Goodbye Taxis Hello Ridesharing
Earlier this year I covered the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision to allow ride sharing companies to operate within the SIlver State. Previously Uber had illegally started an operation in Nevada, however their drivers were harassed by the taxicab authority and they were eventually shutdown by the courts.
On September 11 the Nevada Transportation Authority is expected to approve new regulations for ridesharing drivers. Both Uber and Lyft are expected to begin operating within the state shortly thereafter. Airport operations in Las Vegas are on a different timeline and will work a little differently though.
McCarran Ridesharing
Lets start with the good news. Unlike in some cities, ridesharing companies will be allowed to operate at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport. The Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting that ridesharing companies will be allowed to dropoff at normal locations in Terminal 1 and 3 (like the airport has a choice), but pickups will also be possible.
Instead of setting a pickup point and having the driver get you like in some cities, the ridesharing driver will have to pick you up in a designated spot. Much like how it works with taxi drivers in Vegas, they will wait in a designated area in a queue until it is their turn to pickup a passenger. The airport will then be able to track pickups via this method and charge a facility use fee.
The Review Journal article mentions that the airport will be spending about $150,000 for improvements in order to make their ridesharing plan work. Companies like Uber & Lyft will of course pick up most of that tab with an estimated fee of $40K-$50K just to be able to operate at the airport.
Conclusion
If you have been waiting for ridesharing to arrive in Vegas, then your prayers (and mine) are about to be answered. It appears that ridesharing will be coming to Nevada in a few weeks with McCarran airport pickups coming around the end of October. As someone who loves being able to pay through an app and track my route, I welcome ridesharing to Vegas. Perhaps I’ll get to test it out later this year, but one thing is for sure, it will be a whole let better than the crappy cab companies.
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[…] Vegas for ridesharing are generally cheaper than taxis, but not that much cheaper! You can find a cost analysis here. […]
I frequently visit Vegas. The majority of the time (in my experience), the taxi drivers will attempt to scam you by taking longer routes/tunnel/freeway/side streets, etc. We’ll see if UBER drivers will be restricted to routes or if they will be pulling the same shit. I’m always telling the taxi drivers which routes to drive. They will give hissy fits and sometimes drive out of the way anyway. I know exactly how much a ride should cost depending on your hotel destination. Problem is most people don’t and will pay 2 to 3x more for the ride, happily. If UBER/LYFT can alleviate the scams we all win.
I wonder if the taxi drivers will start driving for Uber/Lyft. That has happened in Seattle, and many of the Uber/Lyft drivers are now just as immoral as the taxi drivers.
That makes me sad. When Uber briefly launched last year, their rates were about 2/3 of the rates of taxis. I think they will undercut the taxi companies. It will be interesting to see what happens, but based on the article, it seems like they will be enforcing a business license requirement which may scare some of the taxi drivers away.
The ultimate goal for consumers is a better transportation experience, and is what Uber/Lyft have unleashed with their innovative technology. As long as the technology in place keeps the driver accountable I couldn’t care less if they work for Uber, Lyft or Yellow Cab. GPS don’t lie.
Is Uber or Lyft allowed to pick up from the Strip?
I suppose particular hotels could ban them, however there is no way to prevent them from doing so. When they launched last year, Uber didn’t pickup from the Strip only because they were sort of operating illegally and thus didn’t want to deal with the hassles. (Or at least that was my interpretation.)