Extra taxicabs to hit streets for annual Comdex crush

Thursday, Oct. 21, 1999 | 10:59 a.m.

More than 500 additional taxicabs will be on Las Vegas streets at the height of Comdex next month.

The Nevada Taxicab Authority Tuesday approved additional medallions for the show Nov. 15-19 and for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry show Nov. 2-5.

Bob Anselmo, administrator for the Taxicab Authority, said the 14 companies that operate in Las Vegas will be allowed to use every cab they have Nov. 16-18. On opening day, each company will be allowed to have 23 above their existing limits and on the last day of the show, they'll be allowed to have 12 more than their limits.

Bill Shranko, director of operations for Yellow-Checker-Star Cab Co., said that means there will be at least 500 extra vehicles available to shuttle around the estimated 200,000 people that will attend Las Vegas' largest convention.

For the automotive show, companies will be allowed to operate between two and four extra cabs.

The Taxicab Authority limits the number of cabs that can operate in the state. Currently, there are 1,429 licensed cabs operating in the Las Vegas area. Cab companies routinely ask the authority to limit the number of cabs operating, but no one raised any complaints about additional vehicles on the road for Comdex.

"The best day of all is New Year's Eve, but Comdex is a very lucrative time for cab drivers," Shranko said.

Comdex also is a lucrative time for the state agency that fields complaints about the taxi industry, monitors drivers and oversees competition. The Taxicab Authority gets $10 for every medallion issued and 15 cents of every fare generated by a cab, Anselmo said.

Anselmo said the Taxicab Authority is one of the few state agencies that operates from the funds it generates and doesn't dip into the state's general fund.

Meanwhile, organizers of Comdex say registrations are ahead of last year's pace, but the number of exhibitors is down.

Bill Sell, vice president and general manager of Comdex Fall '99, said registration is 17 percent ahead of last year. Show audits determined that 202,332 attended last year's show and organizers say they are targeting 200,000 this year.

Sell said Tuesday that the number of exhibitors has fallen from 2,400 last year to about 2,200 this year. Sell said industry consolidation is partly to blame for the falloff, but he also acknowledged that several companies are coming to Las Vegas and setting up outside the show.

He said some companies are not showing products, but setting up meetings and marketing to private audiences gathered for one of the world's largest computer conventions.

Sell said about 32,000 delegates from 156 foreign countries are among the preregistered. He said there are still hotel rooms available for the show.

Sell attributed the increased interest by show attendees to increased marketing efforts in mainstream media. The show has been advertised in the Wall Street Journal and on CNN and the Weather Channel, touting the displays of workplace technology and Internet companies.

The added emphasis in Internet commerce led Sell to muse about changing the show's name to "dot-Comdex."

Sell also announced that in a "technomillennium celebration," the Las Vegas Convention Center would be the site of a fireworks display on the Wednesday of Comdex, traditionally one of the best-attended days of the show.