Radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and magazines have all taken it in the shorts due to the internet. Nobody feels sorry for those industries, and nobody thinks those industries are owed anything. Newspapers don’t have nearly as much content, because they don’t have the revenue to support it due to the drop in advertising in their papers. Radio stations still exist, but they rely upon far more pre-packaged and homogeneous content. Local radio stations don’t have the same local character because they use cheaper talent and rely less on local flavor and personality.
Old fashioned national retail chains struggle thanks to the cheaper alternatives offered by Amazon. Nobody cries a tear for Target or Best Buy.
When is the last time you called a travel agent to book a trip to Sin City? For me it has been more than 15 years. I wouldn’t know where to find a travel agent at this point.
Now that the internet is accessible in the palms of our hands, companies have figured out better ways to provide taxi services without the customer being extorted by the cab companies. That’s a shame.
There’s a place for cabs, they’re not going to disappear, but it’s time for the taxi industry to face the fact that their industry has been devalued and they’re not going to recapture that revenue. Learn to start doing more with less, and earning less for it, just like every newspaper and radio station in the country.
]]>That said, Uber is no joy in Vegas. People show up in their clown cars. I had to send an Uber away as there is apparently also no inspection of the cars used for Uber. How are three people supposed to fit in that?
]]>I live in SF and the ride-share and taxi camps have come to more or less a simmering detente. I would imagine it will eventually shake out that way in Vegas too. The ideal would be for the long-haulers to get “capitalism’ed” out of the market, but I know the world doesn’t work that way.
There are still times here in SF that I take a cab, for convenience or if I’m off the beaten Uber track. And despite the fact that I’ll be limo-ing to and from McCarran in a couple days I’ll probably use both Uber and taxis to get up and down the strip, based on what’s most convenient.
It’s great that Vegas has the option now.
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