r/BoringCompany • u/loderingo49 • 20d ago

A few questions about the Vegas Loop

1) Is Encore station likely to be open by August?
2) When it opens, will it be possible to travel from Encore to Westgate or Resorts World directly or will it require a transfer at LVCC Central station?
3) Is the reason why the Paradise route doesn’t go all the way to the airport due to protests from the taxi drivers?
4) Will there be a way for passengers to get from the end of the Paradise route to the airport e.g. continuing on surface roads?

Thanks!

1 Upvotes

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u/Interesting_Egg2550 20d ago edited 20d ago
  1. Likely yes based on public statements. But .... they are often late.
  2. You ride in a stock tesla. You should not need to transfer, just tell the driver where you want to go. Remember, right now The Loop is not open everyday, you may even be required to show a convention badge to ride it. Hopefully when Encore opens up it goes into full time operation.
  3. No. First, the Taxi Lobby pressure was always over stated. The Monorail's problems were always much much deeper than a few complaining taxi companies. Now a days, "taxi lobby" is a silly thing to worry about. The airport is a complex facility and is in the midst of a modernization project. I suspect that it will connect at the new transportation hub that the airport is building -- but nothing has been announced.
  4. Yes. Uber, Taxi, bus, sneakers. Anything beyond that would be a guess.

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u/loderingo49 20d ago

Thank you

point 2 - the reason I asked is that the map by Grant seemed to show 2 different LVCC Central stations

point 4 - seems a bit weird to build the connection before the hub is ready. If I was travelling from airport to Resorts World then I wouldn’t get an uber to Virgin then switch to the Loop. I’d just get an Uber all the way.

I don’t really get why build Paradise next then. I would have connected to the rest of the north strip hotels - Circus C, Font, Sahara, Strat first then gradually worked south down the strip

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u/Interesting_Egg2550 20d ago

2: Grants map is nice. here is the official map: https://www.lvcva.com/vegas-loop/

4: there is more to the paradise loop than the airport. My guess is some sort of agreement with UNLV is driving that section. There will eventually be 7+ stops along that route, including UNLV. It also provides a route up Tropicana to the new stadium

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u/Iridium770 19d ago

Building on airport property can be difficult given the different overlapping authorities. I don't think it would work well while Boring is still in "barrel through" mode.

I agree that people will probably just Uber straight to their hotel. But, if they only have to Uber twice per trip, and all their other trips was via Loop, that would still be a big win.

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u/geoffreycarman 17d ago

On point 2. The entrance for the Teslas to the tunnels to Encore and the Silver lot junction and wherever they go, appear to be above ground. The LVCC Center station is underground, and as far as we know does not connect to those tunnels directly. (Would probably have been reported by people taking the Center station, noticing construction.)

So maybe you would have to transfer in that case, go upstairs to a different car.

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u/Interesting_Egg2550 5d ago

Point 2: Turns out Encore Station connects to the above ground Central station, not the underground station. At least according to the updated map.

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u/Sea-Juice1266 10d ago

Encore has apparently opened to traffic as of last week.

I believe it is likely vehicles will drive from the loop to the airport rideshare pick up/drop off zone on surface streets. The only reason not to do this would be concerns about random drivers getting into the loop. That’s already somewhat of a problem but I’m sure it can be managed.

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u/Interesting_Egg2550 5d ago

wow, didn't see any announcements on Encore connection open. But its on the official map and all of the text on the website lists it as a destination.

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u/Interesting_Egg2550 5d ago

Interestingly, Encore station is not directly connected to the rest of vegas loop. Its an above ground station right next to the under ground station (according to the official map)

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u/Sea-Juice1266 5d ago

There wasn’t any. It’s been common knowledge among people with business at the convention center for some days.

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u/SalesTherapy 20d ago

I have a few questions myself.

Why isn't the tunnel under vacuum?

Why isn't the vehicle moving at 200+ mph?

.... it's almost as if he promised something, couldn't deliver, and used a pre-existing bore to drive Teslas through.

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u/Iridium770 20d ago

Why isn't the tunnel under vacuum?

Why isn't the vehicle moving at 200+ mph?

Because you are thinking of Hyperloop, not Loop. And from the very first white paper that Musk had put out about Hyperloop he has been consistent in saying that he is too busy to work on Hyperloop but that he was releasing all IP he might have in the idea so that others could work on it.

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u/HoserOaf 20d ago

What IP?

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u/Iridium770 20d ago

Theoretically under our patent system, Musk could have potentially filed a patent for up to a year after publicizing it. I don't think he actually did, but his statements gave reassurance to others that they can run with the idea and not worry about Musk trying to get a piece of the pie later.

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u/HoserOaf 20d ago

But it wasn't a new idea. There was nothing novel about it.

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u/Iridium770 20d ago

I'm not familiar with anyone having suggested a vactrain that used an air cushion to float above the inner surface of a pipe before. Are you saying someone had proposed that before?

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u/HoserOaf 20d ago

Yes, since the 18th century.

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u/Iridium770 20d ago

I find it very hard to believe that prior to the invention of the electric motor, someone sat down and described using an air compressor in a partial vacuum to simultaneously create an air cushion and propel the vehicle forward.

The "atmospheric railway", which I believe you are referencing, is more of a human scale pneumatic tube. There are tons of patentable differences between that and Hyperloop. To take just one example, that proposal assumed that the carriages would go on traditional rail, versus skating along on an air cushion, something that would have been effectively impossible to create given the technology of the day.

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u/HoserOaf 20d ago

The only unique thing about hyperloop is that it was "invented" to stop high speed rail. This whole endeavor was to stop public transportation, because musk owns a car company.

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u/Iridium770 20d ago edited 20d ago

I believe the air cushion is unique. Are you aware of any prior proposals that use the air cushion?

This whole endeavor was to stop public transportation, because musk owns a car company.

This doesn't really make much sense to me. Hyperloop was always for the purpose of intercity travel, whereas people buy cars for their daily commute and local errands. Basically nobody is saying "I have access to local transportation such that I don't need to a car on a daily basis, but I'm going out to buy a Tesla because there isn't a high speed train between Los Angeles and San Francisco." The few times a carless person takes that trip, they'll just take a plane, a bus, rent a car for the week, etc. instead of buying a car just to drive to LA/SF every once in a while.

Conversely, Boring Loop, unlike CA High Speeds Rail or Hyperloop, could convince people to go carless (or at least go from a 2 to 1 car family) as it is able connect people from their home to their jobs/errands.

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u/Interesting_Egg2550 20d ago

That was never the plan for Vegas Loop. They are still talking about 'vacuum' tunnel to connect to cities. But 200 MPH to go 1 mile would be a very intense ride.

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u/smakson11 20d ago

200mph to go 1/2 a mile. Genius

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u/aBetterAlmore 20d ago

A reminder that when one doesn’t know (and didn’t look up) the difference between Loop and Hyperloop, it’s hard to take anything one says seriously.