Late last year, ride-sharing company Uber finally came to Las Vegas, and lasted about a whole six hours before being shut down. After months of attempts to find their way into Las Vegas, Uber, in addition to Lyft, have won approval from the Nevada Legislature to operate. As expected, the process passed with plenty of confusion.
The Assembly signed off on Assembly Bill 175, and is awaiting a signature from Governor Brian Sandoval, who is expected to sign. The confusion surrounds one measure, Assembly Bill 176, which was to have the ride-sharing companies regulated by the Nevada Transportation Authority, but was rejected. Those who oppose Uber and Lyft say it’s not fair Uber’s drivers transport passengers the same way taxis do, but are not subject to the same taxes.
Senate Bill 183 has also been pushed, which would allow small limousine companies to increase their fleets without having to fight off the larger companies and their competitive advantages. The way that law is currently written says the transportation authority can make decisions regarding these companies that would “tend to increase or create detrimental competition in motor transportation.”
The big companies are not going down without a fight however, and argue the bill needs to be killed if Uber and Lyft are allowed in. These companies have been grandfathered in which allows for the addition of limousines to be done with ease, while the new companies must go through complex and laborious steps to add limousines to their fleets.
