Vegas cab drivers hassling for tips

[DarkForceRising]

As one who has been in and out of the cab biz for the last 20 years, I have had some pretty candid conversations with Vegas cabbies.

Several of them have told me that the companies pressure them to run up the fares. In Vegas they get paid on a 50/50 or so split system, with the company covering the fuel. Tips are not split, so the line about "working for tips" is somewhat true.

Anyway, the more fare they run up- the more the company leaves them alone. And the owners are some real scumbags from what I understand. Drivers have been lobbying for years to have the right to own their own cabs. Unfortunately, the cab company mafia continues to prevail.

I'm not trying to justify their behavior, btw. My first trip to Vegas was kicked off by a driver griping the whole ride to the Flamingo. I really wanted to tell him to stfu- that I was there to enjoy myself and not listen to his whining.

Nevertheless, there are reasons these guys do what they do. I really don't think they are sleazeballs by nature (for the most part anyway); they are simply under pressure in a very competitive environment, due largely to predatory practices by their employers.