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Las Vegas Monorail Finally Ready To Open
doormat writes "The Las Vegas monorail is finally set to open to the public on July 15th! The project has had some problems - it was originally scheduled to open in March. The first part of the monorail, which uses Bombardier M-VI train vehicles, 'a derivative of the famous Walt Disney World Mark VI trains', is 4 miles long and connects several casinos on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip (see map, QT video), as well as the Las Vegas Convention Center (Home to CES, NAB, Networld+Interop and what was Comdex). Future phases seek to expand the monorail to downtown to the North, the west side of the strip, and eventually the University and the airport (which the taxicab and limo groups fight tooth and nail). I swear it's the strip's only choice... throw up your hands and raise your voice! Monorail, Monorail, Monorail! Mono... D'oh!"
Also, they should Open Source this POS
Ummm... huh?
I hope you mean only releasing the source code for those who would like to see it, and not that you want the code developed according to the usual open source models.
Developing a system to control a vehicle carrying people is one thing that, at least i for one think, should be done by a set of well coordinated group of professionals.
Wasn't supposed to be a solution for everybody. It was, however, supposed to be a solution for the Strip and Convention Center.
Being as the vast majority of the Las Vegas economy seems to revolve around liberating cash from tourists, looks like a good thing to me.
Besides, that $654 million dollars came entirely from the private sector, through direct financial contributions and bonds. The taxpayers of Clark County aren't paying for it, so why the hell are you bitching?
Have you ever tried walking from one end of the strip to the other in the middle of summer? It takes forever to get anywhere by car or taxi, and the walk is WAY too long (especially when it's hot as hell outside).
Yeah, it doesn't get to the airport yet and has yet to cover the entire strip, but it's a start and will be a boon to many who regularly visit Vegas.
This post sponsored by Ninja Burger. "
"I've always wondered why the US hasn't built up their mass transit abilities on the national level."
That's the wrong question. You should be asking why we lost the one that we had. At the beginning of the century you could travel to almost anywhere you wanted to go in the US by rail. Little villages all across countryside had passenger rail service, most with multiple stops a day.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
But as bondholders, as long as the project is successful (and the risk on this is low), NV will get the investment back, plus interest, saving taxpayers money in the long run (ignoring inflation and larger budgets).
Governments SHOULD do this type of investing. If they did it correctly, we wouldn't have to pay taxes anymore. My dream is to build the federal treasury to a point where it operates off an annuity with no more income from the people. Granted, this will take a lot of upfront investment by the people, but it's a damn good thing.
Now to get elected...
"Why do you consent to live in ignorance and fear?" - Bad Religion
The last line of your sentence, "So much for the free market and consumer choice" has no relevance to what you said at all.
If you had planned your route in advance, carefully, instead of just winging it, you might have taken the right bus. For example, I can drive to "University Ave" and be miles away from the actual University.
The cabs aren't there because, as you say, you were in the "middle of nowhere". If this were a cab driver forum, you'd find no sympathy. Plus, if you happened upon a pay phone or thought ahead to bring a cell phone while traveling, you could call a taxi dispatcher. Or lacking a phone number for taxi dispatch, called local directory service (hint: 411 isn't just asking for girls' numbers) and a taxi would come.
In fact, it seems like your case is an excellent example of consumer choice--except you made some pretty naive choices. But since you were a tourist, I suppose it's excusable. Just plan ahead when you travel next time...you're a student, so you should be good at researching these kinds of things!
I'm an American currently stationed in Germany and I used to wonder the same thing myself before I got over here. Here's why it won't work the same.
Over here in Europe the populations are clumped together a lot more than in the states. In Germany all the villages are pretty tightly packed. You don't have big yards, many people live in small houses that are right up against the next house or at most has a small alleyway seperating the houses. You have these little villages and then you'll have a kilometer or three of farm land or woods and then the next village. In the states everyone has a big back yard, a house, and we aren't living right on top of each other. Our suburbs and definatly our rural areas are more spread out.
It's not feasible for every village in the US to have a train station or bus stop because with everyone so spread out it might be a couple mile walk to the nearest public transportation pick up. Where I grew up, Maine, NY, I was a few miles away from the center of the town and at least 6 or 7 miles away from the nearest bus stop. Where in Germany they are never more than a half mile or so from the nearest bus stop, or so it seems to me.
And so that's my opinion of why the US cannot have a mass transit system like they have here in Europe.
"Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home" - Cicero
Another problem is that to get to mass transit stations, most people have to travel some number of miles from their home. Most inter-city train stations are in the center of a city and parking is impossible or VERY expensive. In some cities this is not a problem for local trains because the systems' designers provided for ample suburban station parking and the local administrators see free parking as an incentive for people to use mass transit. In other cities, such as with the Washington, DC METRO system, the inadequately sized METRO parking lots fill up early in the day and the administrators charge for parking to subsidise rail operations. For more information about Washington DC METRO fair and parking increases and anticipated reduction in usage, see today's article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A193 08-2004Jun30.html
Probably because most people only get 2 weeks vacation and you can fly between any 2 points in the US for $200 or under if you are a smart fare shopper. Back at the turn of the century wasting time on a train was the only way to get anywhere. I'll happily take my 6 hour plane ride from FL to CA, thanks.