Last week I broke the bad news that those of us who drive to Las Vegas may soon be charged up to $10 a day for overnight self-parking at the MGM Resort hotels on the Strip. This week the bad news is for those of us who fly and take cabs from the airport to our hotels and to various off-Strip attractions like Fremont Street. Vegas taxis have been overcharging their passengers to the tune of $47 million a year according to the Nevada Taxicab Authority which regulates the rides in Clark County.
The criticism comes a few months after ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft started operating in Nevada. The taxi industry fought hard against allowing the companies before losing the battle last spring. And no wonder. Taxi companies make big bucks shuttling visitors on the five mile trip from the airport to the Strip hotels. Two fees in addition to the cost if the trip are responsible for the $47 million overcharge. The first is a $3 credit card processing fee. Besides being ridiculously excessive, the fee hurts the drivers because many passengers think it is a tip for their driver and so do not add one. The fee far exceeds what the taxi companies pay the credit card companies — 8.5 cents per transaction to Wells Fargo, for instance, per Michelle Rindell of the AP. Most cities allow fees of 3.8 % to 5% of the total fare. The $3 fee accounts for about 17% of the total average cab fare in Clark County.
The second criticism is of the fuel surcharge increase even as gasoline prices are dropping. Having a fuel surcharge at all is unique to LV among the 12 major Western cities that the taxi board tracks. The fuel surcharge, which was approved last summer, is based on a federal rate higher than Las Vegas rates. The fuel structure raises a full 12 cents more per mile once gas hits $3.25 a gallon instead of kicking in gradually as prices rise.
And what’s a Vegas visitor to do? Nothing it seems — just like the taxes and resort fees and soon-to-be parking fees we already pay for our fun. Viva Las Vegas.
Want a reminder of the good old days with the casino freebies and give-aways, the midnight breakfasts and free monorail rides, and the primitive slot games we played for next-to-nothing? Take a trip down memory land in IGT’s “Wild Taxi.” Thanks to one of my favorite YouTubers Shamus for the ride. If you aren’t already a subscriber to his films, please watch, comment, subscribe to him on YouTube.
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