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Los Angeles —With some major topics on the agenda for the evening, the Greater California Livery Association (GCLA) welcomed roughly 120 attendees to its September 17 meeting, including CD Publisher Chris Weiss, who was one of the evening’s speakers.
With the recent noteworthy passage of Assembly Bill 5 generating quite the buzz among luxury ground transportation operators from coast to coast, it’s no surprise that the bill was on everyone’s mind the evening of its passage right in the association’s backyard—though GCLA Director and Chairman of the Legislative Committee Mark Stewart of CLI Worldwide says that “I don’t think anyone thought the governor would sign it so quickly.”
AB5, which aims to make sweeping reforms to the misclassification of so-called “gig economy” workers as independent contractors instead of being considered the employees they should have rightfully been considered in the first place, will piggyback on the “ABC Test” that determines what protections are owed to a worker based on three metrics. Employers must prove that a worker is free from their control, performing work beyond the parameters of regular business, and independently entrenched in the trade in question to ensure their IC status; otherwise, they are a bona-fide employee.
While the GCLA is understandably pleased to see its labors finally met with the start of a truly level playing field, Stewart knows this is not the time to rest on one’s laurels.
“The bill becomes effective January 1, so we feel like this is just the beginning,” he said. “Uber especially, their legal officers have been pretty arrogantly and openly defiant in stating how they’re not going to obey. So that’s going to be the big issue. We figure that all the rideshare companies, including the food delivery services, are not going to obey the law—but they are aware of that amendment. There’s a key amendment that came in at the 11th hour in that bill prior to it being approved, and that was the enforcement issue.”
While the GCLA still has questions about what that enforcement is going to look like, it has been in talks with the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and will continue to be so, as members are heartened by the direction things are going.
In fact, the day Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB5 into law, Stewart was joined by other members of the GCLA legislative team—President Mo Garkani of The COTS Group, Past President David Kinney of API Global Transportation, and lobbyist Gregg Cook—in their first-ever meeting with PUC Executive Director Alice Steadman while “everyone from the PUC transportation team was on the phone” in a one-hour meeting that Stewart summarizes as being “very well-received, we were really impressed with the takeaway.”
The meeting also included discussion of another considerable win, an amendment to AB1810 that finally made it illegal to smoke or vape cannabis in a commercial vehicle—which had previously been legal after Prop 64 passed, which legalized the drug in California.
“As far as I know, the governor hasn’t signed that bill so he still has 30 days to do that,” Stewart said. “But having that amendment placed onto 1810 is a big deal.”
In addition to a legislative landscape that finally reflects the association’s dedicated lobbying efforts, the meeting itself hosted speakers who tackled an array of topics. Weiss spoke of industry trends that are establishing themselves as mainstays, which included the larger motorcoaches and buses that speaker Joe Guinn of Limo & Bus Compliance addressed in his own presentation about how staying with regulatory compliance will be changing for big-group-movers in the coming year.
Bill Wheeler of Black Tie Transportation and Matthew Strack of Strack Transportation offered “a semi-panel” about their journeys from being small operators to growing their companies to the larger presences they are now, which Stewart said “hit every topic non-stop” in just 15 minutes.
Visit gcla.org for more information.
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The two biggest trade associations in the for-hire passenger transportation industry announced today that they are in earnest discussions to merge in 2020.
The National Limousine Association (NLA) and The Transportation Alliance (formerly known as the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association) have been in exploratory merger talks for several months to outline the operating framework of the combined organizations. Now, with the initial support of both boards behind them, the groups will continue to advance their discussions.
“This would be a win for our combined membership and a win for industry vendors,” said Terry O’Toole, president of The Transportation Alliance. “With our associations merged, we see a bright future where our members save money, where our vendors can meet under one roof, and where our unified messages are amplified like never before.”
“From the first discussion, both associations approached this as a true merger of equals,” said Gary Buffo, president of the NLA. “That spirit of cooperation has brought us to this exciting point today. We each bring significant strengths to the table that, when you add them together, create an impressive and powerful organization serving as the voice of our industry.”
