If you’re in Vegas on business, do what local drivers do and hop on the Desert Inn Road Super Arterial, which dives under the Strip and zips you across town.And if you have any reason to want to take the local freeways, be forewarned: The thrills of the Interstate 15 and U.S. 95 intersection, lovingly referred to as the spaghetti bowl (and not to be confused with that other headache, the “Henderson Spaghetti Bowl,” a.k.a. the “Henderson pretzel”) are rivaled only by the 1,000-foot high roller coaster at the Stratosphere Only this one moves at a snail’s pace. Consider packing the audio version of “War and Peace.”RENTAL CARSDon’t do it. Last month, it took me 90 minutes from the time I boarded the airport shuttle until I drove out of the rental car lot Then you have to learn all the navigation tips above. If you must, buy the fuel option because you’ll probably burn an entire tank just in the jammed traffic between the Paris and the Sahara.PARKINGAs Robert De Niro said in “Casino,” don’t be a “momo” and slum it by using self-parking Hotel valet service is the best deal in Vegas. It’s free except for a tip of a buck or two.Perhaps the best advice is not to be cheap.

Slip the valet $5 or $10 when he takes your keys and tell him to keep the car close by. It’s a time-honored trick from employees of the adult escort service trade who don’t have 20 minutes to wait for their car to arrive when they have to leave.TAXISIt can be easier to hail a cab on Van Nuys Boulevard than in Vegas. Even at the airport, it’s not uncommon to have to wait an hour in the line Same story at big hotels. I counted 67 people waiting in the Caesars’ taxi line on a Friday afternoon.Go to a smaller hotel to pick up a cab — or just skip it altogether. If you’re in a small group, the big hotel town cars run about $50 a trip.

Otherwise, be prepared to spend about $20 for just about any short taxi ride.Also, don’t complain if your cabbie loops around on the side streets He’s trying to do you a favor. It’s $22 an hour just to sit in traffic on the Strip.MONORAIL AND BUSBetter known as the “moneyrail,” the $700-million system is a flop and is soon expected to go into financial default. For $5 a head, it offers a spectacular nighttime view of the Riviera parking lot. It only runs down one back side of the Strip and doesn’t even stop at many major casinos.A much better choice is “The Deuce,” the comfortable, air-conditioned, smoked-glass-window double-decker bus that stops at every casino on Las Vegas Boulevard.