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Home » Forums » Questions and Answers » Las Vegas (other than gambling) » Bus Rapid transit to begin on March 28, 2010
Bus Rapid transit to begin on March 28, 2010
| March 2nd, 2010 at 10:14:59 AM permalink | |
| DJTeddyBear Member since: Nov 2, 2009 Threads: 105 Posts: 5737 | I wish I knew that before my trip last September. I was undecided on taking the #108 to the Sahara, or renting. I made the mistake of going to the rental agent building, being shocked at the lines, then going back to the airport to get on the #108. On the plus side, that was one hour less of losing money in the casino! :) Not a problem. At least it wasn't for me. Then again, my airport bus rides were midday during the week. Just don't expect to get any help getting your stuff on and off the bus. Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown.
But how much does it cost to knock on wood? |
| March 2nd, 2010 at 10:22:24 AM permalink | |
| pacomartin Member since: Jan 14, 2010 Threads: 547 Posts: 6224 |
The #108 will go north on Swensen and west on Desert Inn and north on Paradise. It will intersect Paradise about 1/3 mile north of Mardi Gras so you will have a little walk. Don't fall asleep on the bus. Get off on PARADISE/DESERT INN (19 minute transit, bus leaves every 20 minutes). Although the 1/3 mile walk is not ideal, it is the best you can do on the bus. You won't get any closer on the ACE. If your bag has wheels that is not really that long of a walk. The closest bus stop (PARADISE/DESERT INN) is at ( 36.129973°, -115.154585° ) so you can look at on graphing software. It is about 600 yards north of the front door of Mardi Gras Inn. On return trip to the airport the bus comes south on PARADISE so it will go by your hotel. The luggage is not a serious problem. These are not ancient buses and they have room to move around on. People take this bus to from the airport to Downtown, so it has some room for luggage. By a three day all acess pass so you can ride the ACE and the DEUCE. Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly -Edgar, betrayed son of Gloucester in King Lear |
| March 2nd, 2010 at 8:33:00 PM permalink | |
| Nareed Member since: Nov 11, 2009 Threads: 218 Posts: 7297 |
That's true, but buying tickets ahead of time won't eliminate delay. The tickets I bought, both a day pass on the Deuce and later 3-day passes, failed to be recognized by the scanner on the bus, oh, about 70% of the time. I wound up either being waved in by the driver, or showing the ticket to the driver to be waved in. I never was refused passage, though. This space is closed for remodeling |
| March 2nd, 2010 at 11:25:51 PM permalink | |
| pacomartin Member since: Jan 14, 2010 Threads: 547 Posts: 6224 | The ACE will not allow people to purchase a ticket onboard. In fact it uses a system like light rail where there are random checks. Three entrance doors will speed up boarding. There actually is a bus rapid transit system that has been working in Las Vegas for a number of years, but most tourists don't use it since it goes from downtown to Nellis air force base. The plan is to put five BRT lines in. It is an ambitious project for the city. Additional features that speed up the line are limited stops, computer controlled entrances and exits from the stations so that the bus will line up evenly every time, level entrances and exits (no stops), limited use by disabled passengers (who have their own buses), computer controlled traffic lights (like ambulances and police cars), and in some areas downtown dedicated bus lanes so no competition with cars. The final result is not quite as fast as light rail, but the flexibility is considerably better. Fremont Street will become much more accessible. Since it will only be 16 minutes from Fashion Show Mall it won't feel as isolated. In addition there will only be one highly visible station so people won't get lost. The line will continue the opposite direction to the off price shopping mall and the furniture exhibition. The line will be decorated with old neon signs so it is a little more fun. Hopefully it will spawn a bunch of new condominiums and galleries. The city of Las Vegas has only had three major new casinos built inside the city limits in the last 20 years, and the Golden Nugget underwent an extensive renovation. But the city is home for 600K of the 2 million people who live in the county. Fremont street probably would have vanished except for the city efforts. Although it is dwarfed by the major strip casinos, it is still work for over 10K people and 10K hotel rooms and represents a $1 billion per year. The city has very little choice but to try to keep it going, since the new casinos are built outside of the city limits. Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly -Edgar, betrayed son of Gloucester in King Lear |
