Las Vegas is one big sprawling desert metropolis. Rapid transit such as LRT or subway is difficult to justify.

Several monorail systems have been tried, but mostly they work to get riders from one casino to another of the same consortium, by-passing the casinos of competitors. And the routes go behind the buildings, away from the flashy strip where everyone wants to be.

Casinos are all flash and fantasy; so is their rapid transit. If you can’t have trains, at least mock up the buses to look like trains. Funny thing is, just like the gaudy buildings are attractive (in their own way) and most of the hotels built in the last twenty years are serious star-chitecture, the odd buses look pretty good. The vehicle fronts look just like the latest LRT.

And they function really well, with a continuous stream of them heading up and down the strip at all hours of the day and night.

In the picture above, the train-bus is shown with one of the older Deuce line double deckers (the same ones as we have here in Ottawa) which used to make up the strip fleet but were not well suited to the frequent stops and hordes of people being engorged and disgorged.

You can’t pull the slot machine handle if you sprained your wrist going down the stairs on a moving double decker.

The buses have 3 double doors, the rear one being right at the back of the bus, which might end the subjective sense of being “trapped” and unable to get out.

In Vegas, even the bus shelters had ‘striking’ architecture. The roofs have solar-powered lighting. Instead of benches, there are leaning rails reminiscent of the ol’ hitching post:

 

 

 

Vending tickets is a major challenge in a city where the majority of the potential clientèle of the train-bus line will be virgins, first-timers …  a common ticket is a 24-hour pass which eliminates the need to buy tickets every trip:

 

 

Note: above pic were taken in 2012.

If transit in the American SW interests you, there is a three part series  (from 2012) of stories on Phoenix’s LRT, including some videos, starting here: https://www.westsideaction.ca/phoenix-lrt-station-designs/ .  Note that the Phoenix system operates like a streetcar on semi-segregated street surfaces in the core, and more like a LRT on its own rights of way out of the core, albeit with grade crossings.

and https://www.westsideaction.ca/phoenix-lrt-part-ii/

and https://www.westsideaction.ca/phoenix-lrt-part-iii/.  Part 3 has the ride’em video.

Some of the observations and comparisons to Ottawa may have become dated or overtaken by events.