The boards of both organizations have reviewed and approved in principle the structure under which the new organization will operate.
Each organization hosts annual conferences and trade shows. Both groups expect to address the possible merger at their respective upcoming meetings. The NLA hosts a membership meeting at the Westin Boston Waterfront on Oct. 14 during the Chauffeur Driven Show from 13-16. The Transportation Alliance hosts its convention and expo, Mobilize 2019, at Bally’s Las Vegas on Oct. 16-19.
About The Transportation Alliance: Established in 1917, The Transportation Alliance is a nonprofit trade association that represents the owners and managers of for-hire transportation services (taxicab, limousine, sedan, TNC, shuttle, brokers, paratransit, and nonemergency medical fleets). The Transportation Alliance’s member companies operate more than 100,000 passenger vehicles and transport more than 900 million passengers annually. Visit thetransportationalliance.org or contact John Boit at boit@melwoodglobal.com for more information.
About the National Limousine Association: The National Limousine Association is a nonprofit organization responsible for and dedicated to representing the interests of the private driver transportation industry at the global, national, state, and local level. It is the unified voice of this industry, linking transportation industry professionals from owners and operators to suppliers, manufacturers, and regional and state limousine associations. With more than 1,000 NLA members, the Association is committed to exceeding expectations with regards to professionalism, transportation efficiency, and safe riding. Visit limo.org or contact Matthew Berritt at matthew.berritt@evins.com for more information.
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Brussels, Belgium — Coach manufacturer Van Hool will be debuting two motorcoaches in its booth at Busworld Europe, held October 18-23 at the Brussels Expo Center. In addition to an electric-powered bus for the US market, Van Hool will be presenting a number of technological innovations on its vehicles, which reflect the company’s innovative strength.
Just four years ago, Van Hool launched the EX-range, a modern, efficient, innovative and comfortable alternative to the ever-increasing competition in the coach world market. At Busworld Europe, they will be presenting the EX11, the fourth model in the EX-range (adding to the EX15, EX16, and EX17). With it, Van Hool is responding to the increasing market demand to offer a well-equipped and comfortable vehicle in the 11-meter (36-foot) class. Including the L and H variants, with low or standard boarding height, the full EX-range consists of no fewer than 10 versions. Like all these versions, the EX11 can also be ordered immediately. All are available with powerful, economical DAF engines of the latest NG generation, coupled with a wide range of manual, automated, and automatic gearboxes.
The CX45E is a fully electrically-powered coach for the US market. Van Hool selected Proterra, an American producer of battery technology for heavy vehicles, to supply the E2 battery technology. The 100-percent electric-powered vehicle will have a total battery capacity of 648Kwh and a working radius of approximately 300 km. This coach will be an ideal solution for many customers operating fixed routes, particularly in urban and private environments. With proprietary route modelling capability, Van Hool and ABC Companies, the exclusive partner and distributor for the North-American market, can ensure range capacity that is conservatively within each operator’s individual needs.
Van Hool has been working with its exclusive partner and distributor ABC Bus Companies for more than 30 years to put the Belgian company on the map in the US. Today, there are more than 11,000 Van Hool coaches and buses on the North American roads.
Van Hool will be presenting no less than 18 vehicles at Busworld Europe. Of those, seven coaches and on bus will be on the show floor and 10 coaches will be used for test drives. This will give professional visitors the chance to see the quality of Van Hool’s extensive range. Van Hool will seize this event to introduce technological innovations on a few of its vehicles. These innovations will be unveiled for the first time at Busworld Europe 2019.
“Our company has been a welcome guest at Busworld since 1971, and we always enjoy going back,” says Van Hool CEO Filip Van Hool. “This event is an excellent opportunity to introduce our innovations to existing and potential customers, and to get a feel for what is going on in the marketplace. Our booth in the familiar halls of Kortrijk Expo was always like a second home during the exhibition, so it does feel like a chapter that's closing. I have confidence in the organisers’ decision to move Busworld Europe to a new location, and no doubt this will bring many new opportunities. As always, we are ready!”
Visit vanhool.be for more information.
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