The following is a article that appeared in the Sunday edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Recent visitors to Las Vegas know the booming city's traffic congestion at times rivals that of much larger cities. Now government-approved bonds have been sold to pay for an elevated public-transit system along the famous Strip, according to the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter. Plans call for a 3.8 mile monorail from the MGM Grand north to the Sahara resort and casino. (A short section of monorail already exists.) Projections are that 54,000 passengers would ride daily at a fare of $2.50 one-way. Construction is scheduled to start in May. The expected opening date is January 2004.

Beth,

That's interesting. They talk about bonds, isn't the present monorail privately owned?

I seem to remember plans for a longer monorail but on the other side of the strip, behind Caesars, Mirage, etc.

jm

[This message has been edited by senatorjm (edited 26 December 2000).]

Jeff,

I also thought the ones in existence were privately owned. With some casinos objecting to the system, is it possible the government stepped in to get the job done as infrastructure is the city's problem? Possibly the laws of eminnent domain can now be applied when certain casinos object to having stops at their sites or crossing their property.

Should prove interesting as to how many will NOT use the system because of the $2.50 one-way cost.

Hope anyone having more information will post.

Beth

I know governments can take land by eminnent domain. Can they take something like a monorail? If so, they have to pay fair market value. What do you suppose the value of that thing is?

jm

i've used the mono from ballys to mgm once.the walk back to it and the walk out has got to be longer than walking down the sidewalk.also a party of 4 can cab to downtown for 10 bucks in 15 minutes so how long is it going to take the mono if it goes that far? i would think mgm would give it away just to be rid of the liability and upkeep costs.the bean counters would love that

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D.A.G.SEATTLE
furdoo3@aol.com

There had been a BIG fight over this one for some time. It was finally settled a few weeks back and construction should have actually begun by now.

The present mononrail, and the expansion to the Sahara will continue to be privately owned if I understand correctly but the ownership will be different than in the past. I'll have to go back to the archives to see if I can figure it out again. I sort of lost interest in who would own in and was more interested in IF it would get built.

Not only has the city approved this portiion but they are now working on two more additions to the Monorail, these publicly owned. The first addition to the current addition would go from the Sahara to downtown. After that, they're planning on a section from the airport to the strip.

I'm not holding my breath just yet though. The first addition isn't slated to be completed for another 5 years.

Hmmm, I could have swore, the original plan was to include the Las vegas Hilton as well? Is that still in the plans? I feel that could be a BIG boost for them to get the strip traffic.
Lee-PA

I just don't see the logic or the logistics of this working.i mean are you going to take your luggage from the airport to your eastside hotel,drag your luggage to checkin or take lvl for five bucks and drop you off at the front door? say you are at ceasars,want to go to lv hilton are you going to walk across the street,walk back to a mono station,wait for a mono or take a cab.5 bucks mono or 8 bucks cab for two

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D.A.G.SEATTLE
furdoo3@aol.com

Hi D.A.G.,

Double posts all gone!<LOL> See, we moderators are useful once in a while.<vbg>

Beth

DAG,
I think the airport thing will work, for people just traveling with carry-on's and all the airport employee's that are put up for the night in some place like the San Remo.
Also will work out if the Hotels want it to work, but moving a satilite check-in by the monorail drop off, with bell service.
I have no doubt some hotels will go about this better then others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

Doug,

Thanks for the input, it makes a little more sense now. It sounds like the city is going to pick it up when it actually enters the city at E. Sahara. Do you think you'll get out of one tram and into another at that point? Lee, this is where a tie-in to the Las Vegas Hilton might happen.

jm

i suppose i should reserve my logistics comments until we see a plan of this thing but no one on this board that i know will use it.how about a little poll here-yah--nay?? Lee i know you always rent a car, but as an example,a party of four,5 nite stay at the flamingo,with carry-on?-10 bucks mono-walk to back door or 12 bucks cab to front door?

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D.A.G.SEATTLE
furdoo3@aol.com

One of the articles I read had the proposed route on it. I don't recall it including the LV Hilton, but then again, I didn't pay that much attention since this is in the distant future for LV (10 years is a long time in Vegas time).

