A day after a nod from state officials and despite business license issues in Clark County Uber and Lyft started rolling.
The Nevada Transportation Authority on Monday approved rules to allow ride-sharing companies to operate in Nevada.
However, the Clark County Commission decided Tuesday to require the ride-sharing companies to get special business license.
The problem, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal transportation reporter Velotta, is the state law under which the ride-sharing companies were allowed to operate specifically says special business licenses are not needed.
But the commission decided to write special business license rules anyway, which created an issue of timing for the companies.
Velotta said Uber and Lyft have 30 days from the time the licenses were approved by the state to start operations, but the county's timeline is different.
"So obviously, that is some kind of a problem that needs to be worked out because the state says: 'you have to operate by Oct. 15 or you forfeit your license,' while the county says: 'you can't operate here until Uber and Lyft have a license for the county and we can't give you that until November," he said.
During the license meeting Monday, the transportation authority asked the companies to adopt many of the regulations already in place at cab companies, but generally since the laws governing the transportation network companies are different from those for limousine and cab companies Uber and Lyft said no.
"For the most part it was 'please do this' and then Uber and Lyft saying 'no we've already got something in place, we're not going to change,'" Velotta explained.
Velotta said that has really been the problem this whole time, two sets of rules for companies that are essentially doing the same thing, driving people where they want to go.
"That has been the rub all along by the taxi companies," Velotta said. "They feel, 'you know, if we're going to compete, we might as well do this on a level playing field,'"
Rick Velotta, transportation reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal
