Question of the Day - 19 February 2022

[This QoD was written by David McKee.]

Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial-Page Editor Steve Sebelius put us onto several sources of opinion on the Musk-y people mover.

For instance, British periodical The Independent gave it a slam. The headline proclaimed it a “death trap,” with a subhead reading, “It’s just a matter of time before a tunnel like this becomes the site of a horrible accident.” The story was provoked by a viral video on Reddit of a traffic jam beneath the Convention Center. Groused videographer RimealotIV, it was “a bunch people stuck in a narrow tube with no ventilation and a burning battery producing poisonous fumes.”

The Boring Co. website tries to reassure fearful commuters. “Loop tunnels are outfitted with emergency exits, fire-detection systems, fire-suppression systems, and a fire-rated first-responder emergency communication system. The systems are tested frequently with local police and fire departments.” It adds, “In the unlikely case that a fire does occur, the tunnel’s redundant, bidirectional, ventilation system will remove the smoke to allow passengers to safely evacuate.”

That’s all to the good. But there unquestionably have been glitches. At the time the video was taken, one of the three Convention Center stations was closed. Also, although Musk’s company touts commuting speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, traffic was shown moving at noticeably slower speeds 

The rides during Consumer Electronics Show (which drew a subpar 40,000 attendees this year) were all chauffeured — at least some of them. Tesla, maker of the people-mover cars, offered sample joy rides to CES attendees. The joy, however, was tempered by traffic jams caused by the sheer volume of conventioneers. (Imagine what a full-scale CES might bring.) 

Reported Vice.com, “The tunnel is narrow; there’s not a lot of wiggle room between the Tesla and the walls, and no walkways or shoulder to buffer any driver error. You probably wouldn’t asphyxiate from being stuck inside one, since they open to the air at the ends and Teslas don’t have emissions, but it would definitely be a claustrophobic experience to be stuck in traffic inside of one. There aren’t emergency walkways or handrails on the sides, so good luck walking out.”

And if one Tesla rear-ends another, all the cars behind them would have to back out of the tunnel.

At least one videographer, Brian Tong, had a positive Tesla experience, saying the people-mover was far preferable to traipsing across the Convention Center, which, thanks to an expansion to Las Vegas Boulevard, is now far vaster than ever before … not that it was ever exactly cozy.

Tesla drivers, by the way, are instructed to effuse over Tesla in terms that would make Xi Jinping blush. According to an instruction manual obtained by Vice.com, “Inspiring … motivating … a great leader” is how Mr. Musk should be described to passengers.

About the only voice raised loudly in praise of the tunnels themselves was that of the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s transportation writer, Mick Akers, who covered Day One of CES and reported, “By most accounts, it handled Wednesday’s convention traffic with ease.” Akers’ primary witness was not exactly unbiased, being Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority spokeswoman Lori Nelson-Kraft, who said, “Since the system debuted in June, customer feedback consistently ranks the Convention Center Loop as entertaining, innovative, and their favorite part of their convention experience.”

Akers’ eyewitness account was more sober, but generally concurrent: “There were no lines of waiting passengers and no backups in the tunnels. As one vehicle transporting passengers approached a station, another would exit one of the bays, allowing for seamless operations.” He added that the 4,400-passengers-per-hour capability of the people mover “was confirmed.”

User reactions run the gamut from steamy frustration to muted enthusiasm. Of course, when it comes to personal opinions, we place limited trust in those. For every negative one, there's a positive, so they tend to cancel each other out. But the only categorical affirmation over the performance of the tunnels is coming from the offices of the LVCVA itself. 

We haven't personally tried it out yet, so if anyone out there in QoDLand has, please tell us all about the experience in the comments.