a pedantic review of the las vegas loop
Did you hear that Elon Musk dug a tunnel under the Las Vegas Convention Center?
I think it is pretty universally known by now that the "Las Vegas Loop" is impractical, poorly thought out, and generally an embarrassment to society and industry. I will spare an accounting of the history and future of the system, but I will give a bit of context for the unfamiliar reader. The Las Vegas Loop is a (supposed) mass-transit system built and operated by The Boring Company for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Besides four (ish) stations in the Convention Center, it has been expanded to serve Resorts World as well. It will, according to plan, be expanded to as many as 93 stops throughout the Las Vegas metropolitan area, despite the mayor of Las Vegas calling it "impractical" and "unsafe and inaccessible." This odd contradiction comes about because The Boring Company is footing a very large portion of the construction cost, while much of the rest is coming from casinos and resorts, making it extremely inexpensive for regional government agencies.
In practice, the Loop consists of a set of mostly double-bore tunnels of small diameter, which are traversed by Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model X vehicles manually driven by humans at up to 40 mph. They have more recently switched to Model Y, but the operations manual I have predates that change, so let's stick with the older models for consistency. Each vehicle seats up to four. The system is nominally a PRT, or personal rapid transit, as the drivers take you to the specific station you request. The tunnel to Resorts World is single bore, and can admit vehicles in only one direction. A simple signaling scheme serves to prevent vehicles meeting head-on in single tunnels. While Loop and Boring Company marketing focuses heavily on the single underground station, all other stations are above ground. In the current state, I think it is actually somewhat generous to call the Loop an underground system, as most maneuvers and operations occur at surface level. It is perhaps best thought of as a taxi system that makes use of underground connectors to bypass traffic. Future expansion plans involve significantly more tunnel length and more underground stations, which will probably cause the system overall to feel more like a below-surface transit system and less like an odd fleet of hotel courtesy cars.
I am not going to provide a general review of the system, because many others have, and you can probably already guess what I think of it. Instead, I want to focus on some aspects that have not been as heavily discussed in other reporting: detailed operational practices, and safety and communications technology.
We are fortunate that, as part of its fire safety permitting, the Loop has been required to file its operations manual with Clark County. Unfortunately, the newest revision I can find online is 2021's Revision 7, which predates the Resorts World station and may be out of date in other ways as well. Still, it appears to be substantially correct, and much of what I will discuss is based on Revision 7 of the manual alongside several trips I have taken in the system.
Interestingly, the operations manual refers to the system only as the "Campus-Wide People Mover" or CWPM. This term seems to date to the original solicitations by LVCVA, but is not used in marketing.
Rules and Discipline
Like most detailed policies, the operations manual is an interesting read for the pedantic. Some parts are odd in a classically Elon Musk way, like the manual's use of "What's Elon like?" as the first example of a question that passengers might ask a driver. Other parts are weird in a more conventional way, like a paragraph that says first that the tunnels are connected to the operations control center (OCC) by single-mode fiber, second by two redundant fibers, and third by two single-mode fibers taking separate paths. I am pretty sure the correct interpretation of this paragraph is that there are two fiber routes and they just said that three times to pad for length, but it's hard to be totally sure. Why it's so important to clarify that it's single-mode is anyone's guess, perhaps because during the review stage a regulator asked. You find this kind of thing a lot in these sorts of policies, which are usually edited extremely carefully for regulatory compliance and not at all for plain reading.
One interesting aspect of the Loop, that has been rather heavily reported on, is that the whole thing feels remarkably cheap. Perhaps that's not surprising, as The Boring Company's central claim is to be able to construct underground transit on a tight budget. They have indeed delivered on this promise in the construction of the Loop, but it's hard not to feel like they did so more by pinching pennies and eating development costs than by innovation. Nothing speaks to this more than the photo of the OCC the manual provides, which depicts two cheap office chairs at a long desk in a room with worn linoleum floors and distinctly portable-building vibes. It is, by far, the most underwhelming mass-transit control room I have ever seen. I strongly suspect that the OCC is a reuse of the old on-site construction office. To be fair, they will surely have to build something more sophisticated for future expansion, as the current space only accommodates two operators. We will assume it is temporary.
Early in the manual, hiring and training requirements are discussed. They are fairly standard for transportation drivers, with hiring requirements mostly amounting to a clean driving record and a clean drug test. Drivers must undergo 10 hours of in-vehicle training, including a four hour half-shift endurance exercise with mock passengers. There is classroom (or more likely computer-delivered) training as well, but the manual doesn't enumerate it. Drivers are required to wear a provided uniform with plain black shoes and no jewelry or accessories, and are prohibited from initiating conversations with passengers.
