Las Vegas Monorail ferries 50 millionth passenger
The Las Vegas Monorail Co. celebrated its 50 millionth rider on Thursday.
The milestone rider was Richard Cabrera of Houston. Cabrera and Melisa Perez were greeted with a Las Vegas gift basket of prizes and souvenirs at the MGM Grand Monorail Station.
The 3.9-mile monorail started service in 2004. Monorail officials, in a statement, noted the monorail reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 37 tons and eliminated an estimated 2.4 million vehicle miles that would have otherwise congested Las Vegas roads. Officials also said the monorail carries an average of 70,000 people into and out of the Las Vegas Convention Center during big conventions.
Ridership and revenue have been an issue for the monorail. Officials are working on a new plan for the monorail to exit from bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Bruce Markell in November rejected the monorail's previous Chapter 11 bankruptcy exit plan, saying terms "doom it to failure, if not in the next few years then certainly by 2019."
