IN SEARCH OF CONVENIENCE

Let's get this straight: I'm no Lewis or Clark (those guys who led an American expedition to the Pacific Northwest), but I'm somewhat of a go-to gal in the features department. Or maybe I'm the one with the freshest legs or most adventurous spirit.

Or maybe I'm just the office sucker.

Whatever the reason, my boss selected me to examine the traps and travails of public transit on the Strip. The whole idea came about when someone wondered, "What's the deal with the monorail? Is it really a convenient way to get around?" That sparked our curiosity. Is it? And what about the bus? Or taxis?

So I set out with a plan that sounded like a math formula: You have $50. Take the Las Vegas Monorail and compare and contrast trips on the bus and in a taxi.

With notebook in hand and sneakers on foot, I hit the Strip on a Thursday afternoon, when 125,000 people were attending the SEMA auto convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Catching the monorail is simple enough, if you get on at the stop at Sahara. That's the beginning of the line and, even at its busiest, isn't nearly as crowded as the other six stops.

The ride to the end is fast and easy, if you manage to grab a seat. If not, you'll be lurching around and trying to avoid touching anything or anyone, as Mike Anderson was. In town for the SEMA convention, he hopped on at the Convention Center stop. That's where the bulk of passengers boarded, making the cars full but not unbearable. I had a couple of bellies in my face, but that's the price you pay for sitting.

"I'm not big on public transportation, but I thought we'd try it," Anderson says, conspicuously holding his hands near his sides. "I'm trying not to touch the rails."

Good point. The monorail is cheap and quick compared to driving or taking a taxi or bus, says California visitor Randy Armenta, 24. He and his three friends, who were staying at the Sahara, were taking the monorail to the MGM Grand for lunch. They've been in Las Vegas a few times and have used every form of transportation.

"Taxis are faster, but they're expensive. The monorail is only $9," Armenta says. "If we were in a taxi we would have spent $40 already."

The main drawback to the monorail? It's not available 24 hours.

The guys attended a Halloween party at Tao at The Venetian and, when they tried to catch the monorail back to their hotel at 3 a.m., they were an hour too late. It runs from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekdays and until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

"I wish we had known, I could have worn better footwear for walking," Armenta says.

The monorail ride is not unpleasant, though the view is nothing special. We had to endure some interesting recorded announcements, such as: "Welcome to the Las Vegas monorail. 'Mono' meaning one and 'rail' meaning, well, rail." Those who noticed shook their heads and rolled their eyes.

The ride from end to end took 15 minutes and cost me only $1, the local fare. A one-day pass for nonlocals costs $9. You have to buy your ticket from a live person if you want the discounted rate, though. Booths are located at each of the seven stops.

The Las Vegas Monorail travels only on the east side of the Strip with the track ending at MGM Grand. My boss wanted me to take a train all the way to end of the Strip, which meant I had to get to the Excalibur to hop the free Mandalay Bay express tram (also a monorail, 'mono' meaning one and rail meaning, well, 'rail.') How to do that?

First, I had to get into the MGM. I disembarked the monorail at 3 p.m. and headed that way, passing restaurants, the Grand Garden Arena, an oxygen bar. Ten minutes later, as I entered the casino area, I was overcome by waves of thirst. By this point, if you're following in my footsteps, you may want to stop and play a machine so the cocktail waitress will bring you a beer. You're going to need it. However, I was on the clock so I only allowed myself the thought.

After a few minutes of trying to figure out which exit to take to the Excalibur, I stopped and asked for directions at the gift shop.

"You're going to go out this store," a nice lady tells me, "follow the wall to the Rainforest Cafe."

Essentially, go through the casino to the Rainforest Cafe, up the escalator, out the door and across the walkway to the New York-New York.

"Or just go take a taxi," she says, looking at me strangely.

Once inside the New York-New York, turn left, past the pretzel stand. Just before you exit the door leading to the Excalibur, stop and buy a Nathan's Famous hotdog. Eat it. It will either sustain you or make you sick, both of which will put an extra lift in your step. Then, follow the signs to the tram.

The ride is free and quick, which is a good thing, since the car is small, hot and crowded. Five minutes later, you're at Mandalay Bay. The whole trip, from the Sahara to MGM to Mandalay Bay, took 45 minutes. That's minus restroom and hot dog breaks, though.

It sounds time consuming but not nearly as much as riding the bus, especially on a Friday night.

I boarded the Deuce across from Mandalay Bay at about 6:35 p.m. The bus (headed north) runs every six minutes from noon to 10 p.m. and I didn't have to wait at all; in fact, a bus pulled up just as I got to the stop. I scrambled for $2; you need exact change to ride.

It was a double decker packed with people on the bottom floor so I went to the top. Not as crowded there, probably because it was so hot. The ride was mostly quiet and not that scenic, unless you like construction projects and cars. Lots of cars.

Traffic on a Friday night is heavy; most of the 80 minutes on the bus were spent driving a few feet, then sitting at a red light. The heat from the engine seemed to collect right around my seat on the top level so I went downstairs about half way into the ride.

People spent their time looking out the window, reading guidebooks or talking to their companions. They were polite, giving up their seats to older passengers or those with children.

"It's a cheap way to go a short distance," says Janet Burns, a Washington tourist who was meeting friends at Caesars.

The trip to the Sahara was uneventful, definitely cheap, but long.

I saved what I thought would be the most expensive trip for last; I caught a cab at Planet Hollywood during rush hour on a Thursday.

I grabbed a taxi at 4 p.m. There were six people in line but plenty of taxis, as was the case at four hotels I scouted. Even with lines that were 30 people deep, the waits were little more than 10 minutes.

Strip cabs run quickly and the only time it's difficult to find one is during a big event, such as New Year's Eve, says my driver, Rick. He didn't want to use his last name. He's been driving cabs for about two years, he says, and enjoys it. The money is decent and the people interesting. The hours, however, are long; he works 12-hour shifts, six days a week.

The cab smelled like something tropical or coconut, and it was spotless. The leather looked new and there wasn't a speck of dirt on the floors.

Taxis are by far the most convenient way to get around the Strip, but they are the most expensive. Just to get in one costs $3.30. One-eleventh of a mile costs 20 cents and waiting costs $28 an hour. That means your fare will go up not only by the distance you travel but the length of time you're in the cab. If you're stuck in Strip traffic during peak hours, you're going to pay a lot.

"It's fine, other than the cost," Brenda Carter, a SEMA attendee from Missouri, says of taxis in Las Vegas. She took one from the airport to her hotel, the Golden Nugget; it cost $40 one-way.

"I'm used to traveling places where they pick you up from the airport," Carter says. "Not here. But it's easy to get a cab."

My destination was the Palms, so the driver exited Planet Hollywood and turned right. We stopped at a red light before turning left on Flamingo; I watched the fare tick up 20 cents every 25 or 30 seconds, and I wondered if I had enough cash.

You should make sure you have enough cash before you get into a taxi, as most don't take credit cards, my driver tells me. The distance is about two miles, he says, but there's lots of waiting time. I could tell he was trying to get me to my destination as quickly as possible but there's no slicing through Las Vegas rush hour traffic.

"Now is the worst time to be on the roads," Rick says, citing the convention and locals getting off from work as the reason. He guessed my fare would cost about $20 and it did: $19.70. The trip took nearly 30 minutes. At some point, he turned the meter off as we were waiting to pull into the Palms, saving me some money. But, I had to get back to my car.

That cost me another $20.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4564.