Boring Company May Have a Viable Alternative for California Urban Transit
Las Vegas is pioneering a new form of underground transportation that could one day benefit congested California cities at low cost. The Boring Company, founded by Elon Musk, is digging a series of narrow tunnels and transporting passengers through them in Tesla sedans. Ultimately, the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop can evolve into a viable alternative to LA Metro, BART and other subway systems.
Starting as a way for getting around Las Vegas’ cavernous Convention Center in 2021, the loop now serves the Encore, Resorts World, and Westgate Hotels. On November 5, it served a record 29,755 passengers during the SEMAShow, a convention for the specialty automotive aftermarket.
The Boring Company’s plan is to expand this network to 104 stations across 68 miles including a connection to Harry Reid International Airport. The completed system would also pass near the future Brightline West station facilitating a high-speed rail connection to Southern California, if Brightline’s system is completed.
Although these plans sound promising, the Loop’s design has attracted widespread criticism. Groups of 1-4 passengers typically board Tesla sedans and are then chauffeur-driven to their destination. The Loop might thus be dismissed as a glorified underground taxi service.
But the Boring Company has plans to go driverless. Last month, the company began deploying Teslas with Full Self-Driving packages on the Loop. Currently, these vehicles are staffed by a safety driver, but that individual will likely be removed next year.
Another improvement the Boring Company might consider is using 20-passenger Tesla Robovans in the Loop at peak times. This development may take several years since the Robovan is only in the design phase, but it does appear that the larger vehicle will fit within the Loop’s 12-foot diameter tunnels. Aside from being able to accommodate more passengers, these vans would feature “level boarding”, allowing passengers to enter and leave the vehicles more quickly thereby reducing dwell time at stations.
With driverless vans, The Boring Company could operate high-capacity, frequent underground transit service at low operating costs. The company has already figured out how to dig its 12-foot tunnels relatively quickly and cheaply using its Prufrock boring machines.
This method of tunneling also promises less disruption to businesses operating at street level. It would thus be a welcome alternative for places like San Francisco and San Jose that are condemning properties and spending billions to build wider tunnels.
If California cities are interested in a cost-effective solution for surface congestion, they should follow developments in Las Vegas.
Marc Joffe is a visiting fellow at California Policy Center.
