Columnist Jeff German: Someone’s finally thinking of the safety of cab drivers

Thursday, Feb. 25, 1999 | 10:36 a.m.

The valley's 3,500 cabbies are among the first to greet the millions of tourists who come to Las Vegas each year.

They are considered important ambassadors of goodwill to a city that thrives on goodwill.

And yet they have become a downtrodden class in recent years, forced to deal with company owners who suck every last tourist dollar out of them, state regulators who make them follow silly rules of conduct and street thugs who see them as easy marks.

What has become particularly disturbing about the plight of Las Vegas taxi drivers is the rise in violence against them.

Much of that has been brought on because of the cash-flow nature of the industry, which made a whopping 17 million trips last year.

Since 1993, according to state Taxicab Authority records, eight drivers have been shot, two of them fatally.

Last year, the Taxicab Authority says, 83 cabbies were robbed and 20 were assaulted.

It's gotten to the point where drivers have to demand hazard pay just to get through their daily routines.

For the past several years, the industry has struggled to find cost-effective ways to protect the drivers. There's been talk of installing cameras, bullet-proof shields, even a satellite tracking system, in the cabs. But no one has been able to agree on what to do.

All the while, the violence has continued. There have been eight robberies and one assault so far this year.

This week in Carson City the drivers received word that people really do care about their well-being.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus of Las Vegas introduced Senate Bill 146, a measure that will make it a felony, punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, for anyone who assaults a cabbie.

The bill gives the drivers the same protection as police officers, firefighters, bus drivers and others who deal regularly with the public.

It was a simple idea first proposed by Taxicab Authority member Steve Sisolak and enthusiastically endorsed by authority administrator Bob Anselmo, who has had his share of bad blood with the drivers over the years

"This seems to be the quickest and easiest way to put the criminal element on notice that assaulting a taxi driver will be dealt with severely," Anselmo says.

Indeed it is. But you have to wonder why no one thought of it earlier.

SB146 -- which also is endorsed by the attorney general, the district attorneys association, organized labor and the taxicab companies -- likely will make it out of the Legislature and be signed into law by Gov. Kenny Guinn this year.

Titus, a veteran lawmaker with a soft spot in her heart for the little guy, will make sure of that.

It may not be the ultimate answer to providing a safe work environment for the valley's cabbies, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

The drivers shouldn't lose sight of the support that Anselmo and the Taxicab Authority are throwing behind SB146.

Some will say it's a no-brainer for Anselmo. How can anyone in the industry not back such a measure?

Still, SB146 should leave little question in the minds of the drivers that the industry, though it may not always look it, is sensitive to their plight.

Cabbies should be dancing in the "pit" at McCarran International Airport today over news of this bill.

Finally, people are listening to their concerns -- and doing something about them.