News and notes from around the interweb:
- IHG Rewards Club’s 75 night ‘Spire Elite’ tier is testing upgrade and club lounge benefits at a handful of properties.
The Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom you’re staying at is part of a new pilot program, and that means we’re happy to confirm a complimentary room upgrade on your upcoming stay. This is just one of the great benefits of being a Spire Elite member of IHG@ Rewards Club.
…also aware of
+ CP Amsterdam Center, NL / Lounge Access - The introduction of Uber in Atlanta correlates with a 32% drop in DUIs. Meanwhile DUIs are up in Austin since Uber and Lyft left albeit not as dramatically (there are still ridesharing options like ArcadeCity which Austin has performed sting operations against and also Fare, Fasten, and GetMe which doesn’t seem to want to come get me).
- Qatar is considering increasing its stake in British Airways and Iberia parent IAG from 15% to 20%.
- Death watch for the Airbus A380 production line
- Walmart, Green Dot, and MasterCard receive inquiry from Senators over prepaid card failures
- 360 degree view: renderings of United’s new business class seat and lounges.
So @Gary, what you prove here is that good public transportation options lower DUIs? Thats pretty easy to figure out. Saying that Uber SPECIFICALLY lowers DUIs is not true, ANY service that would allow people not to have to drive themselves home would do the same.
A380 purchases lately have been sketchier…see Iran Air now waffling on their commitment. Looks like the end is near for the A380
So @joelfreak what you’re saying is every locality could spend billions of dollars on public transit projects (multiply that out across the country), and still not have on demand public transportation that picks people up wherever they are and takes them directly to wherever they’re going wherever they wish so is still less likely to be convenient and useful to someone who might choose to drive.
Or… we could just make it feasible for Uber/Lyft to operate and then governments don’t have to come up with that kind of cash (trading off with education, other infrastructure etc).
Yeah, you’re right. We do have a choice.
There’s a reason why both the sheriff and police chief in Austin/Travis County raised concerns about the City Council’s plan to crack down on Uber and Lyft.
We have a stay at the Crown Plaza Amsterdam in a few weeks, and we’re both Spire Elite. Neither of us received that letter.
@Gary again, you fly right by the point. Uber/Lyft were NOT made illegal. It was just required that their drivers pass a fingerprint background check. Then, the companies tried to have the public vote to make the fingerprint check not required, and they LOST, and thus they pulled out of town. Explain where they can’t operate? Also, as we have covered MANY, MANY times before, public transportation covers areas that ride-sharing companies tend NOT to cover as well as public transport, not to mention that not everyone has a phone/credit card and can take/Hail Uber/Lyft. We still need good public transport, and ride-sharing can COMPLIMENT it…it doesn’t replace it. Tell someone in NYC you want to get rid of the subway/bus system and replace it with Uber, and they will laugh at you. This shows why we need a well developed transit system in every major city.