The summer monorail pricing scheme was unveiled last week, and after taking the Monorail a couple of times over Memorial Day weekend, it didn’t seem to have a massive impact on ridership.

Basically, they are simply cutting the price of a daily pass price by $7, while leaving every other fare structure the same … such as the infamous $5 one-way ride.

It is a step in the right direction, but likely not nearly enough.

$8 per day makes more financial sense than $15, but it is still $4 each way assuming one round-trip daily … which is probably about par for the average Las Vegas tourist.

That is $16 per day for a couple … which is still a bit more than a one-way cab ride. Remember, a cab will take up to 5 people (4 people ride for free).

I still think the base Monorail price should be $1.75 each way per ride. All day, every day, for everyone … with perhaps a 10 ride ticket costing $15. (like gift cards, many rides on 10 ride tickets go unused … and they expire in 1 year)

$5 to go from the Flamingo to Bally’s is beyond asinine. It’s a 3 minute walk.

In any major city, you have to make the inconvenience of navigating mass transit cost considerably less than a cab or private vehicle before anyone will make use of it. The 4 mile length of the current Las Vegas Monorail system is just not saving much money over cab fare.

A much lower overall cost structure, and many more stations, are needed to get the rail into the black.

A new announcement I noticed over the weekend while riding the rail is a new recording that says “The Las Vegas Monorail gives you direct access to the back of the casinos … which would be a long walk for most people”.

I am not kidding.

Un-fucking-believable.
They really are trying to spin the idea that the horrid, no-mans-land location of the stations are somehow timesavers over entering through the front of the properties. After all, most people have to walk hundreds of yards to get beautiful views of the parking garages and loading docks. But you, lucky Monorail rider, get to see them first!
You can’t blame them for trying …. I guess.