Local View: It's just not fare

By James Gillen

Around October, I got a job as a cab driver despite having no previous experience in the field. It's actually been one of the more fun jobs I've ever had. However, it can also be fairly stressful, not just because of the job itself but because of the restraints and requirements that cab driving involves in the state of Nevada, which do not apply elsewhere.

As such, during my time in this business, I made a list of observations and assembled them into an essay. For reasons to be explained, the essay is titled, "Why Prostitution is Better Than Cab Driving"

Employment. Cab driving, like prostitution, doesn't require a long resume. However, once hired, you have to pass a drug test, then take a physical, which you must pay $45 for. Then you have to go to the Nevada Taxicab Authority (TA), pass a written exam and pay $40 to do THAT. THEN, you have to pay them another $45 as a fingerprinting fee before you can even get your permit and start making money in the first place. All of these fees are expenses of both money and time that many unemployed people simply cannot afford, and which act as a barrier to employment.

Whereas, becoming a hooker requires no fees, no state licenses, and--especially--no drug tests or physicals. You can start immediately, and ANYBODY can do it!

Income. Every day, a cabbie has to deduct 20 cents per fare as a fee to the TA. He has to pay for his own gas. In some companies, you have to pay a daily fee for the "trip sheet" you use to record all your data. And so on. Many of these fees are NOT assessed on the paycheck stub, but the end result is that a cabbie's paycheck can be less than 30 or even 25 percent of the gross. BEFORE taxes.

Whereas prostitutes' income is all under the table, and they keep a higher percentage of gross, because they're working for pimps.

Security. It is actually more likely for a prostitute in Las Vegas to robbed or killed by a customer than it is for a cab driver. However, in such case, the prostitute's assailant is slightly more likely to be caught on camera.

A prostitute is not automatically assumed to be a criminal. The Taxicab Authority is trying to crack down on a lot of drivers' activities, especially "long-hauling" or taking a customer the long way to a destination. In these cases, the burden of proof is on the driver to show that he wasn't doing anything wrong. A recent "exposé" in the Review-Journal took the TA's side on the issue, with a TA officer pointing out cabs exiting the airport and stating that it was certain those cabs were long-hauling.

Whereas you cannot assume a woman is a pro just because she "looks slutty." Especially not these days. Especially not in Vegas. If a guy takes a girl up to his hotel room, he is not necessarily paying her for sex. She could be his girlfriend. She could be doing him pro bono. So to speak.

Now, why would I make this particular comparison? Well, ever since I became a cab driver, I've been hearing gossip, I've been reading the free cabbie magazines, and there's always bitching about the same topics: We're not making enough on our checks, we don't have cameras or security gear, we're always hassled by the TA.

Given the "success" this city has had in stopping illegal prostitution, I say the solution is obvious: Petition local government to make cab driving illegal. That would solve all the problems we have working in a regulated industry, and there's so many of us on the roads now that they can't arrest us all.

James Gillen is currently between jobs.