COMMENTARY: Las Vegas taxi companies just want a level playing field to compete

As usual, the Review-Journal demonstrates that it knows nothing about the transportation industry in Las Vegas with its Jan. 26 editorial and demonstrates that it is most interested in currying favor with its large advertisers, Uber and Lyft. Las Vegas taxis have been forced by the state Legislature to compete on an unlevel playing field with Uber and Lyft.

Taxis are regularly inspected by state officials; not so for Uber/Lyft, as their inspections are done by companies hired by Uber/Lyft. If that isn’t the fox watching the henhouse, I don’t know what is. Taxi drivers undergo stringent fingerprint-based background checks and drug screening; not Uber and Lyft, which is why stories of alleged crimes by Uber/Lyft drivers are endless. The rules and regulations that apply to taxis vs. Uber/Lyft are so unbalanced as to be laughable.

Uber/Lyft are regulated by the Nevada Transportation Authority, which is woefully underfunded and undermanned. This gives Uber/Lyft the appearance of being regulated but no actual enforcement because there is little funding and few officers at the NTA. Taxis are regulated by the Taxicab Authority, which I can assure you is well-funded and stringently enforces its regulations with officers on the street and a cadre of regulation enforcement staff.

The RJ demonstrates its ignorance by suggesting Uber/Lyft fares are guaranteed when they are simply estimates and change according to distance and time, just like taxis. Unlike taxis, Uber/Lyft have the ability to surge price for several times the normal fare. Uber/Lyft likely long-haul far worse than taxis, as they are regulated by the NTA, which can’t watch anything.

The state is doing nothing to monitor Uber/Lyft drivers paying for state business licenses and requires them only after six months, when most Uber/Lyft drivers leave the company. Does the state give any other industry a six-month free ride and then fail to enforce the law? This is millions and millions of dollars left uncollected by Nevada.

Lastly, Kabit taxis are the most technologically advanced vehicles in Las Vegas, with smart meters and a universal dispatch system that 50 percent of local taxis have joined to provide the fastest service in town through a network of 300-plus smart buttons installed throughout Las Vegas. Taxis have cameras to protect drivers and the public, accident-avoidance systems and a robust professional training system for drivers. Uber/Lyft have none of the above.

Taxis are working hard to compete in this environment, and more taxi innovations are coming. It would be nice if the Review-Journal actually did some investigating before maligning 8,500 hard-working taxi industry workers and made an effort to report in a fair-and-balanced fashion for once.

Jonathan Schwartz is director of Yellow Checker Star Transportation.