2014 was good to the taxi industry
Despite the on-again, off-again relationship the ride-hailing company Uber has had with Southern Nevada, Clark County’s taxi industry had a banner year in 2014.
According to recent statistics released by the Nevada Taxicab Authority, Clark County’s 16 cab companies transported 27.6 million passengers in 2014 and collected $408.4 million in revenue, both records.
Trips were up 4.5 percent from 2013, and revenue was up 4.4 percent from that year.
It was the industry’s best year since 2011 when taxis transported 27 million riders. The second-best year for revenue was 2012 when the companies collected $393 million.
Uber, which has been deemed illegal by a Washoe County District Court judge, launched in Southern Nevada in late October, but shut itself down after a court case was adjudicated in late November.
Despite Uber’s presence through most of the month of November, the taxi industry had marginally higher numbers of trips and revenue that month.
Kelly Kuzik, an analyst with the Taxicab Authority, said a rate increase approved by the Taxicab Authority in October took effect in December and the regulatory body also began implementing a new series of geographically restricted medallions that month.
Those changes and the fact that December is traditionally a slow month for cab companies when many drivers are given vacation time resulted in a decline in trips per medallion and revenue per medallion for the month for 15 of the 16 companies reporting.
Industrywide, every company had more trips in December than they had for the same month a year ago with Yellow Checker Star’s Checker Cab and Bell Transportation’s Whittlesea Cab companies leading the pack. Checker provided 181,679 rides for the month.
Interim Taxicab Authority administrator Tom Ely said Monday that the 2014 statistics are further evidence that the tourism industry is rebounding in Southern Nevada.
Ely said in 2014, his police force issued 994 citations for long-hauling customers. Long-hauling is the illegal practice of taking a customer on a longer route than necessary to generate a higher fare.
Ely, who took the administrator position in October after former administrator Charles Harvey resigned, said one of his mandates when he took the office was to increase enforcement of long-hauling violations.
Despite that emphasis, Ely admitted that the agency is understaffed to monitor an industry in which there could be 1,800 cabs on the road at once.
Ely’s budget request includes a proposal to add six enforcement officers to his force.
“Based on the industry’s increases, the Taxicab Authority is asking for additional compliance officers and investigators,” Ely said in an interview.
He’ll make his first pitch to the Senate Transportation committee Tuesday.
Ely said the Taxicab Authority is expected to interview five candidates on Feb. 24 to fill the administrator position permanently. A list of candidates has not been made public.
Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta
