Boring Co. Vegas Loop gets approval for limited airport surface rides

Boring Co.’s Vegas Loop project gained state approval to provide above-ground rides to Las Vegas’ airport, with mileage limits placed on surface street travel.

The Nevada Transportation Authority approved Boring Co.’s license, under the subsidiary Paradise Transportation Co., to provide rides to and from the airport ride within Clark County on Thursday, according to authority spokeswoman Teri Williams.

The certificate of public convenience and necessity covers all Vegas Loop stations that were approved by Clark County as part of a franchise agreement approved in October 2021.

The service will feature a dual pricing system, as all rides going above ground will be required to travel in Vegas Loop tunnels at some portion of the ride. Boring Co. Will be limited to rides of no more than 4 miles above ground, as part of the approval.

Boring Co. features set fares for the loop portion of the ride, varying according to length of trip, with the above-ground rides to feature a fixed rate of $7 for up to 3 miles and $12 over 3 miles.

“Rates charged by Paradise (Boring Co.) for the above ground portion of the trip are in addition to those charged by the Vegas Loop for the portion of the transportation provided within the tunnels,” Williams said.

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO Steve Hill said he doesn’t see the pricing element to be a threat to the taxicab industry, who along with ride hailing services are major transportation providers for those traveling to and from Reid Airport.

“The fact that it’s going to be inexpensive to ride the loop underground isn’t in the purvey of that application and is a great thing for everybody,” Hill said in August.

The Vegas Loop system has stations at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Encore, Resorts World and Westgate. As other stations are built, they must receive a permit of occupancy from the county and alert the NTA that the station is operational, Williams said. At full build-out, Boring Co. plans the Vegas Loop to feature 68 miles of tunnels with 104 stations across the resort corridor, downtown Las Vegas and other areas of interest including Allegiant Stadium and Chinatown.

Boring Co. is authorized to operate the 102 vehicles that are currently used in their Vegas Loop fleet for the above-ground rides, including Tesla Models X, Y and Cybertrucks. If Boring Co. wants to expand its above-ground fleet, they will need to apply for an expansion with the transportation authority.

Boring Co. is also required to provide a status update to the transportation authority’s staff every six months, and a company representative must provide project status updates to the authority during a general session every two years. Additionally, a compliance check will be in five years to ensure best practices have been made to complete 58 additional miles of loop that are currently planned to be constructed by Boring Co.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.