Las Vegas residents may not have Uber, but smart phone users need not fear – another ride-hailing app is here.
Ride Genie will basically function the same as its illegal-in-Nevada counterpart, where customers can store their credit card information within the app, and when they need it, hail a taxi via satellite location. The app will send the request to a universal dispatch system, and give the assignment to the nearest taxi driver. Instead of being an actual company ran by independent drivers - Ride Genie is actually a function of the taxi cab companies.
But there’s a catch: in addition to the standard taxi fare, users have to pay the additional $3 charge for automatically using a credit card, and, a 20 percent gratuity is conveniently added for you. The app seeks to help taxis become more readily available in residential and suburban areas of Southern Nevada – which is what Uber sought to do in the first place.
But with a more costly price tag, will the Ride Genie app be a success in Southern Nevada?
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Rick Velotta, Road Warrior columnist, Las Vegas Review-Journal