Ride-hailing app Curb explores entry to Southern Nevada
Curb, a ride-hailing application service that works exclusively with regulated taxi companies in 60 cities across the United States, is exploring entry to the Southern Nevada market.
Tim Csontos, vice president of business development for the Washington, D.C., company formerly known as Taxi Magic, told members of the Nevada Taxicab Authority on Thursday that the app his company offers is similar to those of other ride-hailing companies such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar.
“The biggest difference,” Csontos said in his 10-minute presentation, “is that we work with 35,000 licensed drivers from over 120 reputable taxi companies.”
In an interview, Csontos said he hopes Curb, founded in 2007 before Uber and Lyft existed, would be in operation in Las Vegas later this year.
The Curb app works similarly to the Uber app in that it maps a pickup point, tracks an inbound car on a map with an estimated time of arrival and processes payments through a prearranged credit card transaction.
Uber and the taxicab industry have been at odds since the San Francisco company attempted to enter the market in October. The primary difference between Uber and Curb is that Uber independently contracts with drivers who use their personal vehicles to offer rides. Uber also uses a mileage and time-based pricing formula and dynamic pricing that goes up when ride demand is high. Dynamic pricing is illegal under the state’s taxi regulations.
Curb’s pricing mirrors costs calculated on meters within cabs. The company’s pricing software is designed to be integrated to a cab meter and the company does not use dynamic pricing.
On the downside for consumers, the Taxicab Authority already has authorized app-based pricing to include a fee of up to $3 to use the app and a $10 “no-show” fee if a customer cancels a ride request three minutes or more after requesting it. Companies also will charge an additional $3 — the industry’s existing rate — to pay for the transaction with a credit card.
One company, Integrity Vehicle Solutions of Las Vegas, has introduced its Ride Genie app in Southern Nevada.
Taxicab Authority Chairwoman Ileana Drobkin said the next step for Curb would be for one of Clark County’s cab companies to request action to enable Curb to partner with it.
Csontos said he has met with executives from local cab companies but did not disclose which ones.
Csontos said he hopes Curb could be placed on an authority agenda within a couple of months.
In other business Thursday, the authority approved the issuance of 10 special medallions per company to accommodate anticipated additional traffic for two major special events this month.
The five-member board unanimously approved 10 additional cabs operating for any 12-hour period between 11 a.m. and 4 a.m., Friday and Saturday, and any 12-hour period between 6 a.m. and 4 a.m., Sunday and Monday for the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. professional boxing match.
The board also approved 10 additional cabs for any 12-hour period between 11 a.m. and 4 a.m., on the Saturdays and Sundays of May 9-10 and May 16-17 for the Rock in Rio music festival.
The taxi industry was united behind the request, which was opposed by the Industrial Technical Professional Employees union, which represents drivers of some companies. A spokeswoman for the union said the existing fleet of drivers could adequately handle the transportation needs during both special events.
Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find @RickVelotta on Twitter.
