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TLPA President Bill ScalziRockville, Md. — The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA) recently announced a new membership dues structure aimed at giving fleet operators and nonprofit trade associations greater choice and allowing for greater savings. The new structure also provides flat-fee memberships for industry suppliers and public sector entities.
For fleets, the new structure departs from vehicle-based plans of the past and offers companies the option to choose among three different levels of membership service: Basic, Comprehensive and Leadership. Each level provides members with a range of benefits.
“This is the most significant dues structure change in over 40 years, which in the past was based on the number of vehicles in a member’s fleet and a single set of member benefits,” TLPA President Bill Scalzi said. “This modernized structure allows each fleet operator member and nonprofit trade association to evaluate their individual needs, and decide what is best for their business.”
The different levels of membership available to U.S. and International Fleet Operators and nonprofit trade associations provide varying levels of access to TLPA resources to best help members grow their businesses and stay abreast of industry trends. The three levels of membership are as follows:
• Basic membership allows a fleet or association to designate one representative to receive TLPA publications, such as the Ride-Hail News e-newsletter and Transportation Leader magazine. This level includes a membership directory and access to TLPA staff for questions and assistance. Organizations providing passenger service directly to the public are also listed in TLPA’s online Find a Ride tool.
• Comprehensive membership provides two additional team members with the benefits of basic membership, along with Legislative Alert and Special Report e-bulletins and access to the members-only Resource Center. Organizations at the comprehensive level are eligible to serve on the board of directors and most committees.
• Leadership membership builds on the basic and comprehensive benefits, expanding access to newsletters and publications to up to four people. At this level, fleets and associations can participate in exclusive legal, legislative and public relations briefings sponsored by TLPA. The leadership level also offers the ability to participate in leadership groups and potential profiles on the TLPA Fleet Forward Blog.
Additionally, TLPA is providing industry suppliers and public sector entities, such as state and local regulatory bodies, with a membership experience that provides greater insight into the for-hire transportation industry. These memberships have flat annual rates of $1,150 and $750, respectively.
The new dues structure and membership-service levels were effective July 15.
Visit tlpa.org/Join-TLPA for more information about membership, and tlpa.org to learn more about the transportation association, which is celebrating a century of operation this year.
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GBTA Director of Strategic Partnerships Heather Haley (left) and CD Editor Madeleine Maccar Boston — Nearly 7,000 members of the international business travel industry convened at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center from June 15-19 for the 2017 Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention. Among them was CD Editor Madeleine Maccar, and more than two dozen luxury transportation companies were represented both as exhibitors and attendees.
L to R: Art Miesemer of RMA Worldwide, Brett Barenholtz of Boston Car, Tami Saccoccio and Dawson Rutter of Commonwealth Worldwide, Robert Alexander of RMA Worldwide, Diane Forgy of Overland Chauffeured Services, and Lauren Nock of RMA Worldwide The theme of the GBTA’s 49th annual convention was “Convergence,” which was demonstrably on display with attendees flocking to the seaport city to learn, network, and evolve as a unified force benefiting the worldwide travel industry. Beyond that, the event’s agenda was crafted around supporting the theme by addressing the constant stream of new guidelines and trends that help airlines, lodging, technology companies, consumer products, media outlets, and scores of other business travel professionals provide the high-quality and safe services their customers depend on.
Education was a significant focus of the five-day event, with seminars, workshops, demos, multi-day sessions, certification programs, panels, and speakers all providing further insights into a range of topics. As the event encourages participation from all corners of the world, one of the prevailing educational topics was how to best navigate the geopolitical impact that global politics have on business travel and purchasing decisions alike.
L to R: Brett Barenholtz of Boston Car, Eddie McCoy of FASTTRAK Technologies, and Jeff Greene of Greene Worldwide TransportationThis year, the GBTA also released four reports coinciding with its convention, all of which comprise a series of new research the association has been conducting. The reports each fleshed out topics like the economic impact of business travel as it relates to microcosms such as job growth, global pricing forecasts, and travel spend projections and influencers for 2018.
L to R: Kelcy Peterson, Wayne Couturas, Alekzandra Guzman, and Daniel Aucar of Leros Point to Point CD will provide a detailed post-convention wrap-up and photo spread in its September 2017 issue.
The 2018 GBTA Convention will be August 11-15 in San Diego.
Visit gbta.org to learn more about the association, and gbta.org/convention for additional information about the annual event.
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PRLA President Steve RhoadsKing of Prussia, Pa. — The Philadelphia Regional Limousine Association (PRLA) met up July 19 for its most recent membership meeting, which President Steve Rhoads of Rhoads Limousine describes as “a short one where we got a lot done.”
With the association focusing its efforts on a level playing field—especially in terms of being granted the same 1-percent-of-revenue operating fee that taxis and TNCs are privy to instead of being charged per car—lobbying efforts dominated the conversation.
While the PRLA did see its members’ Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) fees reduced at the end of 2016, it is now working with a lobbyist from the firm Malady & Wooten to continue making Pennsylvania’s operational fees fairer for luxury ground transportation companies.
“We hired a lobbyist and are going through the process now of going through the Senate Appropriations Committee,” Rhoads said, explaining that the members of PRLA had to submit some operational numbers for analysis, which should result in an assessment for how to proceed. “The problem is we’re only 30 members and there are 200 limo operators in Philly. We did explain that but it seems like they’ll have enough information to evaluate how they want to proceed.”
He added that “there was a good response from most of our members” in terms of providing the data that would help PPA get a clearer picture of real numbers from chauffeured transportation operators.
“We had to move forward and get these guys to provide their numbers, or we’d have to roll the dice with what the PPA does next,” Rhoads said. “I was happy to hear that we had a great response.”
Rhoads further explained that, on the taxi side of transportation, medallion owners and drivers are at odds over who’s on the hook for the aforementioned PPA fees determined by overall revenue: “Nobody wants to pay it—we don’t want to pay it, either, but at least only paying 1 percent would put us on a level playing field.”
He added that there has been a newly proposed PPA per-ride fee—“like the hotel taxes you pay on the final bill”—under consideration as an additional line item, but that “it’s not quite there yet.” As it would be a very small fee to pass on, Rhoads surmised that the PRLA membership would be in support of it when the time comes for serious consideration.
The next PRLA meeting is tentatively scheduled for September 13.
Visit prlainc.com for more information.
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