UPDATE: Oct 24th. Local press reports Uber will start operating today in Las Vegas.
A few weeks ago I started noticing adverts appearing in my Facebook feed from Uber, apparently recruiting for drivers in Las Vegas. I thought to myself that was odd because I'd read that legislation effectively prevents Uber from operating in Nevada. I assumed the ad I saw on Facebook was part of a national campaign, and that no one had thought to exclude Las Vegas from it. But I've also now seen a number of full page advertisements by Uber in local newspapers and magazine. The ads don't say anything, they just show a large Uber app icon. On top of that, the press in Vegas reported this week that Uber held closed-door meetings with potential drivers.
All of this leads me to think that Uber has hatched a plan to have a big showdown with the licensing authorities and the taxi cab operators. If they do that, it's going to be a dirty fight and it's going to back up the maxim, "There's no such thing as bad publicity". The monetary cost to Uber will be high, but the press coverage should more than make up for that.
Uber are well funded, (to the tune of $1.5Bn), operate globally and are generally loved by consumers, whereas taxis... well, not so much. This is a fight that I think taxis can only lose; they're going to come across as the bad guys, and that may not be fair, but that's what's going to happen.
I've used Uber extensively in San Francisco, but I've used it precisely zero times in Vegas as it's not available. I've used taxis in Vegas a number of times, and yes, I did always get to my destination, but on more than one occasion I felt I was being longhauled, and on the others, I had grumpy drivers and smelly cabs. Are there great cabbies in Vegas? If I have to take my chances, I'll go for Uber.
In most other cities around the US, and indeed the world, consumers are voting with their feet. The residents of San Francisco certainly have: taxi rides have dropped 65%.
Why do people choose Uber? I can only speak for myself: there's lots of nice things about Uber, but what trumps everything is that at the end of your journey you give the driver a rating from 1 to 5 stars. Apparently drivers with less than 4 star average get booted out. That's a strong incentive for drivers to be polite and friendly and make sure their cars are clean and tidy. There's other cool things about Uber, like getting an email with minutes of your journey's end, showing you not just the cost charged to your credit card, but the mileage travelled and even a map showing the route you took! The drivers know this of course. Result: I've never been longhauled by an Uber.
Vegas is a wonderful city in many ways and a nightmare in others. The public transportation is in the "sorely lacking" category. We have a great little monorail here, but it goes from nowhere to nowhere, and stops just short of the airport; pointless. No public buses go from the airport to the strip, although one does go to Downtown. Taxi alternatives like Uber or Lyft will lead to a better overall service, and likely lead to a reduction in car ownership. So for all those reasons, I'm watching keenly to see the next move by Uber, I have a feeling it's going to shake things up whatever happens.
