Agreed, having the monorail go down the west side would be a big benefit. And as I think about it more, I suppose there could be a larger benefit if the major convention centers (the existing LVCC, the Riviera expansion, Sands, and Mandalay Bay) were better connected. Not to mention, in my ideal world, this could spur development of a connection between Excalibur and the Monte Carlo tram, which gets you almost to Bellagio, and then you're off to the races from there.

Bottom line, I'm all in favor of developing the monorail, especially if it makes them money, and encourages further development. MGM-Mandalay just seems like a weird idea.

Eh, public transportation is not supposed to make money. I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions in today's environment -- there are so many externalities and not-directly-quantifiable benefits. Look at the NYC Subway, it loses money every year, but when it was shut down post-Hurricane Sandy, the city was an nightmarish hellscape. Public transit has to be measured in terms of taking cars off the road, increasing convenience, reducing the amount of energy used, etc. One of the only systems that makes money is Hong Kong, and that's because they own a ton of real estate around/above the stations, and develop those.

EDIT: That said, the LV monorail has not been a well-conceived project.

 

Its worth noting that the monorail is not technically public transportation.

It is a private non profit.

So I would think the bondholders of the original project would consider the original money "bad". Whether this is a bad further investment would be a matter of who is paying , what they are paying, and how much the extension raises rates or increases ridership.

 

And it's not really public transit in the sense of logically getting folks from here to there. It's a vanity piece.

 

Fair enough. I just think of it as "public" in the sense that it's been paid for in part with publicly-subsidized bonds, and I do have as a pet issue the fact that transit shouldn't necessarily make money, it should be considered a service just like roads. After all, the NYC subway was originally privately-owned, but the city couldn't function without it today.

But Ken, agreed that it's a vanity project. If it were actually getting cars off the roads, and people from Point A to Point B in an efficient manner, I'd feel differently, but for the most part it's only useful if the particular Point A you're at, and the particular Point B you want to get to, are both exactly on the monorail line.

 

Have any of you actually ridden it?

I find a great way to get from Harrah's to MGM and vice versa. People complain about the long walk from the stations, and that is true. However, you are in a/c and it's better than walking in the heat and much better than taking a cab.

With the advent of NHL games, it will be very convenient. I don't care about vanity pieces, wastes of space or any of that. I just want to get from here to there.

 

It's like everything else in Vegas and life: If it works for you, let it work for you.

After any number of novelty rides, I only came to use the monorail to get from a station-served casino-hotel to the convention center for trade shows. And now most of my shows are at the Venetian/Sands Convention Center, so I now park at TI and walk over, unless I'm staying mid-north Strip.

 

It certainly has its uses, but the price is high for what you get, and the usefulness goes away the further your start or destination is from one of the key stops.

As I said above though, if they ever do get it running down behind both sides, it could be quite handy in summer.

 

I just wish that the (original) plan to have a people-mover down the center of LVB had been approved instead of this thing.
If I'm remembering correctly, it was supposed to run from the Trop to the Sahara (first stage), and then later, from the Sahara to Fremont St.
It would be funded and maintained using public dollars...there would be 'step-offs' at all major business/public locations...much like a regular city bus-line.
It got shot down in favor of the monorail.

 

It does come in handy for my trips. I stay at MB/Delano often and will catch the monorail at MGM to head down to the Linq or SLS. Having a stop at Mandalay would cut down on the time. I think it takes me about 15-20 minutes to get from MB to the monorail station currently (express tram to Excalibur and then walking to MGM).

I'm primarily a Mlife guy, so if the monorail ever extended to the opposite side of the strip, it would be hugely beneficial. But at the same time, it would be sweet if MGM combined their current tram setups and which would allow me to get from MB to Bellagio.

 

I would take it from MB to SLS. I've done that from a few stations and never go to SLS or really anything when staying at MB. But I am sure not that many people would do that so it seems a bit of a waste. If it eventually went in a loop that would be cool.