How does ride-hailing compare with taxis?

By Daniel Rothberg

Monday, June 13, 2016 | 2 a.m.

The Las Vegas taxi industry’s sentiments about ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft is perhaps best expressed on stickers that have popped up on cabs: Uber’s logo with a red line through it.

But after a bitter battle in which the taxi establishment fought tooth and nail against being disrupted, Uber and Lyft have planted flags. Barring the kind of development that occurred in Austin, Texas, where both companies withdrew after the city required extensive background checks for their drivers, they are welcome in Las Vegas. That being the case, here’s a look at the new landscape.

How to hail a ride

UberX

1. Download the Uber mobile app and sign up. You’ll be asked for an email address and phone number. Before receiving your first Uber ride, you’ll be required to provide a credit card number. You’ll also need to turn on the location service of your smartphone.

2. Open the app and hail an Uber driver. The app sends your location to the driver.

• • •

Lyft

1. Download the Lyft mobile app and sign up. As with Uber, you’ll be asked for an email address and phone number. Users can sign up for Lyft without providing a credit card number upfront, but after an introductory credit is exhausted, further rides require that preset information.

2. Open the app and hail a Lyft driver. The app sends your location to the driver.

• • •

Taxi

1. Call or book ahead.

OR

1. Hail with an app like Curb. Yes, even taxis are adjusting to the times. Some cab companies in Las Vegas, looking to better compete with Uber and Lyft, are allowing passengers to hail rides with their own independent mobile apps.

2. Wait in a cab line.

Price comparison

• Base fare: $1.50 for UberX and Lyft, $3.50 for taxis.

• Per mile: $.90 for UberX, $.93 for Lyft, $2.76 for taxis. UberX and Lyft also charge $0.15 per minute.

• Booking fee: $1.70 for UberX and Lyft; none for taxis.

• Airport fee: $2.45 for UberX and Lyft, $2 for taxis.

• Credit card fee: $3 for taxis, none for UberX and Lyft.

Surge pricing

Taxi fares might appear to be more expensive, but they are not variable. The same can’t be said for Uber and Lyft. Both ride-hailing companies employ surge-pricing, multiplying rates depending on demand. If demand is high, your ride could be twice, even triple, the rate listed in the price comparison above. The companies say they do this to encourage more Uber and Lyft drivers, who operate as contractors and can work on their own time, to make themselves available for pickups. Uber and Lyft say that additional drivers reduce demand and, therefore, surge pricing.

Uber and Lyft notify all riders subject to the surge, which requires their consent. Riders also can wait for a notification that surge pricing has ended.

Long-hauling and overcharging

The same can’t be said for one issue that arises when taking a taxi. It’s long-hauling, the practice of deliberately taking passengers on longer routes so drivers can collect higher fares. Despite attempts by regulators and cab bosses to crack down, some renegade drivers still do it.

There’s also a question of value. A state audit this year found that regulators have allowed cabs to charge $47 million in excessive fees, including a $3 fee for using credit cards and a surcharge on gasoline, despite the low price of gas.

How the Strip accommodated Lyft and Uber

When Lyft and Uber began operating again last year, they disrupted not only the taxi industry, but also the long-standing procedures Strip casinos had for guiding traffic at their properties. Strip casinos had taxi lanes, shuttle areas and through lanes for passenger vehicles. But in the months since Lyft and Uber returned to Las Vegas, almost all Strip properties have created protocols for ride-hailing. Here’s how the Strip integrated ride-hailing with other transportation.

• Strip properties create pickup and drop-off locations. Most Strip properties designated specific areas for ride-hailing drop-offs and pickups. While a few properties allow Lyft and Uber to go directly to the main entrance, others require ride-hailing drivers to meet passengers by signs near valets or in their garages.

• Ride-hailing companies give the information to their drivers. The ride-hailing companies posted pickup and drop-off maps for their drivers on websites. Their apps also direct drivers to the designated pickup and drop-off locations.

• Passengers are directed to pickup locations, via the mobile app. When passengers request to be picked up at a Strip casino, the Lyft or Uber mobile applications direct passengers to where on the property their drivers will arrive.

Looking forward: Could Uber and Lyft be pushed out again?

Going up against a powerful taxi industry and regulators, ride-hailing companies had to flex their muscles to make it into Las Vegas. After being pushed out at the end of 2014, Uber and Lyft deployed lobbyists to convince legislators, transportation regulators and Clark County commissioners to let them come back.

For the most part, those battles have fizzled out. But not entirely. Uber and Lyft still are engaged in litigation with the city of Las Vegas over levying a $100 annual fee per active driver. Uber and Lyft also face threats on the national level. Over the past year, both companies have had to deal with several lawsuits concerning their business practices and treatment of drivers.

And though local battles have died down, Uber and Lyft suspended operations in Austin, Texas, recently after voters rejected a ballot measure, effectively requiring the companies to fingerprint drivers. The companies took similar action when San Antonio chose to require fingerprinting but came back when the city made it voluntary.