Bill eyes seniors’ access to taxis

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A state senator says senior citizens in Las Vegas who wish to call a taxi are out of luck because the drivers are busy responding to the high-volume areas that produce far more income.

The drivers tend to work the Strip, downtown and the airport, leaving senior citizens and handicapped people without access to their service, Sen. Ray Shaffer, D-North Las Vegas, said.

Shaffer introduced a bill Tuesday to require the Clark County Taxicab Authority to set up a program for the transportation of elderly and handicapped people.

Under the bill, the authority would establish a telephone number for seniors and the disabled to call. The authority would then assign the cab company to handle the call. A company that did not participate could lose its operating permit.

"Taxicab drivers feel that dealing with a senior is a wasted trip," Shaffer said. "The money is not there."

Seniors, said Shaffer, sometimes wait for hours for a cab. And in other cases, the cabs don't show up at all.

Bob Anselmo, head of the Taxicab Authority, said such complaints have been received but they have been incomplete, lacking times, dates and the cab company involved.

Anselmo said a program was established about three months ago whereby the city could receive complaints and forward them to the Taxicab Authority for investigation. He suggested that the Shaffer bill won't do anything new.

If the authority finds the cabdriver delayed or didn't answer the call, Anselmo said, he or she can be "taken to task," with a fine being imposed.

With the heavy traffic in Clark County, seniors or handicapped persons shouldn't expect the taxi to arrive in five minutes after being called, he said.

There are 113 cabs dedicated to serving areas other than the Strip, Anselmo said. He said the cabdrivers complain that a person may call four cab companies and that when the driver shows up, the individual has left via another cab.

In Clark County, every taxicab company has at least two vehicles equipped to haul wheelchairs. In addition, senior citizens can buy taxicab ride tickets at half price, Anselmo said.

Shaffer responded: "I have senior citizens tell me they are waiting to come back from the senior center for three or four hours. Sometimes they are left there. My bill responds to the needs of the seniors."

Many senior citizens and handicapped people have to be picked up at their homes, Shaffer said. "They can't walk to a bus stop because of breathing problems or they are handicapped."

The senator acknowledged that senior citizens and handicapped people are not known as big tippers.

"Most of these people don't have the financial means to tip like the visitors," Shaffer said.

He said he doesn't think the Taxicab Authority will want to get involved in the program advocated under his bill. But he said that will come out during hearings on the bill, which was referred to the Senate Transportation Committee.