LETTERS: Taxis least of GOP convention concerns
To the editor:
In an inevitable exercise, a Review-Journal article begins the process of placing blame should Las Vegas lose its bid for the 2016 Republican National Convention (“Taxicab issue could harm bid,” March 17 Review-Journal). Since McCarran International Airport can certainly handle the traffic, the city clearly has more than enough hotel rooms for the delegates and the convention facilities are second to none, the bid will fail because of … long-hauling by Las Vegas taxicabs. Really?
Actually, major special events rarely, if ever, rely upon the competence of taxicab companies. Indeed, the standard practice at such events is to do no more than to identify taxi ranks at official venues. These areas serve to provide an unofficial, alternative method of transportation for participants. Because the security of such vehicles cannot be consistently guaranteed, ranks must be located at a distance from the venue’s entrance. By contrast, the essential major event transportation elements — airport arrivals and departures, regularly scheduled shuttle service and special charter movements — are managed by event organizing committees using vehicles and drivers hired exclusively for such purposes.
When organizers use publicly available services, they involve well-established providers. For example, in Denver in 2008, the Democratic National Convention Committee provided delegates with vouchers, granting access to SuperShuttle, a company that provides airport transfer services in many U.S. cities. In this way, delegates could arrange their own airport transfers and the organizing committee did not have to become involved. By contrast, in Charlotte in 2012, since SuperShuttle didn’t operate there, the DNCC asked its bus management contractor (whose team I managed) to create a custom bus shuttle network, connecting the airport with the official delegate hotels. This was in addition to the shuttle network that my team created to connect the 140-plus hotels to the Time Warner Cable Arena, for the three days of the convention.
Unfortunately, the discussion about taxicab long-hauling diverts attention from the real issue regarding the prospects of a Las Vegas bid — electoral votes. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus insists that the 2016 convention will be awarded based on the “delegate experience.” Well, if Republicans believe that winning Ohio’s 18 electoral votes, which went to President Barack Obama in 2012, is unimportant, then perhaps the convention will be held in Las Vegas. Yet this dance echoes the way in which Las Vegas was led to believe that a Major League Baseball franchise would relocate here.
Sadly, Las Vegas seems to only serve as negotiating leverage. It is much more likely that the 2016 Republican National Convention will be held in a state that Republicans have never failed to win while also winning the presidency: Ohio.
MICHAEL A. AGUILAR
LAS VEGAS
The writer is president of Five Tool Group Inc., which provides transportation planning for special events.
Nevada medical care
To the editor:
I just finished reading the story of Larry Basich, who had triple-bypass surgery and got stuck with a $400,000 bill because of what is believed to be a glitch in the Nevada Health Link website (“Obamacare leaves Las Vegas man owing $407,000 in doctor bills,” March 18 Review-Journal). It’s hard to get a handle on what is more ridiculous: the fact that all these multibillion-dollar, high-tech companies can’t put together a decent website; or the fact that a medical procedure that costs less than $20,000 in the rest of the world costs $400,000 in Las Vegas.
People who live in this town on average have low credit scores and very little savings. Do hospitals really believe that elderly people can pay these types of bills? The whole thing would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic.
GERRY HAGEMAN
LAS VEGAS
