BIKE: Monorail opens in Vegas

[Patrick Goetz]

David Dobbs wrote
> 
> At 17:31 -0500 7/16/04, Michael Bluejay wrote:
> 
>     The cars can travel as fast as 50 miles per hour; the entire
>     3.9-mile one-way trip to MGM Grand to the Sahara takes 14 minutes.
> 
> 
> This is approximately 17.5 mph average, about the same as most modern 
> light rail systems do on the street.
> 

Of course LRT would NOT be able to achieve this average speed on 
extraordinarily congested Las Vegas Boulevard, especially if the rail 
cars had to sit in traffic.

Here is a quote from an actual Las Vegas resident: 
(http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Jul-16-Fri-2004/news/24321732.html):
"I'm going home from work," Jaime Heller, 22, of Las Vegas said after 
her shift as a cigarette girl at New York-New York. The $3 one-way fare 
didn't faze her.  "It's a lot faster than the bus," she said. "It should 
save an hour getting home" via a connecting bus.

"It should save an hour getting home."  bus = LRT; they both sit in the 
street in traffic unless massive road-widening efforts are undertaken so 
that LRT or bus can have its own lane, and ain't no one going to tear 
down billion dollar casinos to widen the road on the strip.

****
As an anticipated, the opening of the LVM (Las Vegas Monorail) on July 
15 has already started a new round of Monorail bashing from 
rumpelstiltskin-like LRT enthusiasts, so it's time for a few reality checks.

The average speed of the LVM is misleading.  This relatively short 
system includes 7 stops and 4 90-degree turns (see the route map at 
http://www.lvmonorail.com/about_04_fastfacts.html), which is why the 
average speed is so low.  Further, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports 
that the route is actually 4.4 miles, in which case the average speed 
would be 18.85 mph.

According to the American Public Transportation Association, the 
Aaverage Street Rail Speed (FY2002) is 15.3 mph 
(http://www.apta.com/research/stats/rail/lrsum.cfm), which includes lots 
of long straight segments.  The bottom line is that the short, 
circuitous, many-stopped Las Vegas monorail is still 15-20% faster than 
the any LRT system in the country, on average.  That's pathetic.

Of course no one in Vegas is very excited about monorail ... NOT.  Here 
is a quote from the Governor of Nevada 
(http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040714/law041_1.html):
"This is an extremely important day in the history of our state and of 
Las Vegas, as nine major properties in the Las Vegas resort corridor 
will now be linked to the Las Vegas Convention Center through this 
state-of-the-art public transportation system," said Nevada Gov. Kenny 
Guinn. "In addition to providing a vital public transportation link, the 
Las Vegas Monorail will help ease traffic around the Las Vegas Strip and 
help improve the city's air quality. The myriad of benefits offered by 
this unique mode of transportation will only add to Las Vegas' 
reputation as one of our nation's great cities."

Plans are already underway to expand the monorail both to downtown and 
the airport, with other parts of the city clamoring for their own set of 
dual beam guideways.  Vegas is in the grips of monorail fever.

Further, let's recap some facts:

o The LVM was built entirely with private money (no public funds were 
encumbered) and is run by a Transit Systems Management, a private 
company.  They expect the system to be PROFITABLE in 5 years, with bonds 
paid back in full in 40 years.  And when I say that no public funds are 
encumbered, this is exactly what I mean.  The entire project is covered 
by an insurance policy that guarantees that the loans will be repayed in 
the event that the LVM becomes insolvent, hence there is no risk to the 
public.

o Every LRT system in the country is run by public transit agencies at 
tremendous losses to the public.

LRT enthusiasts can blather on until hell freezes over about comparative 
costs, but the facts hurt, and hurt bad:  The LVM is planned to turn a 
PROFIT; every single LRT system in the country LOSES money.  "Well, Las 
Vegas is a special case," they splutter red-faced.  OK, then, let's look 
at Seattle, where the 14-mile Seattle monorail is projected to cost JUST 
SLIGHTLY MORE THAN HALF of what the LRT system there is projected to 
cost.  Perhaps this is why Sound Transit, the Seattle LRT authority is 
now serously discussing the possibility of ditching their light rail 
plans and building monorail instead 
(http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001975517_sound09m.html). 
(Those reading the article will notice, however, that Sound Transit 
planners and consultants strongly recommended AGAINST considering 
monorail, despite the obvious advantages. Does anyone see a common 
thread here?)

If Sound Transit does end up embracing monorail, they would be part of 
what has become a world-wide trend:  Malaysia, Indonesia, and much of 
the rest of Asia are systematically rejecting LRT proposals in favor of 
building monorail, Kazakhstan being the most recent example.  Of course 
for someone who's studied this issue, this just means that they're not 
complete idiots.

When one takes real-world cost facts into consideration along with 
headlines that read "Light rail heavy on accidents" 
(http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3009273,00.html), 
the only suitable comparison I can think of when I hear LRT enthusiasts 
criticize monorail is Bush declaring victory in Iraq.  The only 
difference is that Bush is being slightly more rational and cogent.

Here are some more quotes from disgruntled first-day users of the LVM 
(see first link cited):

Ben Mitchell, 68, of Raleigh, N.C., was staying at the Sahara with his 
wife. He didn't know the monorail would start running until just before 
the line opened.  "I said, `Let's ride it,' " he said. "It's a pretty 
day. And we didn't have to deal with all that traffic. It's cheaper than 
the taxis." So what did he think? "So far, it's nice," he said. "It's a 
whole lot quicker than going down the Strip by foot or car."

"It's a different view than (from) a car or a bus," said Rocco Fortunato
of West Aliquippa, Pa. "It was nice, comfortable, smooth. A nice
panoramic view of things you can't see from ground level."

The monorail ride was better than dealing with cars on the Strip, said 
John Steele, 53, of Tucson, Ariz., who said he scheduled his trip in 
hopes of riding the monorail. "How else can you get around a big city?" 
he asked. "You've been on Las Vegas Boulevard. We're going over the cars."

"We're going over the cars."  LRT is in the street, in traffic.  Will 
someone, please, PLEASE tell me why this concept is so hard to 
comprehend for some people, specifically Cap Metro affiliates and long 
time LRT enthusiasts?  Perhaps warm up with something easy, like 
explaining why some Republicans still support Bush despite the biggest 
budget deficits in history, decimated civil liberties, a weak, shaky 
economy, and extraordinary world-wide shame and loss of internations 
support thanks to state-sanctioned torture chambers.  Inquiring minds 
would love to know.