Ridership downturn sparks debate on taxi permits

Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

The Taxicab Authority voted to allow cab companies to use more vehicles during the New Year's holiday and for the Winter Consumer Electronics Show For Dec. 29, 30 and up to 8 p.m. Dec. 31, companies can add five cabs to their fleets, and 20 more on New Year's Eve until 6 a.m., New Year's Day. For CES, Jan. 7-11, companies will be allowed an additional 10 cabs each.

The shaky economy and the events of Sept. 11 have put the squeeze on Las Vegas' taxi industry.

With fewer tourists in town, the city's 14 taxi companies are carving up a shrinking pie. Over the past 12 months, ridership is down 2.3 percent from the same period a year ago to 21.1 million cab trips.

Not all of the shrinkage has been the result of the tourism downturn from the terrorist attacks. The number of trips has been flat compared with the previous year every month since April. In September ridership was off 20.8 percent to 1.4 million. Declines of 12.1 percent and 13.5 percent followed in the next two months.

Looking for solutions, the Nevada Taxicab Authority, which regulates all taxis in Clark County, took up the controversial topic of removing medallions -- operating permits -- from companies Tuesday.

Regulators authorize a medallion for every taxi in operation. Some are unrestricted; others are regulated by geographic boundaries or time restrictions. The Taxicab Authority usually allows expansion in cab fleets by awarding temporary medallions and monitoring the effect the additional cabs have on the industry.

At issue Tuesday were one geographically restricted and two unrestricted temporary medallions for each cab company issued earlier this year. With a tighter economy, proposals to revoke medallions have gotten emotional.

On one side were the cab companies and their owners, who see a reduction in medallions as a slice into their revenue streams. On the other were cab drivers, who see an opportunity to take home more pay if there are fewer cabs on the streets.

In addition to striking a balance between the owners and the drivers, the Taxicab Authority must weigh the needs of the riding public.

After a proposal to revoke one of the three medallions was defeated in a 3-2 vote, the authority board agreed to allow the companies to keep the temporary medallions and revisit the issue in February, the meeting at which the board normally considers allowing companies to add to their fleets.

Angry cab drivers stormed out of the hearing room when it became apparent the board was going to side with the owners.

When board Vice Chairman William Bailey suggested that cab drivers should hold a second job to carry them through hard economic times, driver David Summers couldn't take it anymore.

"You work 12 hours a day, then tell me about getting a second job," said Summers, a driver dispatcher with Yellow Check Star, the city's largest cab company.

Prior to the vote, drivers pleaded with the board to consider their plight. Pat Posey, also of Yellow Checker Star, said lately her take-home pay has averaged around $2 an hour. She said she had to write bad checks to cover utility bills.

"I had to ask myself, do I become a thief, do I go through the tunnel?" she said in reference to the airport connector tunnel, which is on a longer route to the city that some cab drivers take to get a higher fare when leaving McCarran International Airport with a passenger.

Drivers told of fights that broke out at cab stands as the drivers battled each other for position to get in and out faster and pick up one more passenger. Others said they were asked to leave the stand at McCarran International Airport because there were too many cabs there at once.

Drivers also were critical of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which they accused of being too optimistic about the city's prospects for recovery. The LVCVA's New Year's Eve forecast is for visitation and non-gaming economic impact to be down slightly from last year.

The forecast for visitation at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center next month also may be overly optimistic, the drivers said. The most recent forecast is for a turnout of 100,000 people. About 110,000 people came to the event last year.

Another technology show that was in Las Vegas in November, Comdex, saw its attendance plummet by more than 50,000 people from 2000 to this year. The drivers think attendance at CES will be off significantly, adding to their woes.

"You can hold molten lava to their feet and they still won't have a negative thing to say," Posey said of the LVCVA.

The authority board's vote followed the recommendation made by the agency staff. Administrator John Plunkett said the staff expected the drivers to bind together and want to save as many jobs as possible, especially right before the Christmas holiday. Plunkett said he expected cab companies would lay off drivers if the medallions were taken away.

But the drivers said the owners wouldn't lay them off because they wouldn't want to pay unemployment compensation. They also said they would try to keep as many cars on the roads as possible, since cab advertisements are a source of revenue.

Drivers say the issue of having too many drivers in the ranks is a problem that will be addressed again in February.

"We have a problem out there that's growing like a cancer," added driver Craig Harris of Yellow Check Star.

Next month, the authority will consider any rate increase requests brought to it by cab companies.