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Update on the Monorail

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by dean_1492, Sep 27, 2012.

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  1. dean_1492

    dean_1492 High-Roller

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  2. Boogaloo

    Boogaloo Low-Roller

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    Yeah, as has been said multiple times on this board and pretty much everywhere else, probably the only way to make the system profitable is to link it to McCarran.

    Hell, I'd use it then too - it's not like I enjoy taking taxis (and like the concept of a bus even less).
     
  3. earth-3

    earth-3 VIP Whale

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    I would take it when traveling solo and have just a carry on piece of luggage.
     
  4. xmarksx

    xmarksx VIP Whale

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    The taxi lobby has a ton of money behind it, you have to assume they are making it far harder than it normally would be for the extension. Just my opinion.
     
  5. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    Yeah, the taxi companies will at least do what they can to slow the process down if they can't outright stop it.

    But two things on that note:

    1) It is really hard to gauge just how many people will ride this until it is actually in operation. A few thoughts on that:
    a) Even for two people it will be cheaper to ride the monorail than taking a cab to your hotel, but then the shuttles are cheaper than a cab and a lot of people still take taxis (although shuttles are slower)
    b) They have to make it convenient at the airport. If they can't get any help from the airport on this then placing the monorail station a couple of blocks walk from the airport terminal isn't going to make people want to use it.
    c) In the end this is still only going to be servicing a few hotels on one side of The Strip. I am sure there will be people who are going to be staying on the west side of Las Vegas Blvd who will occasionally use the monorail or even people staying at places on the east side that aren't at a hotel that is served by the monorail, but the majority of the people that will ride it from the airport are only going to be staying at the specific hotels that have a monorail stop.

    2) We have to note that really the article is just saying: we thought about this as an idea back in 2007, and now we are thinking about it again.
    According to the article it still sounds like they are a long ways off from seeing this happen to where it could still be years before they even start to break ground and then another couple of years after that before its done.
    A realistic timeline would probably say the earliest this could be done is 2017, but more likely not until 2019 to 2020
     
  6. dean_1492

    dean_1492 High-Roller

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    To it it read: They just got done with bankruptcy(relieved a lot of the dept), now they have more plans to make it work like it should have in the first place.
     
  7. miller6pack

    miller6pack Newbie

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    I have only ridden on the monorail twice, just to see what people were talking about. I always stay downtown, and I think when they thought it would be great, they are finding out it's not so good. The monorail was designed wrong and it's to sad. Even if they would have started it from the airport it would not have worked.How many people that come to Vegas ride the monorail? Most people take taxis, or buses.
     
  8. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    It was my impression that back in the late 1990s when this thing was being planned, it was a given that it would have never gotten off the ground if they had not scrapped plans to serve McCarran. IIRC, yes, the taxi industry was a major opposing force.

    I also have a feeling that pressure from the taxi industry is the main reason we don't see convenient single-seat bus service from McCarran to the majority of the Strip resorts. (Yes, yes, I do know about the WAX.)

    If they keep the pricing model the same, I'm sure that the ridership from the airport to the Strip will really help their bottom line! If they jack up the price any more, I don't see how it could fly, with the shuttles running $7-8-ish.

    In my not so humble opinion, although I've been a fan of the Monorail, I think it's already priced on the high side. Roughly twice the single-ride rate of most other transit systems. I have a feeling that they currently price it at the "knee" of the curve, where any further increase in price will result in a severe drop-off in ridership.

    Oh well ... I do wish them luck ...
     
  9. chrisn42

    chrisn42 Tourist

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    I really wish them luck on this. The last time I was there I used the monorail but only because the convention I was at gave us free passes. I realize why it's at where it's at, but the whole thing is just so inconvenient. When walking to the stations you feel like you're walking forever, especially at Bally's if I remember correctly.

    I agree for it to be successful it has to connect to the airport, but as everyone else has mentioned the taxi authority will do everything in their power to stop this from ever happening. If it connected to the airport, I would certainly use it if I was staying on that side of the strip.
     
  10. user3657

    user3657 VIP Whale

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    They have in the past done everything they could to fight it and my guess is they will contuine to do so.

    Even though, the airport is not the do all or fail route. I like the idea of having it go downtown...Westside is good also! Atleast get all of vegas covered :)

    They talked about new board memebers and I hope that helps, I always thought it was really strage the train stops at mostly CET hotels.

    Once monorail and CET are broken up I think they might actually show a profit :\
     
  11. sammasseur

    sammasseur VIP Whale

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    Just took it from MGM to Bally's last month, and the walk from the station to the casino was longer than the ride itself. An awful long corridor of sad little shops, many closed. The area in the back of MGM to the station was even longer, and seemed a bit worn from what I remembered in the past.
     
  12. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    At least the Monorail won't long haul you from the airport. :thumbsup:
     
  13. xmarksx

    xmarksx VIP Whale

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    Sadly, I am old enough to remember the days when driving the Strip was not an insane prospect. As traffic began to pick up I remember ideas being floated about light rail running down the center median of the Strip rather than on the East side of the casinos. Can you imagine how popular that would be?
     
  14. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

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    That would have solved everything. Airport - Center Strip - Downtown.
    Ridership we have been phenomenal.
     
  15. xmarksx

    xmarksx VIP Whale

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    I know this sounds insane but imagine a monorail traveling center Strip with centralized stops for pedestrian traffic. Then a multiple stop rail from the airport that ran behind the casinos.
     
  16. runningonthehub

    runningonthehub VIP Whale

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    It seems to me that most of the monorail stops are so far behind the hotel properties that it would only make sense for a few hotels along the route.

    At Bally's the station is a long walk to the hotel and if you are carrying luggage, it would be even longer. You would be better off taking a taxi or shuttle bus. The stops at Imperial Palace, Harrah's and LVH are the only ones where you would not have as far to walk to hotel registration. You would still a bit of a walk with luggage, but not as bad as some of the others.

    Price wise, I am not sure. What is the monorail, $5.00/one way? Shuttle bus is $6.00/one way to strip hotels and they drop you off closer to hotel registration.

    I am not sure expanding to the airport would be the panacea that some think it would be.
     
  17. earth-3

    earth-3 VIP Whale

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    I think the center strip developement was canned because of lines of site from one property to another. Could you imagine looking out from your room at Paris, to watch the fountains at Bellagio, and see steel and concrete instead. It also would become a pedestrian safety issue. You would have people with luggage crossing the Las Vegas Blvd or running to catch a train without watching traffic signals. They may even have had to widen the median strip where the stations were located. What would that do to Las Vegas Blvd and the traffic flow?
     
  18. xmarksx

    xmarksx VIP Whale

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    Earth, you could use the pedestrian walkway locations as general stopping points with the light rail (not monorail0 serving mostly pedestrian traffic. This would keep the majority of hotel rooms above the sight blockage. Yes, you would lose the trees and some landscaping but that would be about all.
     
  19. ardee

    ardee It's only money.

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    I always thought the monorail should have gone down the center of the Strip, elevated, connecting to all the bridges over the roadway and connecting to the airport. Anything less was doomed to fail. Which is sad, because I like the monorail. It's a handy way to get from one end of the Strip to the other quickly and cheaply. But the design was all wrong.

    Imagine a route from the airport under the tarmac to Mandalay Bay, then along the west side of the Strip (freeway side)to Flamingo. Then jog down the center of Flamingo and along the east side (like it is now) to the Convention Center, Sahara and eventually to Downtown.

    Now THAT would be a system!
     
  20. sammasseur

    sammasseur VIP Whale

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    That didn't stop two towers of Cosmopolitan from swallowing Jockey Club by mere inches, or the monstrosity of Fontainebleau from blocking the view of both Stratosphere and Riviera. Let's not even consider the eyesores of unfinished other properties and the fiasco of Harmon Tower. It's hard to understand what goes on in the minds of "planners", and how nonsensical things are approved over those that might promote efficiency in both cost and function. Right now they're erecting a huge sign for ARIA on the strip, right next to the Harmon Tower. Just before that's ready to be imploded or torn down. Duh, shouldn't they have put up the sign when the hotel was opened? Now, they'll risk destroying it mere months after it goes up.
     
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