Tracey vs. the Monorail
A dissatisfied Las Vegas monorail rider questions system expansion. Warns about dangerous effects monorails have on officials and investors.
Full article here: We Are Never, Ever, Ever Getting a Monorail
Ms. Lindeman writes that since the Las Vegas monorail is underused and has had financial problems it should receive no expenditure for expansion. In other words, it should remain small and ineffective, serving only a few hotels.
She goes on to point out how most monorails around the world are in the same state - that is, they “go nowhere”. Oddly though, as this implies, and as she point out later, the largest monorail system, the one with the most financial backing, the one that goes to lots of places, and services lots of venues, is thriving and moves hundreds of thousands of people each day.
The reason, Ms. Lindeman, that the Las Vegas monorail was vacant the day you rode it is because it was installed in an inconvenient location, and since it serves only a handful of hotels, there isn't much reason to use it. But that can be changed.
Expanding the monorail to service more hotels, the airport, and other locations throughout the city will drastically increase ridership, which in turn will make it a viable enterprise, and that will be good for Las Vegas.
In a world where economies loose billions of dollars each year due to traffic congestion, and in a world rapidly warming due to human consumption of fossil fuels, and in a world which looses millions of acres of wilderness each year to sprawling development and road construction, we need to build green, electric, automated, elevated monorail systems in all US cities. Put Americans to work building monorails.
Instead of widening highways, raise monorail track! Auto manufacturers - build monorails... US Monorails!
This is a commitment to America’s future.
