April ridership on the Las Vegas Monorail was up a bit from March but well behind the turnstile pace set one year earlier, according to ridership figures released on Tuesday.

The monorail carried an average of 23,484 daily riders last month, better than the 21,204 passenger average in March but lagging behind April 2005's average of 31,921 people a day.

But thanks to a fare hike, the monorail did bring in more money in April than in the previous month or the same month last year.

In April, fare receipts averaged $108,352 a day, compared to $94,665 in March and $93,613 in April of 2005, all well short of the approximately $159,000 a day needed to break even financially.

Base one-way monorail fares increased to $5 from a $3 introductory fare on Jan. 1.

"Obviously, the fare increase is the reason our revenues are where they are," said Ingrid Reisman, a monorail vice president. "Our ridership has been increasing. It's a similar trend as last year."

That trend saw ridership peak in the summer months.

"We do expect some growth in the summer months," Reisman said. "It's such a new system. We only have one year compare it to."

Monorail officials put great significance in daily revenues, since those are key to the line paying its bills and keeping bondholders happy, but acknowledge ridership numbers do more strongly skew public perception.

The $650 million privately financed monorail has not turned a profit since opening in mid-2004 and establishing regular service in late 2004. It has seen its bond rating fall into "junk" status as a result, though deep cash reserves have kept the monorail from defaulting on its debts.

The monorail is believed to have lost around $20 million in 2005.

The monorail is currently seeking funding for extensions to McCarran International Airport and the east side of the Strip, in hopes of increasing ridership.

But whether it can gain additional financing without improving ridership, revenues and in turn its bond rating is unclear.

In the meantime, monorail officials are hoping that new partnerships with General Motors, the National Basketball Association and vegas.com, along with growing rider awareness of the system will help fill seats and coffers in the future.

"We're working on a lot of awareness issues and promoting the system," Reisman said.