Hearing set for Thursday on poor residential taxi service in Vegas

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2000 | 10:36 a.m.

The only people who may wait longer than a Comdex visitor for a taxi ride are residents of Las Vegas.

The Taxicab Authority of Nevada has heard the anecdotal evidence. Local cab companies are called for a ride to the airport, but residents are frustrated when the taxi arrives late or not at all.

Taxicab Authority Administrator Robert Anselmo says there are no statistics about complaints since most consumers who have been stood up by a cab driver complain directly to the company or just call a competitor. Business travelers who can't get a cab from an off-Strip location usually won't follow up after they've left town.

During a big convention like Comdex, service to the city's outlying neighborhoods is even worse, even though cab companies are authorized to have more vehicles at their disposal than usual. The reason: Business on the Strip is far more lucrative than it is in the outlying areas.

Cab companies say they could solve the problem if they were authorized more vehicles, which could be required to serve a certain area. But drivers oppose the idea because more cabs would mean what existing business there is would be divided up among more drivers.

The drivers, who often are accused of hovering around the Strip and airport areas and ignoring radio calls for service in neighborhoods, say a possible solution is to require cab companies to pay drivers more for neighborhood runs.

Drivers also say public transportation -- the Citizens Area Transport bus system -- reaches out to neighborhoods and can be used instead.

New ideas and other solutions will be discussed in detail Thursday when the Taxicab Authority conducts a workshop on service zones and taxi service in Las Vegas neighborhoods.

"It's possible there are other solutions available with some of the technology that is out there," said James Jimmerson, chairman of the Taxicab Authority. "For example, there are satellite tracking systems available that could monitor taxi dispatches."

Jimmerson suggested that cab companies could have a firmer hand in encouraging their drivers to keep to neighborhood areas. Some companies have even said they would accept geographically restricted cabs so that it would be illegal for those vehicles to pick up passengers at the airport or at Strip hotels.

Drivers point out that their reluctance to serve neighborhoods is justified by the shoddy treatment they receive from potential customers. Many of them complain that when they are dispatched to a residential neighborhood, there's always the possibility that customers have called two companies for service, thinking that will help them get to their destination faster. The first one that arrives gets the fare while the other one wastes fuel, time -- and money.

Drivers burned by customers in that way are less likely to take a neighborhood call, ignoring the radio when dispatchers make a radio plea.

Jimmerson hopes some solutions will be agreed upon that can be considered by the Taxicab Authority at future meetings.

The workshop is scheduled at 10 a.m. at the Grant Sawyer Building.