Legislature studying Vegas taxi, limo competition

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003 | 10:50 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The atmosphere between competing taxicabs and limousines, some of them operated by rogue drivers, has become explosive in Clark County but so far nobody has been hurt, a state taxicab official says.

Yvette Moore, administrator of the Taxicab Authority, told a legislative study committee Monday there is a "protective turf environment" on the part of taxi drivers who say some of their fares are being "stolen" by limo operators.

Brent Bell of Whittlesea-Bell testified that unlicensed limos show up during the weekend in Las Vegas to "steal the cream of the crop" of business from local companies that operate continuously. These drivers return to their other jobs during the week, Bell said.

"There needs to be an allocation of limousines," Bell said, much as in the taxicab industry in Southern Nevada, where the number of cabs is limited.

The Legislative Committee on the Allocation of Cabs, headed by Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, agreed to hire the Center for Business & Economic Research at UNLV to study the issue.

The committee would then make a recommendation to the state Transportation Services Authority that would decide by June 15 next year whether it will establish by regulation a system of allocations.

The $20,000 for the study will come from contributions from the limousine industry. Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, cast the lone no vote, saying she would like the money to come from a wider variety of sources.

Moore said that when an unlicensed limousine was impounded at the Palms hotel-casino, all of the cabdrivers on the scene got out of their vehicles and cheered.

Moore said the proliferation of limousines in Clark County is having a "serious impact" on taxicab drivers who make their living based on percentage of the fares they book and tips. Limousine drivers are paid by the hour, she said.

She claimed the limo drivers pay off doormen at hotels to direct customers to the limos instead of the taxicab drivers.

Sandra Lee Avants, chairwoman of the Transportation Services Authority, told the committee it has stepped up enforcement to stop the unlicensed operators and to put an end to the kickbacks.

She said her agency has met with gaming authorities in an effort to identify rogue operators.

In Las Vegas the rate for a limousine is $38 to $50 an hour, compared to $57 to $61 in many other major cities, Bell said. The cost is reasonable thanks in part to the ample supply of limos in Las Vegas, he said.

Some legislators were skeptical about the proposed study.

"I'm at a loss to understand why we regulate limousines or taxis," said Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas. "We don't make an argument there are too many restaurants and that results in tainted food."

Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, said the "threshold issue" was whether there should be a limit on the number of limos.

Chowning said that since 1969, when regulation of the industry began, Las Vegas has been viewed as the model for a taxicab industry.