Las Vegas People Mover Integration Potential

As of 2008, the city of Las Vegas, Nevada featured five operating or under-renovation automated people movers (APMs), excluding those serving McCarran International Airport and the Primm resorts located some 40 miles south of Las Vegas. This paper investigates the feasibility of linking four of the five APMs into an integrated, seamless system. The vision would be of an interconnected, driverless transit loop that would supplement traditional ground transportation modes (private auto, taxi, shuttle bus, walking). One challenge is the varying technologies of the APMs: three are cable-propelled, while one, the Las Vegas Monorail, runs on electricity. Also, none of the track infrastructures are similar, making it infeasible to simply connect them. Differing lengths, speeds, acceleration rates, train sizes, and other aspects are also barriers to integration. Further, with the exception of the monorail, all of the APMs were funded by Las Vegas resort owners for the purpose of serving travel within their properties. The benefits and additional costs of a public, fully-connected system would need to be rectified with the owners. Three integration alternatives are proposed: extending the monorail to form a continuous loop, linking the APMs and the monorail, and connecting the APMs with moving walkways. The latter alternative is the most infeasible, and potentially the least attractive. The former alternative has been discussed as part of the monorail’s Phase 3 plans, although the author estimates a $1 billion price tag. Coordination of trains under the second alternative is theoretically feasible, with a 40-min round trip and sustained, 10-min headways. The challenges of full connection are not insurmountable, but would require extensive technological modifications, alterations, and reconstruction. Compromises would need to be reached among the owners regarding the technology and operations adjustments. Another challenge would be identifying sites for and funding four new stations, at which passengers would be able to make cross-platform transfers.