Las Vegas rolls out new privately funded monorail

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 26, 2003 | by Ken Ritter Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- Fireworks, confetti and balloons swirled as promoters of a private monorail system rolled out one of the cars Tuesday that they hope will carry 55,000 passengers a day between the Las Vegas Convention Center, hotels and casinos.

"Viva Las Vegas" blared as a curtain dropped to reveal a bus- sized car painted black and green with a Monster Energy Drink logo.

"This is as cool as it gets," said Mayor Oscar Goodman, who was escorted by showgirls to a stage. He predicted the four-mile-long monorail "will redefine Las Vegas as we presently know it."

Project managers are calling the privately-funded public transit project the first of its kind in the United States.

They are selling advertisers display space on the nine trains and seven stations, and say the system can break even with fares averaging $2.50 per trip from 20 million passengers a year.

Another sponsor -- Motorola Inc. -- signed on to sponsor a second train at $1 million a year for at least three years, officials said Tuesday.

"We thought it was a natural fit," Lea Faso, spokeswoman for the cell phone maker, said from Plantation, Fla. "There are a number of conventions and activities (in Las Vegas) that are related to our business users."

John Haycock, chairman of Las Vegas Monorail Co., the nonprofit builder and system operator, said the project was on time and under budget. The first passengers could be boarding trains Jan. 20, he said.

Single-trip fares are expected to be $3, with passes and discounts for repeat riders and conventioneers.

"At $3 a trip, it'll be the cheapest way to get around Las Vegas," said Cam Walker, chief executive of Transit Systems Management, the company that will run the monorail.

A similar cab ride between the two end stations -- at the MGM Grand and Sahara hotel-casinos -- costs at least $16 and can take 15 to 30 minutes or more, depending on traffic. A $2 bus ride can take much longer.

Las Vegas gets about 35 million visitors a year, including 5 million convention delegates, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

If the system carries only delegates to and from the Convention Center, it will pay for itself, Walker said.

System promoters hope the ride draws curious tourists and becomes as popular as the monorail at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

"The monorail is an attraction," said Patrick Pharris of Promethian Partners, sales agent for the train and station advertising contracts. "It's a ride that will attract people, not just for transportation."

Marc Falcone, a gambling analyst with Deutsche Bank in New York City, said fare box revenues will be crucial. He said the system may not bring more visitors to Las Vegas but might distribute guests to hotels more widely.

"It will improve the Strip infrastructure and benefit the properties," Falcone said by telephone from Minneapolis. "In some respects, it shows that Las Vegas continues to make strides to become a more metropolitan city."