Which leads us somewhat naturally to the next section of the manual, on rules and discipline. There is usually a wide gap between rules written into policy and rules followed in practice, with "real" rules being determined by enforcement behavior---what practically can be enforced, and what supervisors choose to enforce. For example, the manual prohibits the drivers listening to the radio in the cars, something that zero percent of the drivers I have had complied with. There is no discipline outlined in the manual for this infraction, so, is it even really a rule?
The speed limits for the system are 40 in straight tunnels, 30 in turns, 15 on ramps, and 10 in stations. Most of this was unsurprising except for the "15 on ramps" part, as my drivers have consistently taken full advantage of the electric vehicle's torque, hitting 30 before the end of the descent ramp. This would appear to be a violation of policy. But, it's interesting to note, discipline (a "demerit") is only listed for a speed excursion of at least 5 seconds. Because of the short length of the ramps, it is likely not actually possible to incur a demerit for violating the 15 mph ramp speed limit. I wonder if the authors of this policy realized that.
Drivers are strictly prohibited from using any assistive driving features. This is sort of a moot point in practice, as maintenance staff are required to disable the assistive driving features of the vehicles before they are put into service in the Loop. This isn't at all surprising considering the highly regulated nature of transit operations, but it is pretty funny considering that The Boring Company originally promised automation, and that closely related Tesla has made self-driving a key part of their marketing.
Emergency Procedures
So, with the rules stuff out of the way, let's talk about emergency procedures. One of the problems with underground transit is that tunnels can be very dangerous: they are enclosed spaces where exits may be far away, and in a fire they can quickly fill with toxic and opaque smoke. Many historic incidents have illustrated the inherent danger of tunnels, and so modern tunnel designs incorporate extensive safety measures which typically include smoke extraction systems, evacuation guidance, emergency exits or refuges, and increasingly, fire suppression systems.
The Loop has been widely criticized for incorporating very few of these features. It does have a basic smoke evacuation system, but there is no evacuation guidance in the tunnels (no signage to indicate the nearest exit in low visibility conditions), and no evacuation points or refuges except for, oddly enough, marked refuges at the end of some tunnels that seem to be largely an ADA compliance measure because the ramps are too steep to be considered ADA-compliant egress (they are remarkably steep!).
To be fair, I think some of these criticisms are somewhat overblown. It does appear to be possible to open the car doors just about fully within the tunnels, although I think they are likely to strike the walls. And the thing is, the tunnels are very short! like really short! some tunnels seem to be shorter than the typical interval between refuge points in modern highway tunnels, and those that are longer probably aren't longer by much. The expansion system may incorporate more extensive safety measures due to longer tunnel runs.
Evacuation procedure basically consist of driving the car out of the tunnel, via the next station. If evacuation must be made in the opposite direction, the manual says the driver must await instructions from the OCC, as they are not generally permitted to drive in reverse. This is probably an accommodation for the poor rear visibility of the vehicle; drivers are normally prohibited by policy from driving in reverse. The OCC would likely have to coordinate vehicles reversing out by track warrant (tunnel warrant?) to avoid collisions. This is a common pain point with evacuation of train tunnels, for example, where there may not be a cab on the rear and even if there is there may not be enough time for the operator to switch ends.
In the event it becomes necessary to abandon the vehicle, the driver is to have passengers get out, and then lead them to the closest exit. The driver will presumably have to know the nearest exit by heart, since there isn't clear evacuation guidance in the tunnel. The manual addresses difficulty opening the vehicle doors, a common concern with Teslas that have electrically operated door releases. My understanding is that both the Model 3 and the Model X do have a mechanical release for all passenger doors, although it's pretty hidden on the rear doors. Oddly enough, the manual doesn't seem to know that, as the Loop operations manual strongly implies that there is no manual release for the rear doors of a Model 3. I would think that authorities would have immediately noticed that implication, so it makes me wonder if the Model 3 rear door release (a wire loop hidden under a panel) was simply ruled out as infeasible to use in an emergency scenario. Of course, that's odd, because the operations manual... just doesn't tell you what to do with rear passengers in a Model 3. You are basically SOL, as far as the operations manual is concerned. Only passengers of a Model X are allowed to escape in a scenario where the vehicle loses power. To my eyes, that is by far the biggest unresolved problem with the emergency operations plans. Perhaps a later revision of the manual addresses it, because it seems like more of a documentation error than a real problem.
