If you're a fan of the free market and think you can build a successful enterprise by outthinking and out-hustling your competition, don't go into the taxicab business in Clark County.

First, you'll need a license. But you can't simply wait in a line, write a check and have it in hand. To get that license, you'll have to convince the regime known as the Taxicab Authority that there is a need for your business -- a commitment to superior service and having the resources to launch your business aren't enough.

And the authority will seriously consider the opinions of rival cab outfits before determining whether area consumers would benefit from more competition. Your competitors will argue that they're meeting customer demand just fine without your help. (Imagine Best Buy being allowed to decide whether a Circuit City could open two miles down the road.)

Should you survive that protectionist racket and get your license, you won't be free to set fares below those of your competition. Never mind that you've developed a business model that projects satisfactory profits from lower prices through higher volume. The Taxicab Authority will make you offer the same fare as everyone else.

With your fares fixed, you decide to stake your operation on customer service. You craft a catchy slogan: "If you need a ride, we're there!"

Only the Taxicab Authority tells you that your cabs can't go just anywhere. As a condition of your license, some of your cabs must stay away from certain locations, while other cabs can't leave other places, regardless of demand. As a result, your cabs sometimes sit empty, even as customers wait for rides a few blocks away.

Would that last constraint be enough to drive you out of the business -- if not out of business? A couple of local cab company owners might think so.

"It's inefficient to make cabdrivers do that," said George Balaban, who owns Desert Cab Co. "Economically inefficient. Time inefficient. Passenger inefficient."

Added Jason Awad, who owns Lucky Cab Co.: "They (the Taxicab Authority) need really not to micromanage companies. They need to allow companies to put adequate cabs on the road at a time of need. If the driver is looking for a fare, he needs to go where the fare is."

What amazing concepts. A customer, money in hand, wants a service. Entrepreneurs step forward to provide that service.

Then bureaucrats step in and muck the whole thing up.

On Monday, the Taxicab Authority cited the businesses of Mr. Balaban, Mr. Awad and 11 other cab companies. Some of their drivers, restricted exclusively to the Las Vegas Convention Center, had the audacity to serve customers elsewhere.

"We've got to play fair," said Richard Land, chief administrator of the Taxicab Authority. "There's two or three of them that clearly choose to ignore that (rule) because they can make more money elsewhere."

Heaven forbid. A business actually trying to meet market demand? Mr. Land's quote tells you all you need to know about the stifling effect of the regulatory state.

In trying to protect cab customers at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Taxicab Authority hurts customers elsewhere. In trying to protect weaker businesses by making every cab company lose money waiting at the convention center when there's little or no customer demand, the authority hurts stronger businesses by citing them for trying to improve their bottom line. How does that benefit consumers?

Here's an idea: Do away with restrictions on where cabs can and can't go. As Mr. Awad said, let drivers simply go to where the fares are. "I don't think anybody's looked at that in years," Mr. Land said.

The Taxicab Authority should start looking -- today.