So I have many times on here posted about how difficult a decision this was for them to make. There was no good easy path to continue DME. It was more than a bus - it was an alliance of many companies and resurrecting it would not have been an easy or fast lift. DME was also terribly ineffective. I started on a limo service during COVID, and have not gone back, and not sure I ever would even if DME were around.
That said, back in 2005 when DME was first introduced, I was a big proponent of the Disney bubble. Disney had spent a long time doing research on how many days the typical family would vacation, and worked very hard to make sure you were giving all your vacation dollars to Disney from the moment you landed until the moment you took off. I am sad that they have abandoned that philosophy.
Are they though? I spend a LOT of time now fretting that I have missed things because there is less to plan than there used to be. Yeah, I have a limo instead of DME (but an Uber can be done on the spot). There is no longer FP+ to plan. True you have Park Reservations now - but those can be done the same time you book your hotel.
I have found that there is less to do now before you get to Disney, but more to do once you are there.
And let's not forget that for most first timers, there are TA's - and those are 100% free thanks to Disney. If anything, these changes make TA's more valuable for the average visitor.