The manual does not address evacuation procedures. There may be a document with that information that did not make it to the internet. At at least two points in the tunnels I spotted golf carts (the type with four rows of seats) stashed in corners, and I suspect they would be used if there was a need to retrieve passengers from a disabled car. My husband pointed out that due to their larger seating capacity and faster boarding/deboarding, the Loop would likely achieve a higher capacity if they just shifted operations entirely to the Club Cars.
Customer Service
There is a section of the manual on customer service and interactions with customers I actually don't think it's that unusual for this kind of policy, so I don't want to mock it too much, but I will tell you this: drivers are told to keep conversations as short as possible and give as little information about themselves as possible. They are not to tell passengers how long they have worked for The Boring Company, how old they are, their last names, or information about TBC employee counts or pay rates, even if asked. There is a surprisingly long (in comparison to other items) script for answering questions about the flamethrower. Drivers are told to tell passengers that the Loop operates at "about 35 average and 50 maximum," an interesting answer since 40 is the maximum speed in any segment and exceeding it for more than 5 seconds would lead to a demerit (exceeding 50 for more than 5 seconds would lead to suspension).
The correct answer to "What's Elon like" is "He's awesome [inspiring / motivating / etc.]", and drivers are not sure how often he is around. There is a whole section about how to answer questions about Elon Musk, including how to respond to questions about his tweets. I enjoy that Elon Musk is a person such that every employee of one of his companies needs some basic press training on how to deal with his social media habits. Drivers are, if we take this script more literally than its authors probably thought out, to say that they do not have personal experience of Elon Musk smoking weed.
The operations manual spends more page length on answering questions about Elon Musk and The Boring Company than it does on fires.
Communications Technology
So, what communications technology does the Loop employ? Communications in tunnels is an interesting problem, especially in a life-safety critical environment. Unfortunately, The Boring Company has opted for a pretty boring approach that also seems... questionably safe?
From the manual and various public press, we can infer that the tunnel has some type of LTE. "Leaky" cables are an interesting RF technique often used for tunnels, but the Loop tunnels are short enough that directional antennas at the end might be sufficient. Still, it seems very plausible that there is leaky feeder embedded in the overhead light trough.
Loop operators are equipped with an iPad and a bluetooth headset. The iPad runs a very basic looking app with a "call" button the operator can use to reach the OCC. It's probably using a very straightforward third-party library to either make a VoIP (e.g. WebRTC) call or to use the iOS dialer to do the same (does iPad OS have a dialer? I don't know how these newfangled Apples work).
An interesting note - you might notice that Tesla vehicles characteristically include a big touchscreen in the middle. The Las Vegas Loop vehicles do run modified software, but based on the 2021 operations manual and the scant more recent information I can find, it has been modified only to allow the OCC to remotely access vehicle status information and cameras. There don't appear to be any extra driver-facing features, leaving a need for the iPad.
But what about a failure? Well, there is an auxiliary system, one that is very similar to that used in other types of underground transportation systems. At regular intervals in each tunnel, as well as at stations and other critical points, there is a "blue light station." The blue light station consists of a blue fire pull device that presumably reports an emergency to the OCC (but probably does not automatically trigger an evacuation, as that can be very bad), as well as a phone. The phone is configured as a "hotline" in the modern-traditional sense, meaning it automatically dials the OCC when taken off hook. This appears to be the only emergency communications system, although it seems unlikely to me that they don't have a public safety repeater system in the tunnels (e.g. for 900MHz P25), as fire authorities often require them.
Mass notification can serve as an important secondary communications system, either when there are problems with primary systems or in emergencies that require action as quickly as possible. Here, the Loop takes an interesting approach. The operations manual includes a screenshot of the OCC operator interface, and the amount of screen space devoted to controlling the tunnel's RGB gamer lights seems odd (given that they use white lighting except for during special events, it seems like this is more of a marketing concern than an operations task). That makes a lot more sense when you discover that the mass notification plan is all based on the lighting: in an evacuation scenario, the lights will flash red and white in the intended direction of travel, and remain solid red in the direction of danger. I honestly think this is a clever use of the lighting equipment and I like how it indicates the direction of evacuation, but I do worry a little about whether or not the color of the lighting is set over a life-safety grade network, or just via the LTE or something.
