Harry Reid sits at the end of the Strip. A taxi is $23 to $28 in about ten minutes. The bus is $2 to $6 in about an hour.

LAS ground costs Prices verified July 22, 2026
Demand-variable ranges, not quotes

Las Vegas is the rare city where the airport is practically in town: 2 to 4 miles from south and center Strip hotels, 5 to 6 from Fremont Street. That makes the ground-transport decision a clean money-versus-time trade, and the two winners are different. Fastest to a Strip bed: the taxi. Cheapest: the city bus, at one tenth the price and five times the minutes.

01The dispatch board

Every way in from LAS with its real cost and its catch, compiled July 22, 2026. Fastest: taxi or rideshare, 8 to 12 minutes to the Strip. Cheapest: the RTC bus at $2 to $6, if you have the hour and light luggage.
Mode	Cost	Time	The catch
Taxi to the Strip	$23 to $28	8 to 12 min	Flat zone fares $21.25 to $29.25 plus a $2.40 airport surcharge; card fees extra.
Taxi to Downtown / Fremont	$30 to $48	13 to 20 min	Metered, no flat zone rate; the top of the range is traffic.
Rideshare to the Strip	$20 to $45	Same run as a taxi	Typically $24 to $41, but surges during events; pickup at Terminal 1 Level 2 or the Terminal 3 valet level.
Rideshare to Downtown / Fremont	$25 to $45	Longer run	Slightly more than the Strip ride; the same event surges apply.
RTC bus, route 108 or 109	$2 to $6	About 55 min to Fremont	Cheapest and slowest; most hotels need a transfer (about $12 total to Fremont), and it is rough with luggage. Fares are under review.
Shared-ride shuttle	About $19	Slower, multiple stops	Availability has thinned since 2020; treat as a lower-confidence option.

02The cheapest taxi, built

Why the meter never shows the whole number: Las Vegas taxis run flat zone fares from the airport, and the airport adds its own pickup charge.
Flat zone fare, nearest Strip zone	$21.25
Airport pickup surcharge	$2.40
Minimum ride, cash	$23.65

The farthest Strip zone is $29.25, which lands at $31.65 with the surcharge, and card payments add a machine fee. That is the whole spread behind "typically $23 to $28."

03Where to stay if the airport matters

For the shortest, cheapest transfer, stay south or center Strip, the Mandalay Bay to Venetian corridor: a 5 to 12 minute, $23 to $28 taxi. Downtown and Fremont are cheaper on the room but a longer, metered $30 to $48 ride. For a Convention Center or Allegiant Stadium trip, center and south Strip stay the sweet spot. The full argument by area, with room prices, is the where-to-stay guide; what the night costs once you land is the cost page.

One flag we will not bury: the RTC proposed fare changes for mid-2026 to close a budget deficit, so the bus prices here carry a re-verify note. Check the RTC fares page (sourced below) before you count on them.

04Arrival questions, short answers

Is rideshare cheaper than a taxi from LAS?

Often, at the quiet low end: $20 to $24 to the Strip against a taxi's $23.65 minimum. But rideshare surges during events and peak hours while the taxi's zone fare stays flat, so at busy times the taxi usually wins. All of these are demand-variable ranges, not quotes.

How long does it take to get from the airport to the Strip?

The airport sits 2 to 4 miles from south and center Strip hotels: 8 to 12 minutes by taxi or rideshare. Downtown and Fremont Street are 5 to 6 miles, 13 to 20 minutes by car, or about 55 minutes by bus with a transfer.

05Where these numbers come from

All sources accessed July 22, 2026. Public-source compilation; live Levelfare rates replace these figures when supply connects.