Elon Musk’s Boring Firm has been laborious at work on its Vegas Loop transportation system for years, and it is now in operation in 10 stations — together with two on the metropolis’s Harry Reid Worldwide Airport.
Nicely, form of in operation. Whereas the Loop operates a system of tunnels connecting the Las Vegas Conference Middle to a number of accommodations, its tunnel to the airport shouldn’t be but open. So the Loop’s service to Harry Reid is … a human-driven Tesla, driving on floor streets somewhat than tunnels.
YouTuber Ray Delahanty, who goes by the moniker CityNerd, not too long ago visited the Loop — and the ensuing video highlighted what he referred to as the “farce” of its airport stations, in addition to a scarcity of signage directing riders.
What’s the Loop?
The Loop opened 5 years in the past, whisking folks across the conference heart in human-driven Teslas touring in single-lane tunnels dug by the Boring Firm (which, like Tesla, is owned by Elon Musk). The preliminary three-station, $47 million Loop (that is the associated fee quoted by the Boring Co.; different experiences point out it was nearer to $52 million) was paid for by the Las Vegas Conference and Guests Authority, which is funded by lodge mattress taxes; the LVCVA additionally covers $5 million in annual upkeep.
The stations are paid for by the casinos (and airport), with future tunnels paid for by the Boring Firm. At present, the system operates 5 stations on the conference heart, two on the airport, and stops at Encore, Westgate, and Fontainebleau resorts, with tickets costing between $6 and $12.
When the Loop is lastly full, the Boring Firm envisions 155 mph journey via 68 miles of tunnels and 104 stations — with riders pushed by autonomous autos carrying 90,000 passengers an hour — a doubtful quantity that might require each Vegas resident and customer to make use of it a number of instances a day. At present the system carries round 1 million riders yearly, or little greater than 114 folks an hour.
What’s the problem with the Loop?
At stations just like the one on the Fontainebleau resort, Teslas exit Boring tunnels after which enter the Fontainebleau parking storage, identical to every other automobile. The airport stations, which opened in December 2025, journey on floor streets for your complete five-mile path to the conference heart.
The Boring Firm is presently digging the underground tunnel to the airport and plans to open it earlier than the 12 months is out, in keeping with Delahanty’s Loop driver.
The most important downside with the stations? Not the inconsistency of the underground routes or the truth that the slim tunnels solely permit journey in a single route. It is how troublesome it’s for passengers to even discover the stations (an issue that has bedeviled the Las Vegas Monorail).
Neither the casinos nor the airport provide signage to the stations. The stations themselves usually lack facilities like seating or, as Delahanty found, working escalators.
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To make issues worse, among the few riders utilizing the Loop have been confused about how you can entry the autos (vehicles are requested by way of an app, like Uber or Lyft), resulting in awkward encounters.
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After some trial and error, Delahanty summoned a automobile on the airport and received a experience to the conference heart for an unbeatable $12 — a fraction of the value of an Uber, Lyft, or taxi. The drivers additionally appeared pleasant and keen to assist clients, no less than in Delahanty’s video.
Whereas the Boring Firm didn’t reply to our questions on Delahanty’s gripes, we did follow-up with the urbanist YouTuber on his Loop expertise. This is our dialog, edited for readability and brevity.
It appeared like one of many largest issues with the Loop is the scarcity of data on how you can experience and find stations. Did riders seem confused or acquainted with the Loop’s protocols?
My expertise was that a number of of the riders appeared acquainted with how the system works — as in the event that they’d used it earlier than — however most appeared confused about how you can know when and which arriving car was supposed to select them up. A number of the riders appeared confused about how you can purchase a ticket and order a experience, though this appears fairly clear to me when you handle to search out the station.
There isn’t a Boring tunnel connecting to the airport but, so why is the corporate providing a $12 airport service?
I actually do not know why they’ve elected to begin offering this service earlier than the connecting tunnel, which is meant to be full by the tip of 2026. It actually capabilities like a typical Uber/Lyft experience, only one it’s important to go to an unmarked location on an airport concourse sublevel to make use of.
The LVCVA is subsidizing the tunnels and upkeep. What do you assume it ought to have used that cash for?
After they initially did a name for proposals, it was for a folks mover of some kind to attach the far-flung halls on the Las Vegas Conference Middle campus. Suppose an inner airport tram at a serious airport hub like Atlanta, Dallas, or Denver, and even Las Vegas! — that’s most likely what they need to’ve been constructing.
As a substitute, the Boring Firm got here in with the low bid. I am not aware about how the mission pencils out for the Boring Firm. My guess is, on a mission stage they’re method, method, method within the pink, however they noticed the Vegas Loop mission as analysis and growth, so that they have been keen to take a loss.
You talked about that nobody appears to be loudly criticizing the Loop’s shortcomings. Do you anticipate its growth to proceed with out resistance from officers?
To this point, all of the funding is popping out of lodge room taxes and personal contributions from resorts. If there comes a degree the place the Metropolis or County are spending public funds that might’ve been spent on public transit or any variety of different public items, then the political calculus modifications. [Boring has made a deal with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for a station on campus, with costs covered by the company.]
What’s it like to truly experience within the Loop?
It is like driving an Uber or a Lyft that often makes use of a slim, brightly coloured tunnel. I am not a claustrophobic individual, however I would not want the expertise on somebody who was.
