Taxi Fares to Surge on Las Vegas Strip

Taxi fares in Las Vegas are about to go up. The base fee for each trip will increase from $3.50 to $5.25, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The distance fee will also increase from 23 cents for every 1/12th of a mile traveled to 37 cents per every 1/8th mile. For the algebra-challenged, that’s an increase of 20 cents per mile, from $2.76 to $2.96.

The fee for a taxi to wait for you after drop-off will remain $32.40 per hour.

The Taxicab Authority, which oversees the 10K drivers working for 16 taxi companies in Clark County, voted in the increases last week.

Flat-rate fees for three zones between the Strip and Harry Reid International Airport, which the Taxicab Authority approved in 2019 to curtail long-hauling, will also increase according to the following schedule.

“When you look at the overall increase, it’s really just to keep pace with inflation,” Johnathan Schwartz, director of YCS and Newcab, told the R-J. “We increased the drop more than the other rates that are aggregated to create an overall fee so that the drivers would be more motivated to take shorter trips so that residents would be affected less.”

Taking a page from the rideshare companies that have cut deeply into their dominance over Strip transportation, the Taxicab Authority is also considering a surcharge similar to surge pricing on Uber and Lyft.

“When Uber and Lyft started implementing surge rates at times that are unpopular to get drivers to get in cars and actually transport people, it motivated drivers, and we’ve learned a lesson from that,” Schwartz told the R-J.

As part of this new model, the Taxicab Authority is considering the addition of special event fees to fares for large events such as Las Vegas Raiders games, concerts at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, or the Las Vegas Grand Prix. This would entice more drivers to jump in their cabs and brave heavy traffic late at night, or whenever the need for them peaks.

No timetable was announced for these rate hikes but they are expected to be implemented by the end of the year. According to the R-J, the process will be slowed by the need for taxi companies to update their meters, which must then be inspected by the Taxicab Authority for accuracy.