| March 2nd, 2010 at 11:47:45 PM permalink | |
| calwatch Member since: Feb 7, 2010 Threads: 3 Posts: 74 | I don't think the ACE will have ambulance-style signal preemption, nor will it have its own lane on Las Vegas Boulevard. So it will still get stuck in nighttime gawker traffic. I haven't been out there recently to determine if they have built the MAX style stations (that is what the current BRT on North Las Vegas Boulevard is called) with level boarding platforms. On MAX the driver actually announces over the speaker that the ramp between the bus and platform are retracting. Level boarding helps but the disabled still have to be able to ride because of ADA. Even low floor buses would help, but Deuce is already low floor boarding. |
| March 3rd, 2010 at 7:28:54 AM permalink | |
| Nareed Member since: Nov 11, 2009 Threads: 218 Posts: 7297 |
It should have its own lane in the Strip, it would reduce traffic. I know it sounds absurd to remove one lane to general circulation in roder to reduce traffic, but it works. In Mexico city there's a system known as Metrobus (Metro being taken from the name of the city's subway) which works just like that in two major avenues. Of course the public transit situation in mexico was more chaotic, but confining the traffic that is slow and makes frequent stops to one lane still helps. Another modification made in the mexican system is that left turns across the avenue are forbidden. The system has worked so well here, two more lines are being set up. But the best public transit system has and always will be a subway (maybe an elevated train, too). It removes all operations underground and doesn't have to take traffic into consideration. On the downside, it's expensive to build and can only serve a few routes. It's also rigid. But for such routes as it serves, it's near-perfect. The monorail, as it was set up in Vegas, is of limited use. It's good to travel the Strip, but the stations are rahter far from the casinos and the streets. One year I used the monorail almost exclusively, the next I shunned it entirely. The latter year I did notice I spent more time traveling, but less time wakling; I was also less tired after a full day. This space is closed for remodeling |
| March 3rd, 2010 at 7:29:48 AM permalink | |
| pacomartin Member since: Jan 14, 2010 Threads: 547 Posts: 6224 |
It won't have it's own lane on Las Vegas Strip for right now. possibly one in the future. Most of the downtown sections will be dedicated lanes, The Route #108 from the airport to downtown will be reduced in time from 42 minutes to 25 minutes since it will follow a more direct route. The Deuce on the strip from Palace Station to Mandalay Bay will only be 25 minutes. The ACE Gold Line will be 47-49 minutes from the Car Rental place past Fremont Street to Symphony Park where the outlet mall is located. But it will only be 25 minutes from Fremont Street to Excalibur. It will be as fast as the monorail possibly faster if you consider walking time to the monorail stations. Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly -Edgar, betrayed son of Gloucester in King Lear |
| March 28th, 2010 at 2:23:40 AM permalink | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| pacomartin Member since: Jan 14, 2010 Threads: 547 Posts: 6224 |
I would just get on the route #108 bus from the airport (73 buses per day on weekdays). MAIN street casino is one block away from the Downtown Transit Center or DTC. Starting 28 March 2010 Route #108 will go straight downtown. The bus ride will take between 28 minutes at night to 49 minutes in the afternoon and is a vast improvement over the previous meandering route. It takes roughly the same amount of minutes to ride the ACE portion of the trip from South Strip Transit terminal (car rental facility) to DTC. The only variable is the wait time, but the #108 comes every 18 minutes. The #109 to the car rental is every 15 minutes, and the ACE comes every 8 to 10 minutes. DAY BUSES ROUTE #108
NIGHT BUSES ROUTE #108
The regional transport considers Route 108 is a general market fixed route service and does not promote it's use for tourists. So there are no signs saying which hotels are conveniently reached by the bus, and there is no special place for luggage or assistance provided. The route is convenient to Riviera, Circus Circus, Sahara, Stratosphere and all the downtown hotels with a bit of a walk. It is not convenient to Hard Rock or Terrible's casino. Some small hotels like the Best Western Mardi Gras are within 500 yards of the bus route (get off at convention center). It is a convenient choice for the able bodied budget guest who has a single bag with wheels. I have had little luck in figuring out if there is a place to purchase the $15 ( 3 day ticket ) at the airport. I know you can purchase them online but you need a week to get the pass in the mail. You cannot purchase them on the bus. I am afraid they may not have a machine at the airport so that tourists can't take advantage of the fare. If you can't find a machine, buy a $2 one way cash ticket (have the exact fare) and then get your 3 day pass downtown or at any ticket vending machine. If you are returning within 3 days then you can have your fare paid on your way back to the airport and it will only cost the extra $2. Taxi's cost a lot more than $15. If enough taxi drivers complain they may go back to the old routing for #108 so it only goes by the Hilton. Many Hilton customers are on expense account, and are less inclined to take the bus than the Circus Circus or Riviera customers (who are presumably all budget customers). Either way it will still be the cheapest way to get downtown. Downtown will now become a much more convenient budget option since the ACE transit service will make trips to the strip considerably easier. Downtown may provide a nice alternative to the north strip budget casinos (Palace Station, Stratosphere, Sahara, Riviera, and Circus Circus. Even the four diamond Golden Nugget has low priced rooms in the Carson Tower. Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly -Edgar, betrayed son of Gloucester in King Lear | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 30th, 2010 at 1:52:37 PM permalink | |
| jburgess Member since: Mar 18, 2010 Threads: 4 Posts: 23 | I'm staying at the Mandalay bay in May, and flying in on a Firday night. So I expect the cab line to be out of control. I was considering taking the car rental shuttle from the airport to the rental car center, and then taking the Ace to Mandalay Bay. A few questions: 1.) I dont see the rental car place on the Ace route map http://www.rtcsouthernnevada.com/transit/route/acegold/ACEGold%283-28-10%29.pdf 2.) Do all stops have ticket machines? Meaning will I be able to buy a ticket at the rental car place 3.) Is the Mandalay at the same and of the Ace route as the rental car place. I would assume it is. 4.) What do you think of my plan will it save time? Time is actually more important to me in this case then money, but it may be a good money saver for others. |
| March 30th, 2010 at 3:14:53 PM permalink | |
| pacomartin Member since: Jan 14, 2010 Threads: 547 Posts: 6224 |
1.) Nothing in the official literature or posted signs is designed to make it easy to use public transportation from the airport (except to the car rental place). The southern terminal on the ACE map is called the South Strip Transit Terminal which is within walking distance of the car rental terminal. You take the same bus (route #109) from the airport to get to the car rental or the southern terminal of the ACE. I think that the only reason that the route #108 bus goes to the airport is so that poor people can get to their jobs. 2.) All ACE and DEUCE stops have ticket machines. There are thousands of bus stops throughout the city which do not all have ticket machines. I don't believe there is one at the airport. You must pay $2 in cash (exact change required) to take your initial segment. 3.) I am not sure I understand this question, but there is an ACE stop (also a DEUCE stop) across the street from the Mandalay Bay. It is a lengthy walk across the street and the parking lot to the front door. 4.) If time is a priority then take a taxi. Print out a copy of NEVADA TAXI CAB AUTHORITY which shows the fare to the Luxor and show it to the taxi driver and ask him about the fare to Mandalay Bay (which is not on the list). That way you will know if he is ripping you off. Fare should not be very high as MB is next to the Luxor. Mandalay Bay is a tempting place to soak the patron. There are alternative ways to get there are much higher cost, and they know that many guests are on expense accounts and/or reasonably wealthy, Shuttle buses are extremely slow even to nearby resorts as they snake in and out of one resort after another. Small savings in money but large time cost. I only recommend public transportation to patrons of budget properties (like Circus Circus, Riviera, Sahara, Stratosphere or downtown). Otherwise with the 15 minute ride from the airport, the transfer to the ACE, and the lack of any consideration for baggage, it is too much trouble to be worth the cost savings. The general preservation rights to high cost taxis to transport people from the airport is common in the third world cities. In Europe or Japan there is almost always a reasonable public transportation option to get to the airport. Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly -Edgar, betrayed son of Gloucester in King Lear |
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