Vegas Monorail Still Wants to Start Airport Line in 2008

CARSON CITY, Nev. - The future of the Las Vegas Monorail is "very bright" and includes possibly extending the line to McCarran International Airport by 2011, the company's president said Tuesday.

Curtis Myles told the Assembly Transportation Committee that monorail farebox revenues rose last year. The company has revenue available to pay its operating and maintenance costs and debt through 2010, he added.

Myles, however, made no mention of the fact that daily ridership on the monorail in 2006 dropped to 19,219, down 31.7 percent from the normal daily ridership of 28,122 in 2005. The base one-way fare was increased to $5, up from $3, in December 2005.

He also didn't mention that the privately financed line has never made a profit and has fallen far short of revenue targets promised to bondholders who underwrote the bulk of construction costs. Nor did he say that some credit rating firms dropped the Las Vegas Monorail Co.'s grade to "junk" bond status in 2006.

Instead, he noted that ridership compares "quite favorably" with transportation systems in Denver and Salt Lake City.

"We have received a lot of criticism, some of it due," Myles said. "But compared to other states, it has been relatively successful."

"We do see a current trend of revenue that is positive and on the upswing," he said, referring to an increase of 4 percent in 2006 over 2005. "That does not seem to resonate with members of our press corps."

Members of the committee praised Myles and his work during the hearing.

"It is in my district," said Assemblyman Joseph Hogan, D-Las Vegas. "We are very supportive of what you are trying to do."

Transportation Committee Chairman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, said he has known Myles for a long time and told him "with your type of skills, the monorail will get to where it needs to be."

After the hearing, Atkinson said the monorail is a private company, and the Legislature really has no say about how it operates.

"That is why the committee members were softer than in the past," he said. "In the past, we beat up the monorail. But the fact is, it is not a government agency, and it is not operated by government."

Atkinson said members are concerned about the downturn in ridership, but want Myles to have an opportunity to turn things around.

Myles told the committee that 40,000 hotel rooms will be added in Las Vegas by 2010, and there is a potential of 25,000 work trips being taken every day by their employees. He said the Strip is already congested, and there simply isn't room for more cars.

"Las Vegas in 2020 will look like this weekend with the NBA in town," he said, referring to Sunday's NBA All-Star Game at the Thomas & Mack Center. "That is a significant problem when your economy depends on the ability of people to move around."

He said the monorail wants to begin construction in 2008 to extend service to McCarran. The cost of the extension is not yet known, according to Myles, although he mentioned various figures that added up to more than $600 million.

"It will be privately financed," he said, expressing confidence about raising the money.

Once the extension is completed in 2011, the monorail would have five additional stops, including two at McCarran.

"It will help relieve congestion," said Atkinson about extending the monorail to the airport. "Every little bit helps."

In response to a question from Atkinson, Myles said it would not be economically feasible to extend the monorail into downtown Las Vegas.

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