I have a couple of days off coming up. Maybe I can find the old articles again.

As for the airport, there's already the caps program were you drop you luggage off at the resort and they take care of getting it your flight for you. I know there's a service (probably the same) that will pick your luggage up for you at the airport and deliver it to your room.

The airport section is 10 years in the future so I'm sure the resorts will have it figured out by then. Think about it for a moment. Get off the plane, head for the monorail, get on and ride to your resort, pick up your room key, and find your luggage waiting for you. While your getting to your room, the resort is picking up and delevering your luggage to your room. Now the way Shelley packs a suitcase, this could save me thousands of dollars in chiropractic bills. <g>

Doug,
Or maybe it just gives the Hotel more ways to loose your luggage?
Have you ever had a HOTEL loose your luggage? We have, and trust me, it aint fun.
DAG,
Right now all things being equal, if I had to choose, your right. I'd still not use the monorail from the airport. I still have not used the hotel check-in they offer at the airport and don't plan on doing so either. Again in the defence of the monorail, the Bally's/MGM thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. It's slow, it's location is poor at best, and in colder weather you freeze.

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

DAG, in 10 years, someone might come up with the idea of both a single trip fare of $2.50 and an all-day pass for $xx ....and I just might be willing to use that all day pass.

I doubt if I would ride it either. OTOH, I am pretty sure it will be a big success. If there's one thing I have learned about Vegas in the last 20 years or so, it is that they don't ask me before they build stuff. I have a whole list of stuff that I don't like about Vegas, but every time I go, I see thousands and thousands of people lining up for those things that I don't like.

A few years ago I rode the monorail in Seattle. I don't know why. Maybe curiosity, maybe to be a tourist. It is my opinion that a monorail would be less efficient than some of the more high tech people movers like you see in airports across the country. DFW not included because that is low tech garbage.

I also think the trend for hotel check in at the airport, and airport checkin at the hotel will grow. Again, not because I like the idea, but because I think the public will like it.

Daisy,

When we were in New Orleans earlier this year, we bought a 2 day pass which included all busses and trolleys. We wanted to ride the trolley and this seemed like the best way.

jm

I was able to locate the map in the archives of the review journal. Unfortunately, the quality was so poor that it's impossible to read the street names.

As far as riding the thing, we'll all have to wait a long time. The first extension isn't scheduled to be completed until sometime in 2005. Imagine how long the next phase of going downtown will take. If they ever get that done, then they'll start on the airport. By that time (probably 2020) all this will be outdated and they'll want to start over.

Hotel lose your luggage? Thank God I'm a cheap skate and hall my own bags to the room.

JMT,

That monorail in Seattle is a joke! It takes tourists to the Space needle to the shopping malls downtown and back to the shopping malls?I wonder who paid for that?<G>
Bob NY

Bob,you are right,it's a joke.the only thing it's good for is parking away from seattle center when there is an event.and i,m still paying for it

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D.A.G.SEATTLE
furdoo3@aol.com

I thought the space needle was a bigger joke than the monorail, with both being a waste of my tourist dollar. Somehow I felt that both were paid for, and I was just paying for the maintennace of these two highly inefficient products that were once the pride of a worlds fair.

Small update in Casino Player gives a few additional details to the monorail project. Though not completely finalized, the current plans have the monorail running down Paradise Road from Sahara Ave. turning west on Sand Ave., and then continuing souoth on Koval Lane, until cutting across hotel property to connect with the existing Bally's/MGM monorail.

They are presently studying a three-mile extension from Sahara Avenue to Fremont Street, with an offshoot to the Clark County Government Center west of downtown.

There are no plans to connect the monorail to McCarran airport.

Beth

I really like the airport check in at the
hotel. We did it on the last trip and it was
a big time saver not to have to stand in the
long lines an hour (or more) before departure. We actually just walked to the gate and jumped on the plane. Luggage arrived on time too.....

I hate the monorail at Bally's......