# Rode Vegas Loop Today



## TheMagician (Oct 15, 2018)

Boring Company requested volunteers to test the Vegas Loop today prior to the first big convention next month (alas, not the AVN awards 😊). They said 500 people were selected but I think about half were no shows. I started at the new West Hall station and we probably had less than 100 people there. There are 3 stations, west, central and south. The first hour was just watching the drivers practicing; staging people in and out of the cars, etc.

Starting about 9:30 and for the next 90 minutes they had you take as many rides as you could stand. After 8 or 9 rides (they last about 3 minutes), I was starting to get a little nauseous. Especially in the back seat. Shotgun wasn't too bad. No autopilot for now and speeds were limited to 40mph. Here's a video of my first ride.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Very informative. Can you comment on the markings on the road? From the video it looks as though it would be something the car might see or read? I'm also surprised by an X down there, makes sense, I was just envisioning 3 and Y for size. A little claustrophobic I'd say too, there is no extra room and didn't realize that the end terminals were above ground. I guess they had no extra room, but some very tight turns in and out.


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## TomT (Apr 1, 2019)

Without automated cars that also hold more than 4 people including the driver, the whole thing seems like a carnie ride to me. It can't carry enough people fast enough to make any practical difference at convention center that size.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

TomT said:


> Without automated cars that also hold more than 4 people including the driver, the whole thing seems like a carnie ride to me.


But it's pretty easy to see how this can easily be improved just by updating the vehicles.


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## TheMagician (Oct 15, 2018)

The tunnel is bigger than the video implies. Even in the X there was probably 2‘ of clearance on either side although I saw a few close calls when they were entering/exiting, especially the mirrors. There will definitely be some scrapes and bumps considering they can’t use autopilot. Not a single driver I met was a Tesla owner and one said their training consisted of being tossed a key card and told to “figure it out” in the massive parking lots.

I didn’t ask about the markings on the road but that makes sense it gives the cameras something to see (the side cameras were freaking out in the X, saying something like “camera blocked” until we exited so they have some work to do).


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

How are they going to deal with a dead car / vehicle stuck in a tunnel??


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Klaus-rf said:


> How are they going to deal with a dead car / vehicle stuck in a tunnel??


How do _you_ think they'll deal with it?
It's not like this is the first time a car has driven through a tunnel.


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

^
Almost all of the tunnels I have been through were more than one lane, and taller.

Backing a flat-bed truck in those tunnels can be difficult, at best. Maybe they can make a low-profile fork-lift that can come in behind the dead car and lift it up slightly and push it forward? Dunno. Looking at the distorted image in the video, some of those bends might be a challenge for longer trucks.

As tunnels get longer, it's more of an issue. IMHO. Just thinking out loud here.


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## TheMagician (Oct 15, 2018)

Klaus-rf said:


> How are they going to deal with a dead car / vehicle stuck in a tunnel??


I asked if they had a little Tesla tow truck for that exact scenario but the guy didn't get my sense of humor and just said they had a procedure in place to handle it.


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## Kizzy (Jul 25, 2016)

Fascinating. I guess it helps that they can go faster than 30 mph.

Seeing the outside of the X with instructions on how to open the doors, did they do anything similar for 3 and Y?

Also, the X with its automatically opening doors just makes so much sense for this usage (out of all the cars).


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## Madmolecule (Oct 8, 2018)

just more fantasy uncertainty and doubt. It’s not even close to what was promised. I predict it will be closed by the end of the summer. All other projects have been canceled. It’s not efficient, dangerous to pedestrians and a huge fire hazard. This should get the two fire emoji.
it is not fast or fun, and knowing Vegas it will smell like weed and puke before long. Do you have to wear seat belts for this thrill ride? Can passengers use the trunk to store strollers and shopping bags as well as convention swag?
A year ago I believe that the Boring company might be worth more than Tesla. This was based on my belief that they actually had some revolutionary tunnel drilling capabilities. The hyper loop with the air hockey ride was pure engineering fantasy, but I did realize the limiting factor to high-speed transportation in the US what is the issue with property easements and the limited ability to build a straight rail. I thought the ability to go underground would finally give US companies the ability to build long straight transportation networks. But in reality, lots of curves, Will probably never get above 30 miles an hour, certainly on the short runs it would make no sense as the time to load and unload is the weak link. But the biggest weak link in Elon‘s plan is they don’t seem to have a technical advantage on drilling holes in the dirt. I probably need to start a company installing sewage/water pipe in hyperloop holes, because based on the current design I don’t think you could even put a moving sidewalk in there. No fire sprinklers in the tunnel.
I am sure this was all developed with revolutionary techniques, a lot of sprints, some standup meetings. But it’s so much like every kick starter, to succeed they must overpromise and they always underwhelm.
Sure looked good on PowerPoint, worm holes always do


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## nebrody (Jun 14, 2021)

That's a colorful tunnel.


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