We'll eat and do shows on the strip but there's so much to do off strip and car rentals are cheap.
     
  8. Valgal

    Valgal VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2014
    Messages:
    5,301
    Location:
    South
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    I don't have bus phobia and have used them in the past in Vegas. But, I don't like them and will spend more money taking a cab. If you are lucky the bus isn't already jammed pack. Young men of today were not raised to be gentlemen. I have yet to see one healthy young man stand up to offer his seat to a woman -- even an elderly woman. Plus it seems to be perfectly acceptable for the same young men and even some women to repeatedly drop the f-bomb and every other colorful word they can think of. I can take a few slipping out now and then, But literally every other word is ridiculous. Add alcohol and the decibel level gets higher. No thank you.

    I haven't sworn off the bus altogether but more than likely will not take it again. I too prefer the monorail.
     
  9. TyrC

    TyrC Tourist

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2011
    Messages:
    85
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    My wife and me take the Las Vegas bus all the time. At home in Dallas, Texas we still take the bus. Don't worry about insurance, drunk drivers, or a parking space.
    I actualy reccomend the bus.
     
  10. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    1,556
    Location:
    NYC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    35
    "Phobia" means "fear of" and being from NYC I don't have a fear of any mode of transportation, especially buses, subways etc. I just have an aversion to certain methods of transportation, especially when I am on vacation.

    I usually rent a car in Vegas - my Vegas time is valuable and so is my comfort. I refuse to wait on a city bus schedule, then pile onto a bus with dozens of other people in cramped, uncomfortable conditions while the bus slowly plods down Las Vegas Boulevard making every stop along the way. I can do that any day of the week (and have) in Manhattan. I would much rather take a cab or rental car to get where I am going faster and in comfort.

    Several years ago, I rode the "Deuce" bus once (and only once) before it became the shiny, nice looking "Deuce" bus it is today. Before it was a nice gold double decker bus it was a dirty, long city bus with an accordion type thing in the middle, and it seemed as if every character known to man was riding that bus. Once such hopped-up character kept clicking his teeth, sweating profusely and making odd grunting sounds until he got off in front of "Slots-O-Fun" and went crazy, overturning all of the metal bins on the curb that held magazines etc. That was typical of what I saw on the bus that day, and to that I say "No thank you".
     
  11. nhcris

    nhcris VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2010
    Messages:
    1,458
    Location:
    NH
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    36
    I am a big fan of my personal space & I don't like crowds. If there was a way to get from NH to Vegas that didn't involve a plane, I wouldn't fly either! You also won't find me out on the strip when it is mobbed or on Fremont Street on holiday evenings anymore. Occasionally there is a payoff that is worth the discomfort of overcrowding and lack of personal space, but a bus - Nope, not for me.
     
  12. M0rtyC

    M0rtyC TBD

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2012
    Messages:
    1,819
    Location:
    North Shore Massachusetts
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    26
    I think the express bus system is the best. CX and WAX from the airport to downtown for $2. How can you beat that! I also use the SDX from downtown to the mid-strip. I think a 24 hour ticket is $8.00.
     
  13. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    Messages:
    5,109
    Sheldon is RIGHT !......wear Bus Pants !
    The improvement to seating on The Duece + other Vegas buses, is nice.
    *
    I' ve ridden buses in Vegas for over 20 yrs.
    When I first started - vagrants would all sleep on the buses at night.
    Transit has somehow change this.........I don't see it like it was.
    The seats were soft + permeable back then...soaking was normal.....not what it is, now.
    *
    I've witnessed fights, drunks being handcuffed off,The Blues Brothers riding along,accidents, etc
    *
    The worst is Pee-Pee Seat --
    Vagrant pees in his seat - stinks up the bus - gets off + some Clark Griswold gets on the
    next stop w/ all smiles, on his Vegas Vacation, sits down wearing shorts into the Pee-Pee Seat.
    I'm all smiles, too !...........seen it a thousand times !
     
