Nevada needs to get with the times

By Patrick Griffis, Las Vegas

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 | 2 a.m.

As a member of the Southern Nevada community, I applaud Gov. Brian Sandoval’s efforts to modernize and transform Nevada. The governor’s vision in bringing new technology such as Tesla and the expansion of the massive Switch Supernap data center to the Silver State shows tremendous leadership.

Unfortunately, Nevada’s archaic laws prohibit ridesharing technology companies such as Uber. This state, which is working to flex its innovation muscle, now stands as an outlier when it comes to ridesharing — Uber operates in 150 cities around the globe.

Cabs are hard to find in Las Vegas if you are not on the Strip, and ridesharing would have a tremendous positive impact on the quality of life for Southern Nevada locals and greatly improve the tourist experience. In addition, Uber would create thousands of jobs in a state that still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

I urge Nevada lawmakers to pass legislation to allow ridesharing during the 2015 legislative session.