\nLimousine drivers operating with the new Ride Genie smartphone application system say the process of requesting a ride will get easier for customers who use the service.<\/p>\n
\tIntegrity Vehicle Solutions, a Las Vegas-based technology company spun off from the Frias Transportation Group, unveiled the new app Wednesday and 400 sedans, limousines and sport utility vehicles are operating with the app.<\/p>\n
\tMark James, CEO of Integrity, said he expects 80 percent of the limousine fleet in Southern Nevada will be enabled with Ride Genie technology and taxi cabs also will be using the app within weeks.<\/p>\n
\tJames also said Ride Genie would be operating in other major cities in the United States within two months.<\/p>\n
\tAt the end of the day Wednesday, Integrity did not have a count on the number of apps downloaded on the first day.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s going to make things a lot easier for end users,\u201d said Paul Poteat, director of technology development for Bell Transportation, parent company of the Bell Trans and Presidential Limousine companies.<\/p>\n
\tPoteat coordinated the set-up between Bell and Integrity and explained that using the app is easier than scheduling a reservation and the customer has the added benefit of monitoring the location of the vehicle assigned to the ride.<\/p>\n
\tCustomers must first download the free app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. A customer must fill out a registration form, which includes providing a credit card or Pay Pal account number for ride payments.<\/p>\n
\tWhen a customer requests a ride, the closest available vehicle is contacted and when the driver accepts the assignment, both the driver and the customer are notified by text and have screens with maps that show the location of each party.<\/p>\n
\tIf the closest vehicle doesn\u2019t accept the assigned ride after 30 seconds, the system moves to the next closest vehicle until the ride is assigned.<\/p>\n
\tJames said that part of the operation may be the most ground breaking because he said it\u2019s one of the first times that owners in Southern Nevada\u2019s highly competitive limousine and taxi industries agreed to work within a system with competitors.<\/p>\n
\tDavid Wong, a driver with Presidential Limousines, got his first chance to use the app several weeks ago when Integrity was beta testing the product and regulators wanted to see how it worked.<\/p>\n
\tOnce a customer presses the button to hail a vehicle, the closest vehicle \u2014 Wong\u2019s in this case \u2014 gets a high-pitched whistle on his computer tablet. Once he accepted the ride, he was given a route to the customer.<\/p>\n
\tWhen the ride was over, the system tabulated the costs and sent a receipt to the customer. Customers also have the opportunity to override the 20 percent tip that is built into the billing and rate the driver and the vehicle for company feedback.<\/p>\n
\tRight now, most of the companies using the system are using a universal tariff approved for Integrity, which means customers will pay the normal charges for the ride plus $5.<\/p>\n
\tA workshop meeting on developing tariffs for e-hailing is scheduled Thursday morning by the Nevada Transportation Authority and the first tariff requests are scheduled to be heard by the three-member commission at Tuesday\u2019s monthly meeting.<\/p>\n
\tJames is hoping the public will participate in the meetings to give regulators feedback about the app and how it\u2019s used.<\/p>\n
\tWhile local residents and frequent Las Vegas visitors are likely to be the first to download Ride Genie, James expects numbers to grow as the system spreads nationwide and occasional Las Vegas visitors learn of the app\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n
\tRepresentatives of Uber, a San Francisco-based ridesharing company that says it is trying to establish a toehold in Southern Nevada, was unfazed by Integrity\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cInnovation is more than just creating an app,\u201d the company said in a statement issued late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThis is not innovation \u2014 it\u2019s the same old model of hidden fees, long wait times and unreliable service dressed up under the guise of technology,\u201d the statement said. \u201cUber offers convenient, affordable, seamless rides and Las Vegas deserves Uber.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tJames said earlier this week that he was thankful that Uber had played up the need for new transportation technology in Southern Nevada, crediting the company\u2019s \u201cwhining and complaining\u201d with building awareness that Ride Genie would be able to take advantage of.<\/p>\n
\tUber and another ridesharing company, Lyft, have been reluctant to enter the Southern Nevada market because it could not be profitable under some of the current limousine and taxi regulations.<\/p>\n
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