Opinions, experiences on Las Vegas taxicabs compared to other modes of transportation wanted

Hailing a taxi isn’t so hard for tourists hopping around casinos on the Strip.

But what do residents go through when they need to catch a cab to the airport, grocery stores or work? The Nevada Taxicab Authority wants to know.

Locals and visitors can take an online survey until July 28 to rate their experiences when riding a taxicab, compared to using public buses, rental cars and ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft.

The results will be used to determine rates, service improvements and whether additional taxicabs should be authorized to operate on Las Vegas Valley roads, said Teri Williams, a spokeswoman for the state Business and Industry Department, which oversees the Taxicab Authority.

The authority is paying $108,000 to Taxi Research Partners to oversee the survey, which also addresses cabs’ availability, wait times, safety and cost comparisons to other transit options.

“We’re trying to get the widest sample of users as possible to respond because if we don’t get a strong response, then we might miss some issues that are important,” said James Cooper, managing director of Taxi Research Partners.

“We want to dig into what’s really happening and make some recommendations on demonstrable facts based on real perceptions and views of those who use taxicabs,” Cooper said. “It’s really important that we get this information, whether it’s good or bad, so that we can find out where taxi services are working well and what they could be doing better.”

The survey is being offered one month after a legislative subcommittee recommended that the agency regulating Southern Nevada’s taxicab industry be merged with the Nevada Transportation Authority to create a new statewide oversight department.

The Legislature could decide the matter during the next legislative session, set to begin in February.

Earlier this year, an executive branch audit committee determined that taxi riders were overcharged $47 million annually, and recommended that the Nevada Taxicab Authority be folded into the Nevada Transportation Authority, which regulates ride-sharing companies, taxis and limos in the rest of the state.

A subsequent report commissioned by the Taxicab Authority disputed many of the audit’s findings and said that surcharges and fees were properly applied to taxicab passengers in Las Vegas.

The Taxicab Authority’s survey can be accessed at tinyurl.com/NVTA1.

SPLITTING LANES

With the great weather and desert views, Nevada can be a beautiful place for motorcyclists.

But Stacy from Las Vegas wanted to know whether it’s legal for motorcycle riders to cut between vehicles on busy streets and highways.

“It seems incredibly dangerous, and puts cars at risk to scratches,” she said.

The practice, known as “splitting lanes,” is illegal in the Silver State, Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Jason Buratczuk said.

California is the only state where lane-splitting is legal. The maneuver was almost allowed in Nevada in 2013, when the Assembly approved a bill that would have permitted motorcyclists to ride between vehicles at stoplights, but the measure was killed by the Senate.

SPEEDING MOPEDS

Speaking of illegal moves on the road, Robert from Las Vegas wanted to know if a ticket could be issued to bicyclists or motorized moped drivers who exceed the speed limit on public roads or in school zones.

Buratczuk said that the moped driver would absolutely be cited for speeding — especially in a school zone. However, a bicycle isn’t a motor vehicle, so it wouldn’t get a speeding ticket.

“I have seen speeds of bicycles exceeding the speed limit on hills with steep grades, and they do not get cited,” Buratczuk said.

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