Vegas Cab Riders Get the Runaround, Agency Says
LAS VEGAS--Tourists taking taxis from the airport to Las Vegas hotels are often driven on roundabout trips that inflate fares, according to the Nevada Taxicab Authority.
Months of undercover investigation found long hauling--the practice of taking passengers on a longer and more costly route without their permission--is rampant.
“It permeates the industry,” authority administrator John Plunkett told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “If we do 10 undercover rides, there’s a good chance between six and eight will be long hauls.”
The investigation, which led to about 200 citations, focused on trips originating at McCarran International Airport. Long-hauling cabdrivers most often take unsuspecting airport passengers south through the airport connector tunnel to the beltway and then on to Interstate 15 to reach the Strip. The most direct route to Strip hotels is north on Swenson Street to Tropicana Avenue.
Some drivers defend the practice, saying their trips through the tunnel save time. But Bill Shranko, director of operations at Yellow-Checker-Star Cab, said company drivers who receive two complaints or citations for long hauling are fired.
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