For those of us who can't wait for the train service to return between Southern California and Las Vegas, there is a premium bus service with promotional fares as low as "free" and many at $1 per seat each way. It's Megabus and it now operates from LA to Vegas. See our new web page and they are expanding service throughout California and Nevada. http://www.alanbestbuys.com/id276.html
I am pleased to announce that Megabus.com will now be a featured advertiser on our TV show. We did a five minute TV ad for them that will appear on our Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 shows on KTLA and KCOP and you can see it here: http://www.alanbestbuys.com/id276.html
Cool, when are they going to begin service from the east coast? I'd pay $3 for that easy!
It's funny that you mention that. When I was talking to company officials they told me that here in the Western United States they are just a "regional" service -- LA to Vegas, San Francisco to LA, etc. But in the East they do have service that goes through multiple states for example Texas to the Northeast. It's just a matter of time.
They use promotional and capacity-pricing and even offer "zero cost" fares as promotions, too. With buses and with planes and trains, once you have your basic passenger traffic to cover your cost of operating, all additional passengers are profit -- and that formula allows for big discounts.
There is a saying in the airline business that every time a plane takes off with an empty seat, it is lost revenue forever. It also applies to cruise ships. Which is why cruise ships and some airlines started to use the "auction system" for filling their ships and planes. Low prices for early buyers, higher prices for late buyers, and then at the very end the last few seats are cheap just to get the last incremental revenue.
To bump this thread up Megabus just opened the schedule to June 26. If you know you are going to be traveling (like that gentleman in the video who commutes every weekend) then you have to buy those tickets right when the schedule opens up. Sure you can find cheap seats on random weekdays, but finding them on a Friday or Sunday is nearly impossible unless you jump on it.
Calwatch, I was so tempted to take the bus this past weekend, but I was afraid of being locked in to its schedule.
That's a concern. There is no standby or "crashing" of earlier or later trips, like Greyhound historically has allowed (Greyhound trips to Vegas are open ended returns, although the Vegas stop at the Plaza Hotel is bad and the location in Skid Row Downtown Los Angeles is even worse). Just as long as you avoid the rush periods on weekends the drive is not that bad and can even be somewhat relaxing on low traffic weekdays.
If I see red lights on my phone traffic app, though, I will cut through the desert and drive through the Mojave and come out on 40. Unfortunately, even though I go 65-70 down those two lane desert roads, which is already pretty fast, there are some speed demons who will go 80-90 on them, which is unsafe.
How do you drive through the Mojave? What is there to see? and is it faster/slower than the 15??
At least this bus is making it. I just read that the Victorville to Vegas train isn't doing as well.
Rob can you post that link? the Victorville to Vegas train is supposed to be the high speed train that depends heavily on government funding. The other problem is that you'd have to travel to Victorville from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas to take the train for what amounts to about half of the trip to Vegas.
Ideally there will be connection train service to other parts of Southern Cal but that only complicates the entire project.
I read it on Yahoo yesterday and one of the big problems the Republicans don't want to spend the money is because of what you mentioned--who's gonna want to drive to Victorville to catch a train? Of course the Senators from Nv. and the manufacturer all want this to go forward, but from a sensible standpoint it seems the cost is not worth it today with our huge deficit. It's in the usual political arena right now: democrats make believe we Don't have a spending problem so this $6billion or so is worthwhile, and the other side says they need to cut rather than spend. On and on.
I'm not so sure it's a Republican vs Democrat issue. There are just a lot of people who will not want to change trains, or leave their cars in Victorville, or will even want to take a train. But let's not forget an even bigger issue-- even with support a high speed train is something like five to 7 years away.
The X Train which is a conventional train running on standard freight tracks is supposed to start regular service in January. While it will not be a high speed train, it certainly will be a valid "test" for any kind of high speed rail in the future.
Something is needed, to be sure. When I left LA for LV on Friday afternoon, I left at 1pm and reached Caesars at 6:30pm, making one pit stop for gas and munchies that I ate in the car. But the ride back Sunday evening took an hour and a half longer because of traffic... and I was lucky. I've sometimes spent 12 hours on the freeways driving back from Vegas.
The US lags most of the world when it comes to travel by train. We're a nation with a "car culture" and unless gas hits $10 a gallon that isn't likely to go away.
I believe the Acela does well on the East coast, but other than commuter trains that seems to be about the only one. Part of the problem may be in routes and times; I've looked at trains in the past just as something to do for fun and it seemed they always had bizarre schedules, leaving at 3 in the morning and arriving at similar odd times.
It also seems like every time something like this comes up certain players come to the front that are more interested in how they can profit than how well it is going to work, (see Monorail, Las Vegas).
Alan, Sorry to hear about your long comute. Thats what I like about flying. Jump into my Cessna, fly to Henderson, park my plane in my hangar, jump into my Suburban, and drive into Vegas.
