Las Vegas could be home to a Formula One race following a more than 30-year hiatus.
Formula One’s commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone made statements in early April indicating he’s in discussions about bringing a grand prix to the city.
“It is possible that there could be an event there,” said Ecclestone from the Bahrain Grand Prix, The Associated Press reported. Ecclestone added the time “would be a couple of years, I suppose.”
A new race in the United States would not replace the existing U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, Ecclestone said.
“We will keep Austin and have another race,” Ecclestone said.
The last time Las Vegas had an F1 race was 1981 and 1982 in the parking lot of Caesars Palace. That race was replaced by IndyCar in the next season. But after two seasons, the event was dropped.
RTC partners with Waze App
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada recently partnered with Waze, a free navigation app that helps save drivers time and money through real-time updates from other users on a data-sharing partnership. The partnership will give residents information about current road conditions and construction bumps around the valley.
Through Waze’s Connected Citizens program, of which RTC is now a part, drivers will give real-time updates on construction and other blockages to the app, and the RTC, through its Freeway Arterial System of Transportation center, the collection and distribution point of the valley’s traffic movements, to Waze.
The partnership builds on RTC’s Seeing Orange campaign, which also provides information about road projects around the valley.
“While road construction projects are important to improving our community, the RTC understands the resulting traffic delays can be frustrating,” said Tina Quigley, RTC general manager. “So, we are proud to partner with Waze as part of our Seeing Orange campaign to provide Southern Nevada residents an easy way to access real-time road conditions.”
The RTC also uses other means to assist Las Vegas commuters in the region through technology such as text messages sent by FAST and message boards along the city’s freeways.
The partnership supports the goals of a more efficient commute, sought by Southern Nevada Strong, which RTC is the administrator of, including reducing vehicle miles traveled, decreasing emissions and improving the region’s air quality.
Generational divide
Millennials are more likely to pay with plastic on small purchases, according to a new report by creditcards.com, a site where consumers can compare hundreds of credit cards from top issuers.
A large number of cardholders 50 and up — 74 percent — prefer to use cash on their small purchases of under $5. Millennials, 64 percent, pull out their credit or debit card for these same small purchases, according to the report.
Overall, cash is still on top across all age categories with about six in 10 credit cardholders typically paying in cash for items under $5. But cash usage is down 7 percentage points from the last report in 2014. Debit cards usage has gone up 5 percent and the percentage of people swiping their credit cards has not changed.
On the overall scope, 27 percent of debit cardholders preferred to pay in cash on small items and 11 percent would use their credit card.
The category with the most credit card use on small purchases was the 18-29 age group at 18 percent, with debit card use in that same category hitting 46 percent. Their older counterparts in the 50 to 64 age range hit 7 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
“I’m confident that debit and credit cards will gain even more market share in the years to come,” said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst of CreditCards.com. “Credit cards offer better protection against identity theft and fraudulent charges, so I think they’re the best choice.”
CreditCards.com commissioned Princeton Survey Research Associated International to poll the results through telephone interviews. In all, 616 major credit cardholders living in the U.S. were surveyed. Landline and cellphone users were both surveyed March 3-6.
Results for the Western part of the U.S. also revealed differentiating data. The survey revealed that credit cardholders in the West — 46 percent — were more likely to swipe for small purchases those in the Northeast and Midwest.