Hi, my name is Gary Hight. I have been a Las Vegas resident since 1987 and have been driving cab since August of 1989 for “Ace” Cab Company. I never thought I would be driving cab for a living. When I started, it was suppose to be one year. Well, here I am 15 years later still driving, and still crazy after all these years. There’s a song in there somewhere!!! One thing that keeps me going back to the job each day, is that Las Vegas is a very unique town to drive cab in. I’ve met a lot of people from all walks of life, from CEO’s, Politicians, Sports Figures, Show Biz People and even the homeless. Some names you might recognize are: Jesse James (of Monster Garage fame), Senator Bill Frist (Republican-Tennessee-House Majority Leader), Ricky Henderson (Baseball Player), Marty Allen (Comedian), Sally Field (Actress), Tim Hardaway (Basketball Player), Mark Langston (Baseball Player), Paul Revere (of Raider fame), Buddy Grecco (on the fringe of "The Rat Pack"), to name just a few. But the most memorable and meaningful conversations come from just normal folk visiting our city. A good part of the time I may not come across as the friendliest or most talkative guy, because more times than not I will let my passengers begin a conversation. The reason for this is threefold: First, about a dozen years ago, when I was still trying to “romance the toke”, (kiss booty for tip!), I had an experience happen that put me on notice that not all passengers are in the mood for any type of light conversation or probing. I had a guy that I picked up at Caesar’s Palace that was going to the airport whom I was trying to chat with. He informed me that he had lost several hundreds of thousands of dollars the night before and really wasn’t in the mood. Secondly, after all these years it starts to become kind of a burnout answering the same old questions, i.e. do you live here?, or where’s a good place to “gamble”?.Can you imagine some of the responses I could come up with?, and lastly, for those of you who have visited before and are familiar with the strip and what’s happening, the traffic is getting so pathetic that it feels like a war zone sometimes or like an obstacle course out there on those streets. But all in all, I am a professional, courteous and very safe driver. I have never had an accident, excluding one broken head light with a Cadillac in front of the old Aladdin about 10 years ago. My purpose for this Taxi Page, is to familiarize you with a few things before you visit our fair city. There are 16 cab companies, and all of the 3500+ drivers are employees and do not lease or own their own cabs. We are regulated by the Nevada Taxi Cab Authority and there are real live Taxi “Cops” out there trying to make sure we behave ourselves. All of the fare meters are calibrated and sealed by the NTCA to eliminate any possibility of tampering with the meter. Therefore, all the cabs in town should be about the same rate from point “A” to point “B”.Somewhere between point “A” and point “B”, is where it can get a little sticky. For example, if you are being picked up from the airport going to, let’s say, Caesar’s Palace. Like the old saying,“There are many roads to Rome." The route I take which I consider to be the most direct route, is out Swenson, to Paradise, left on Flamingo to the Strip and then to Caesar’s Palace. Approximately about 4 miles in all, average fare should be about $ 13.00 (State Cab Fare Rates).
The other roads to “Rome” would take you out of the airport through the Airport Tunnel, to I-215 merging with I-15 North to Flamingo Road and then to Caesar’s. Approximately 5-6 miles, average fare would be about $ 20.00. Some drivers, for reasons, only they know, can turn that into a $30, $40, or even $50.00 ride. So, it would be my advice to you, if you don’t know the route to take, suggest to the driver, that you want the most “direct” route. And if for any reason, you don’t feel like he has done that, the Taxi Cab Authority, has a phone number to report that or any other complaints or concerns, posted inside the cab. Not only are these types of drivers giving the honest drivers in this town a bad name, but something you may not know, is that we have to compete for our jobs on an average. Average, meaning, the total amount booked (money on the meter), divided by the total number of drivers on that shift. And by giving you the approximate fare rate to Caesar’s Palace in the example above, it’s easy to see that an honest driver has to work harder to keep his job. So with that in mind, all I can say is, “I keep trying”. So, if you or anyone you know, is planning to visit our city and have certain transportation needs, please feel free to contact me thru this website with any questions or comments. Also, please visit our Las Vegas page, for a list of things to do. Within this link, is another link to a song I wrote, while sitting in my cab at red lights waiting to turn green.