Then jump into my plane, fly back home to Redlands. It's neet looking down on all the traffic Friday nite and Sunday afternoon. (Although this time I flew home Monday). I don't say all this to brag. I just want
more people to become pilots. I was also up there this past weekend. Went to the NASCAR races courtesy of CET. That was nice also; They bussed us there thru Nellis Air Force Base. Missed most of the traffic.
Congrats on your big Royal.
Jim
The bus service is helpful for people and help to manage traffic load. The people can use bus service and train instead of using their own connivance.
Here are some tips regarding driving between LA and Vegas. Keep in mind that I have routinely made this drive for the past 20 years, so I have a lot of experience with it.
1) Avoid driving to Vegas on Friday and especially back from Vegas on Sunday. If you have to, try to get going by 2pm on Friday, and on Sunday start driving before 10am or after 7:30pm. Do not be misled by the seemingly light traffic going out of Vegas on Sunday! It will crowd up in the middle of the drive, and you will be sorry!
2) Various portions of the 15 have a "truck lane". This is very useful if you're a fast driver. Yes, I said FAST driver. The truck lane can be used as a "passing lane", as it's typically open, and the few trucks that use it are easy to avoid because of their slow speed. Many are afraid to do this. I am not sure of the legality here, but it's not a major violation, and it's unlikely you will get caught. Why is it unlikely? With speeding, you get caught because you are doing it for a long period of time. When you are quickly jumping into the truck lane, passing a few cars, and getting out, very little time passes, and a cop is unlikely to see this unless you're unlucky enough to have one right there. Even if pulled over, you can make an excuse that you were confused and got back out of the lane when you realized what it was.
3) If you live in the northern San Fernando Valley, Ventura County, Santa Clarita Valley, or Santa Barbara County, you can take an alternate route through Palmdale that will avoid the traffic on Fridays, even during rush hour. Look up "Pearblossom Highway" and follow it to the 15.
4) If you are going to speed, invest in a radar detector. It will save you money many times over.
5) Going from Vegas to LA, there is frequently a bad backup at the fruit inspection station in Yermo. You can avoid this by exiting on Minneola Rd and heading south to I-40, and then heading west to reconnect to the 15. This is like a 10 mile detour, but it's totally worth it if the traffic is bad. A longer detour can be had by exiting at Harvard Rd, doing the same thing. Only use Harvard if the traffic backup goes that far back.
6) Is there some kind of problem going north on I-15 near the Nevada state line? If there is a horrendous backup (which happens occasionally), it can cost you over 3 hours of delay! You can dodge this by exiting either Cima Rd or Nipton Rd, and then connecting with the 95, which will take you into Vegas. Both roads are very empty and move well. However, Nipton's detour will cost you about 40 miles and Cima's about 60, so don't do it unless the backup is really horrible.
7) Going north on I-15, if there is a big backup near Barstow, you can get off at Lenwood Rd or any other Barstow exit, and make your way to I-40 east. Then just get off at Minneola and travel back north to the 15.
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Wow, those are great tips! I often wondered about a detour around the fruit inspection station. By the way, perhaps you can answer this question Dan: what is the "memorial" that is off the side of the 15 near the fruit inspection station? There are large religious symbols and a sign but despite all the times passing by (going towards Vegas) I've never been able to make out anything more than "memorial."
And have you ever tried using the "Old Los Angeles Highway" that runs parallel to the 15? I once took it from the Gold Strike at Jean right to the south end of the Strip when traffic on the I-15 going to Vegas was jammed. The posted speed limit is 55 and there is no traffic and the road is very smooth and well maintained.
Those are all good tips it seems, but the very best is never to do the Friday thru Sunday thing. I drove between Phx. & Nv. almost every week for the better part of 11 years and I never did it on Fri. or return Sunday. Even with the relatively puny amount of traffic compared to what comes into LV on Fridays from S. Calif. and leaves Sundays, it didn't make any sense to do it esp. when I always had a choice.
I am not sure about that memorial. I have seen it, but also don't understand it.Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson
The "Old Los Angeles Highway" you're referring to is actually Las Vegas Blvd, though most people associate that street name with the famous "Strip" nowadays. It runs parallel with I-15, and used to be the only way to drive into Las Vegas from the south. The "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign was a landmark greeting tourists driving in this way, but now very few people see the sign because they come via I-15.
I-15 "replaced" Las Vegas Blvd as the road into Vegas in the early '70s, though you can still take Las Vegas Blvd if you want.
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Dan Druff covered most of it but my route is based on looking at traffic on my phone. I will take either the Nipton Road or Cima Road exit and go through the desert, passing by the old Kelso train station (which the X Train will pass through, but not stop at), and come out Interstate 40. I have never seen traffic on 40.Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson
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