Accessibility
A quick side-note about accessibility. Transit enthusiasts probably know that ADA requirements for public transportation are quite strict, and there's not much of a way around offering wheelchair service. The Boring Company seems to mostly address this question by saying that passengers are expected to transfer from wheelchair into sedan, which... sucks and isn't going to pass ADA review. So they have a secret: a GEM cart. GEM is a brand of Polaris, the parent company of RZR and Indian Motorcycle and assorted other small vehicle brands, aimed at institutional customers. GEM carts are golf-cart or neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) class electric vehicles with 72-volt systems, and they make a wheelchair accessible version. Apparently the Las Vegas Loop now uses one to ferry around wheelchair customers.
The punch line here is... remember what my husband said about the golf cart we saw? GEM makes carts that seat five in addition to the driver, with a higher seating position and open sides or optionally large doors for faster board/deboard. Even with the 25mph stock speed limiter for NEV/LSV regulatory compliance (and believe me, with some adjustments to the motor controller they can go faster), I suspect that switching the Loop entirely to GEMs would increase its total capacity. And the GEMs honestly suck, in the world of light electric vehicles. They just kind of pulled off a regulatory capture move and got the NEV rules written to pretty much require something that sucks as much as they do for street legality.
Subjective Experience
So as I said, this is not a review, just trying to focus on some things of interest to transit, communications, and policy dweebs. Which I assume pretty much describes my core readers. But I do want to point out a couple of oddities that add to the "wow, this is cheap" sensation:
The ride is surprisingly rough, even in a Model Y with highway-grade suspension. I am concerned that they may not be able to do much better when paving in the confined tunnels, given that I don't think standard paving equipment would fit in the loading gauge. The ride experience was not "oooo electric car luxury," it was more on par with the Orlando Airport APM100s with sketchy steering gear.
For the segment that requires tickets (to Resorts World), the ticketing system is based on a QR code. The customer-side implementation is fine enough, but the ticket checking is laughable. It's an iPad where you have to show a QR code to the front-facing camera, meaning you have to present the QR code with your phone facing away from you, looking at the image on the iPad for alignment. It is very awkward and there is no reason for it besides cheapness. Plus there's not really any way for the attendant to see if the ticket is valid without standing awkwardly close to you to look at the same iPad screen you are, and indeed, I accidentally scored a free ride by merit of the attendant's inability to see the actual result of the ticket check.
The stations are not especially well thought out. People walking in and out of the stations have to cross the path of the Loop vehicles in some places. The attendants are supposed to direct people and, for trips to Resorts World, collect fare, but the design of some stations lacks a chokepoint at which to do so. The attendants have to kind of chase people down after they've already walked straight to a vehicle.
The tunnel to Resorts World is one-way. Its portal is connected to the West LVCC station by a tunnel, but the station and the Resorts World portal are actually in the same parking lot. They seem to have adopted a practice of cars one way going through the tunnel, and cars the other way just driving... across the parking lot. This is very funny to experience and contributes a lot to the feeling that the Loop is only marginally an underground system. I doubt the original designers intended for this outcome, it seems like the money spent on the connecting tunnel was completely wasted, but I'm assuming that eliminating one segment of single-track tunnel helped with throughput. Their approach to managing traffic at the Resorts World portal also involves a sort of approach-pattern-esque architecture where every car has to drive in a circle around the portal before entering, which is funny.
This stuff matters in my mind because it gets to the question of what the Loop... is for? The capacity of the Loop is very low. The expansion plan calls for a lot of tunnels, doubled up for capacity in places, but targets only 90k passengers per day. That would put it at around 8x the current daily ridership of the monorail, but with a vastly larger network of stations. Presumably they will expand fare collection, and I would have to think that tickets will actually become fairly expensive. so it's probably not intended to be a high-capacity, low-cost option.
So what else could it be? Well, some press and discussion around the Loop figures it as more of a luxury option: something that casinos can comp for high rollers, that will spare people dealing with the general disaster of getting around the strip. But it also doesn't feel like that. The outdoor stations, need to quickly board and deboard a sedan, and general chaos level of the stations (i.e. attendant chasing you down for ticket) make it feel more "courtesy car" than "black car."
I don't know, they could totally dress it up a bit and make it feel fancier. Some paint here and there, train the attendants better, do more to direct traffic. They could! But right now I think the best way to describe the Las Vegas Loop is... "cheap and amateurish." Surprisingly fitting with the Las Vegas vibe, in a way.