The problem with the recent push to make A-Cab an unrestricted company is that it will never happen in this saturated market.

I read an A-Cab drivers statement which he presented at a recent Taxicab Authority Meeting concerning lifting A-Cab’s west of interstate 15 service restriction. Taxicab Authority has been hearing the pleas for lifting of A-Cab’s service area restriction for over a year. A-Cab is forbidden by charter from servicing any business East of I-15.

Jay of A-Cab claims there is a huge demand for their folksy style but then pushes for expanding their market area because their argument is they want to be able to pick-up customers they have dropped in the forbidden zone. When in actuality allowing A-cab to become unrestricted would simply mean their cabs would end-up in the massive lines at Strip Hotels. It is naive to think this is about A-Cab’s desire to do call-backs.

The only real reason A-Cab even exists today is because when they were formed, approved and given their Medallions they assured the industry they would focus their business on Westside Locals. Now it seems that was only partly true and really they are about getting their cabs to the Strip.

If as a A-cab claims, a huge need for taxi service for Locals exists, then why do they have time on their hands to be petitioning TA for expanding their charter to full unrestriction?

The base problem in the Las Vegas taxi market is we have easily twice as many taxis as there is business to support efficiently. A-Cab’s problem is not so much geographical, as it is simply numbers. Their own fleet has too many cabs for the business available. What A-Cab needs to understand is this saturated situation exists across the entire region, not just west of I-15. If anything the least serviced area is the local market.

A-Cab would be better off petitioning TA for a lifting of their restrictions to simply a GEO status. We already have Geo-restricted taxis. Cars which cannot service the Airport, Strip and Downtown Hotels. Included in this new status would be the ability to service special events and conventions.

Fellow taxi drivers are not against the A-Cab driver, far from it, what we are against is adding still more cabs to the Strip corridor.

Tags: A-Cab, A-Cab driver, GEO, Jay Nady, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Strip, Taxicab Authority