Like many Angelinos, I was distracted by the infernos over the past almost two weeks. While my home and immediate family were and are ok (other than the toxic ash covering our house/yard), I know many family, friends and colleagues that have been impacted by the fires.
Of course, there’s only so much that is (and was) in our control. So, while I was distracted by the fires, I did accomplish one of my goals while attending the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas as L.A. (sadly) burned: checking out The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).
(Interesting sidenote: if you click on The Boring Company’s weblink above and then the LVCC’s Vegas Loop link, you may initially think you clicked on the same link. But you didn’t. The Boring Company’s landing page prominently displays the Vegas Loop just as the LVCC does, though the LVCC’s link is an actual Loop subpage and The Boring Company’s is not. But THAT is how important the Vegas Loop is to The Boring Company. More on that below.)
IF you listened to the Transit Unplugged Podcast’s New Years Eve show where I was interviewed by my friend Paul Comfort, you would learn that I love incorporating walking into my transit rides. And that’s the interesting thing about the Vegas Loop: basically, it saves you about 20-30 minutes of walking at the LVCC. If you’ve ever been to a convention at the LVCC, you’d know that saving 20-30 minutes of walking could be a necessary reprieve as the number of steps you take while attending a show is many. Still, I was tempted to forgo the Vegas Loop as I was so distracted by the fires, but I’m glad I came to my senses.
As you will notice in the video, there is a “public transit” feel to the Vegas Loop: there’s a transit map, a station, and an escalator ride with others that make you feel like you’re about to ride any other light rail. But once you get about halfway down the escalator, you’re struck by how different the Vegas Loop is. And that’s because you “board” a Tesla car driven by a human driver and you pile in with 2 to 3 other passengers going whatever direction you are.
The tunnels the cars drive through in the Vegas Loop (somehow) feel both futuristic (especially with the changing neon) and anticlimactic. The road the cars traverse through the tunnel looks like a normal road (as it should, right?). After about 30 seconds, the tunnels give way to ramps and then you are on the other side of the LVCC.
What I think is missing are driverless connected pods, though I’m sure that’s where The Boring Company is heading with Elon Musk at the helm. With Tesla’s anticipated production of its robotaxis starting sometime during or before 2027, it seems like the Vegas Loop is built with the Tesla robotaxi in mind.
And while the LVCC is the main hub of the Vegas Loop, it’s already expanding its reach beyond the LVCC footprint. Resorts World was the first property to get a station, and the Westgate just opened its station a few days after CES. The long-term plan for the Vegas Loop is for 68 miles of tunnels, with 104 stations, with hopes, someday, of connecting to the Las Vegas airport (should it ever get the FAA support it needs). It would also be incredible to have the Vegas Loop connect to Brightline’s SoCal to Vegas high speed rail station.
Of course, some are concerned about the lack of oversight of The Boring Company’s expanding footprint in Las Vegas. If you’re interested in the history of The Boring Company and how it rose to prominence in and “under” Las Vegas, I suggest reading the ProPublica article I linked to. As the article notes, Boring and Vegas may provide insight into how Musk and the soon-to-be-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may play out. I think the fear is that those running DOGE will push to reduce government oversight of projects like the Vegas Loop.
I think the debate is akin to a “public works philosophy” question that comes down to the following: in creating/constructing solutions to problems like traffic, should the project sponsor ask for permission or forgiveness. “Permission” in large scale projects like the Vegas Loop and other ambitious transit/public works projects requires completing all required environmental reviews, public input, oversight, i.e., the combination of red and green tape that tends to slow down projects and make them more expensive, while providing for comfort in their safety and impact along with government funding before a shovel pierces the ground. “Forgiveness” requires that such projects be completely privately funded and if a project fails or causes any harm, then such private parties must pay very stiff penalties that should happen quickly with (hopefully) little litigation.
Watching The Boring Company in Vegas will be a future focus of The Commute. It’s clear that the success of the Vegas Loop will likely be a make-or-break for The Boring Company, and, for now, we’re hoping it succeeds.
There’s always been a strong connection between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. And with Brightline connecting Southern California to Las Vegas via rail, I suspect (hope?) everyone will be watching and hoping that Las Vegas will be successful in its cutting-edge approach to solving its traffic problems, even if an approach ruffles some feathers along the way. Because the pain of Vegas traffic is not what you want to deal with while you are supposed to be making memories that are supposed to just stay in Las Vegas, if you know what I’m saying.
(Sidenote #2: the song that plays during the video is from one of my old punk bands, Left Out. The track is called “Wasted Time,” though I don’t think I wasted my time checking out the Vegas Loop. I do think we waste too much time in traffic, and I hope I’ll see more innovate (but safe) traffic solutions in the future).
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