$107,000 OK’d for outside assessment of taxi industry in Las Vegas Valley

CARSON CITY — A state board Tuesday approved a $107,000 contract to conduct an outside assessment of the taxi industry in the Las Vegas Valley.

Taxi Research Partners LLC, headquartered in Northern Ireland with offices in Washington, Houston and St. Louis, will analyze taxicab rates and medallions and present its findings to the Taxicab Authority Board.

The contract was approved by the state Board of Examiners, headed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

The independent study was authorized by the Nevada Legislature but comes after an executive branch audit issued scathing report alleging the industry bilked the traveling public out of $47 million a year through excessive credit card fees and mileage rates.

Auditors also said the taxicab board routinely adhered to industry positions representations when deciding things like whether to approve more cabs on the streets. The audit recommended the authority be dissolved and its duties transferred to another state agency or the Clark County Commission, although that move would be up to the 2017 Legislature.

Bruce Breslow, director of the Nevada Business and Industry Department, told the Board of Examiners an outside review would provide an “unbiased document” to more fairly assess the industry.

Under questioning by the governor, he said public workshops would be held on the draft findings, with input from the industry and the public, before recommendations are made to the authority.

Breslow said he hoped to have the report by November.

Two months after the critical audit was released, former Metro Lt. Stan Olsen was named chairman of the five-member Taxicab Authority by Sandoval. He replaced Ileana Drobkin, who resigned after being informed she was being removed as chairwoman.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb