Columnist Jeff German: Long-haul cabbies tarnish profession

Friday, April 26, 2002 | 5:09 a.m.

THEY CALL themselves ambassadors of Las Vegas, generally the first people tourists meet here.

Most of the city's 4,600 cabbies are dedicated, hard-working men and women looking to make an honest buck for their families.

"We cabbies are underpaid, unrepresented and overworked, yet we are a very integral part of the Las Vegas tourist economy," says Mike Fabbio, one of the harder working drivers in town.

Then there are the greedy con artists -- like the driver who recently took a visiting businesswoman on an epic $62 cab ride from McCarran International Airport to the JW Marriott Las Vegas in Summerlin. The one-way fare to the resort should have cost no more than $35.

Another crook took the long way from the airport to Sam's Town, charging his passenger $43 for a ride that probably should have cost less than $20.

These bad apples spoil things for everyone within the taxicab industry, but worse they tarnish the city's tourism reputation.

John Plunkett, administrator of the state Taxicab Authority, calls that $62 cab ride an outrageous example of long-hauling, an illegal practice of gouging unsuspecting passengers.

Plunkett is pursuing cases of long-hauling with vigor these days.

"It's something we just can't tolerate," he says. "It's a pretty hard shot on a tourist."

Over the past couple of weeks Plunkett's investigators have cited 71 cabbies for taking the long route without a passenger's permission, and there are signs the errant drivers are starting to get the message.

Investigators have been receiving fewer long-hauling complaints from the public in recent days.

But Plunkett plans to keep up the heat.

He's particularly interested in learning the identity of the cabbie who shuttled the businesswoman to Summerlin for $62. If it turns out this passenger really was taken for a "ride," the driver will face some serious sanctions, maybe even lose his permit.

The rise in long-hauling, meanwhile, is just one of the problems Plunkett has been fighting inside the stormy industry.

Also on his plate is an ongoing crackdown on cabbies unlawfully diverting passengers away from their intended destination.

The crackdown has landed Plunkett in the middle of a high-stakes war among adult nightclubs looking for cabbies to bring them business. Olympic Garden owner Pete Eliades has sued some of his rivals for paying off drivers to steer customers away from his club, and he has mounted a campaign to shine the spotlight on the cabbies taking the dirty money.

Lately the taxi companies have begun to get serious about helping Eliades and Plunkett eliminate diversion.

Most companies have been posting notices reminding cabbies that diversion is against the law, and some even have forced drivers to sign a waiver promising not to do it before they are allowed to pick up their paychecks.

Earlier this month Bill Shranko, director of operations for Yellow Checker Star Transportation, sent a letter to Plunkett urging him to continue conducting undercover stings to weed out the bad apples.

Shranko said Plunkett so far has had "dramatic" success in curbing diversion.

"As you are well aware, the overwhelming majority of drivers take their jobs seriously and are very professional," Shranko wrote. "Our concern is the small group of drivers who try to make a living by ripping off the public ..."

As for long-hauling, cabbies say several companies actually encourage them to break the law to bring in as much business as possible. Low bookers often lose their jobs at these companies.

"We honest drivers are forced to do this so we can keep up with the thieves," one driver says. "Of course we are not all angels, but these owners are evil."

He might have a point.

But you also could say that evil is taking an unsuspecting member of the public on a $62 cab ride from the airport to Summerlin.