  14. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    19,794
    Location:
    Somewhere in Middle America
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    Since you're from the NYC area you may remember these (articulated double bus) being run by some private bus companies which served some of the far reaches of Queens from Manhattan. Of course back there and then, it was more socially acceptable to ride the bus, and most everyone rode them.

    Nowadays, particularly in the smaller cities west of the Mississippi, taking the bus is looked upon as very lowbrow. "You take the bus, what's wrong with you?" is a common attitude we see here where I currently live (Omaha area). Here the car culture dominates, and it's usually only those who do not have a car for some reason or another who do not take the bus.
     
  15. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2007
    Messages:
    6,752
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    35
    Like many of the other posters I would rather rent a car and I don't have to worry about getting someplace or which buses to take. It isn't a phobia, just that my time is limited and I don't want to spend it taking a bus somewhere. I used to take the bus a lot in vegas but then I realized that it was easier to rent a car, can go where ever you want, when ever you want and I don't have to worry about bus routes or schedules.

    Maybe in a few years when I'm old and have a lot of time on my hands I will take the bus and see the city but until that time....rental car it is.
     
  16. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,787
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    Yep, geography plays a big part in it, as in land-use or water policy or what not. But hopefully people aren't being dicks about it when something is being done for economic necessity. Anyway, I have some east coast friends who still don't really get the car thing out here and why it is what it is. They think of LA, see a lot of people, put it in a Manhattan framework and, well, it's not really that way. I mean Metro busses are packed in the southland, the fixed rail is used, as far as it reaches. And to think LA once had an awesome transit system. But Ontario to Pacoima ain't exactly Central Park to Wall Street. Or when they bus or train to Boston or DC or wherever. Hmmm, if not a car here, we fly ... and then rent a car.
     
  17. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    19,794
    Location:
    Somewhere in Middle America
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    The problem with renting a car is that if both of you (or all of you) drink, you run the risk of a DUI, which, I've been told, under the best of circumstances will run you a few kilobucks at least!

    Twice now I've been stopped in those stupid DUI checkpoints in LV. Once I had absolutely nothing to drink, but in the other I admitted to having 2-3 casino drinks in the past few hours and they had me out there walking a straight line and touching my nose while my so-called friends were sitting in the car laughing at me! :(
     
  18. FullBoat

    FullBoat VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2013
    Messages:
    2,337
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    16
    Here's my experience with the bus' there.

    WAX To/From the Airport to downtown: Great experience. Not crowded at all. Not a long ride either direction. Can't beat this for just $2 each way.

    SDX to strip from downtown: It was over crowded. I was up against the door the entire trip down to Aria. It was hot, and stuffy with everyone on there.
    Duce from PH to Riv: Was really crowded, but at least I wasn't next to the door the entire time. I actually got a seat.

    Duce from Riv to downtown: Not bad at midnight. Got a seat right next to the exit door, and was a quick(ish) trip.

    Next trip, I might take a cab from downtown to the strip, then the SDX/Duce back.
     
  19. Turtleman

    Turtleman VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2005
    Messages:
    4,097
    Location:
    Bradenton, FL
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    Excellent point, and the main reason that driving is out of the question for us. We start off with a couple drinks in Delta's Sky Club before boarding, then another or two in flight. And that's BEFORE we even get to a casino! We seldom play tourist, so a car would sit 99% of the time; and with our "old fart" bus cards, getting anywhere is cheaper than a cab tip alone. Yeah, taking the bus is not always a pleasant experience, but neither is flying. The vast majority of times, it works out great. We consider the WAX the best thing to happen in Vegas over the past several years!
     
  20. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2010
    Messages:
    6,477
    Location:
    Chicago South Suburbs
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    Maybe it's because I'm from the 'burbs and just used to being in car, but I loathe buses. If there was a light rail system, I would use it but I just have no use for the bus. I did it once and I couldn't stand all the stopping and starting. At least with trains the stops are usually spaced out more than every other block. As for DUI potential and rental cars, I'm sorry, but it's not that hard to not drink and drive. I would rather be able to hit the road and go wherever, whenever I wanted than to ride with all the unwashed masses or deal with crazy cabbies.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.