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LAS VEGAS TAXI DRIVER BLOG ARTICLES:
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009
LAS VEGAS TRIPS FOR BAILED OUT CORPORATIONS FEBRUARY 13, 2009
MAJOR LANE CLOSURES IN LAS VEGAS GOING FORWARD FEBRUARY 13, 2009
SOME LAS VEGAS TAXICAB COMPANIES PRESSURE CABBIES TO RIP OFF TOURISTS FEBRUARY 6, 2009
LAS VEGAS TAXICAB OWNERS GET HIT HARD BY RECESSION FEBRUARY 2, 2009
NEVADA TAXICAB BOARD DOES ITS JOB FEBRUARY 2, 2009
AVOID BEING LONG-HAULED BY A TAXI DRIVER JULY 15, 2007
Las vegas airport tunnel Taxi Rides - Which route to take?  JANUARY 19, 2009
Las vegas economy hits cabbies hard  JANUARY 18, 2009
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK LAS VEGAS CABBIES JULY 17, 2007
Chris Moneymaker Can Ride In My Taxi Anytime JULY 12, 2007
i hate cab driving  october 2, 2006
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Las Vegas Monorail to Airport

Big Waste, Won't Work

by Vegas Taxi Driver
February 26, 2007

Of course, that is what a cab driver would say! Well, I guarantee you I will not be driving a cab by the time the monorail extends to McCarran. No matter how stupid it is and no matter how much of a failure it turns out to be, I am sure it will transpire because of politics in Las Vegas. This is the monorail that is currently losing over $10 million annually now, after costing $650 million to build. The enthusiastic articles about how wonderful this proposal are void of real facts.

The current monorail has not delivered as promised, and now they want to extend it in the wrong direction. If the monorail was to be extended to downtown it would be a success, but going to McCarran Airport and Thomas and Mack will be a huge failure.

So, how many passengers would the monorail be able to take from McCarran Airport? How many people will be able to fit on the monorail, including luggage? Will it even put a dent in the number of passengers arriving at the number one destination airport in the world? How long will it take to load all those people with their luggage? How long will it take for all those people to unload with their luggage? And where does the monorail take these people with their luggage? Will they have to haul their luggage hundreds of yards through a busy casino to get to the hotel registration? Will other passengers be annoyed and stop using the monorail because they have to wait for all these luggage-hauling passengers? If the monorail is supposed to pick-up passengers leaving an event at Thomas and Mack, won't the monorail already be full of passengers getting on at McCarran Airport?

Sure, the professionals will figure all of that out, right? Then why can't people trying to leave a big convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center get on the monorail because it is already full of passengers who boarded at Hilton or Sahara? And why can't people trying to get on the monorail at Ballys or Harrahs to go to the Las Vegas Convention Center because the monorail is already full of passengers who got on at MGM? Is that dysfunctional, or what? Why does it cost more for 3 people to take the monorail from Sahara to MGM than it does to take a taxi? And then the passengers have to spend an extra 20 minutes walking to and from the monorail station. The amount of passengers that the monorail can currently haul from the Las Vegas Convention Center is a drop in the bucket in terms of passengers trying to leave the Las Vegas Convention Center at the end of a busy convention. The monorail goes to and from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the cab lines full of passengers going to and from the Las Vegas Convention Center are still as long as ever. So, what makes anyone believe that it will work any better at the airport, where everybody has lots of luggage?

The monorail should go downtown! That would work. No luggage, just people having fun. Because of the distance, people could actually save money over taking a cab. Downtown is 24 hours a day, unlike the airport and the Las Vegas Convention Center. If I was at MGM or Ballys, and wanted to get downtown, I would take the monorail. Even a group of 4 people can save money and get there without getting stuck in traffic. But I am sure that strip hotels will block that idea.

There are an average of 8600 taxi pick-ups a day at McCarran Airport, besides all the shuttles and limos. During peak times they have the capacity to only load 30 taxis right now. That translates to about 900 taxis per hour, or 1800 passengers per hour. During most times when passengers have to wait for an hour or more in line to get a taxi at the airport, the cab drivers are waiting over 20 minutes to get a ride. Why? Because there is not enough room and manpower at the airport to load more taxis. Instead of spending another $500 million extending the monorail to the airport, why not spend a fraction of that to double the taxi-loading capacity and shuttle-loading area at the airport?

by Vegas Taxi Driver
February 26, 2007

LAS VEGAS TAXI DRIVER BLOG ARTICLES:
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009
LAS VEGAS TRIPS FOR BAILED OUT CORPORATIONS FEBRUARY 13, 2009
MAJOR LANE CLOSURES IN LAS VEGAS GOING FORWARD FEBRUARY 13, 2009
SOME LAS VEGAS TAXICAB COMPANIES PRESSURE CABBIES TO RIP OFF TOURISTS FEBRUARY 6, 2009
LAS VEGAS TAXICAB OWNERS GET HIT HARD BY RECESSION FEBRUARY 2, 2009
NEVADA TAXICAB BOARD DOES ITS JOB FEBRUARY 2, 2009
AVOID BEING LONG-HAULED BY A TAXI DRIVER JULY 15, 2007
Las vegas airport tunnel Taxi Rides - Which route to take?  JANUARY 19, 2009
Las vegas economy hits cabbies hard  JANUARY 18, 2009
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK LAS VEGAS CABBIES JULY 17, 2007
Chris Moneymaker Can Ride In My Taxi Anytime JULY 12, 2007
i hate cab driving  october 2, 2006
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009

RELATED LAS VEGAS LINKS:

www.taxi-library.org Taxi-Library is a non-commercial educational website serving the taxicab industry worldwide. It provides an extensive collection of documents and links relating to the taxi business, which is a private segment of municipal and rural transportation systems throughout the world.

T H E  A U T H O R I T Y  O N   N E V A D A

T A X I   C A B   D R I V E R S   I N   L A S   V E G A S

Buffets In Las Vegas      Golf Courses In Las Vegas       Las Vegas Taxi Driver Blog

Las Vegas Taxi Cab Companies     Las Vegas Taxicab Fares and Prices

Nevada Taxicab Authority Info    Las Vegas Taxicabs Lost and Found