Bad taxi experience reflects poorly on Las Vegas

By Scott Schulman, Chico, Calif.

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 | 2 a.m.

My wife and I came with another couple to visit your wonderful city for a fun weekend. We arrived at the airport and hopped into a taxi to take us to the Palms.

From the air it looked like it couldn’t have been more than a few miles away. We were shocked to see that with a minimal tip and a $3 “voucher” for using a credit card, our fee was $40.50. I feel bad for taxi drivers, as they are being pummeled by Uber, et al. I have resisted saving a few dollars with the ride-sharing cars, but what would have been $15 on Uber was almost three times the price with the taxi company.

This price-gouging is out of control in your town. The next 10-plus trips we took we used Uber, and we had clean, new cars with personable drivers and great service. We took one more taxi ride, as it was a short drive. The driver did his best to let our wives know that the “outlets” were having great sales and he would be happy to take us.

When competition comes in, it should make the old guard take note and find a way to get better; corruption is not the way and will end in your demise. Your taxis show off your city in the worst light. They lost a lot of money with us, and that didn’t need to happen.