Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

20-cent taxicab charge granted

Authority makes temporary fuel surcharge permanent

A Southern Nevada taxicab fuel surcharge was made permanent Tuesday, meaning a bit more cash for some cabbies, a bit less profit for some taxi owners and the same high fares for riders.

The Nevada Taxicab Authority unanimously agreed to reclassify the 20-cent surcharge as a rate increase as of Friday, which will allow cabbies at some companies to split it with cab owners.

Some companies keep fuel surcharges but split base fares and rates.

"Companies are really making a profit off this," Ruth Jones, vice president of Industrial Technical Professional Employees Union, the valley's largest cabdrivers union, said of the surcharge.

It's the second big economic victory for cabbies this month, coming on the heels of their successful lobbying of Gov. Kenny Guinn to veto a bill that would have made it illegal for cabbies to accept kickbacks from strip clubs and other businesses for delivering passengers.

The latest change will have no effect on what people pay to ride a cab in the Las Vegas Valley. The $3.20 charge for entering a cab, known as the "drop," will remain the same, as will the $2 per mile rate.

The per-mile rate includes the former surcharge, which went into effect only last month. The surcharge for pick-ups at McCarran International Airport will also remain frozen at $1.20.

For a customer on a four-mile trip, the charge would be $11.20, or $12.40 from the airport.

Taxicab Administrator Yvette Moore acknowledged Las Vegas has one of the highest "drop" rates in the nation, but hoped that making the fuel surcharge permanent would delay the need for further price increases.

"It's a rate that can be stable for a period of several years to come," said Moore, adding that she believes the current rates can absorb gasoline price increases up to $3.25 per gallon.

The reclassification was strongly opposed by Yellow Checker Star Transportation, the valley's largest cab operator. Unlike many other firms, it does not charge drivers for fuel and does not share its fuel surcharges with drivers.

"What was approved (in May) was a fuel surcharge, a very necessary approval," said Milton Schwartz, a Yellow Checker Star co-owner.

Schwartz said the surcharge helps his company underwrite costs associated with converting his cabs to run on propane, which pollutes much less than gasoline-driven cabs but gets worse miles per gallon.

Schwartz said the company may give up on its environmentally friendly cab fleet if the surcharge was made permanent.

That drew an indifferent response from the authority.

"It's not our job or our responsibility or our duty to manage your company," said Kathryn Werner, an authority member.

Many of Schwartz's rivals dismissed his dilemma as a labor-management issue within his company, and not an industry problem for the authority to deal with.

"Yellow Checker Star has a management problem. You shouldn't be listening to this," Jamie Pino, operations director for Nellis Cab Co., told the authority.

Drivers urged the authority to back the reclassification.

"Everybody thinks we make money on the club rides. I haven't had one in three months," said David Summers, a driver for Star Cab Co. "Drivers are not making the money you think we do."