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The business portion of the event started with a brief meeting. President Kent Sparks of Lake Cumberland Limousine introduced Jagiela, who spoke of national trends and discussed how Chauffeur Driven aims to benefit the industry.
Members then zeroed in on local concerns, starting with the sales taxes imposed on chauffeured ground transportation services and legislation being considered for implementation. Jagiela offered insight into the Limousine Association of New Jersey’s (LANJ’s) battle on similar grounds, which ended in success this past January when its members saw a bill passed into law that removed the state’s seven-percent sales tax on transportation services. Jagiela emphasized that the grassroots efforts of KLA’s industry peers to the north were the key to LANJ’s success in seeing the passage of a beneficial, common-sense law, and advised the assemblage of Kentucky operators to follow that boots-on-the-ground, legislatively active model.
While TNCs remain a hot issue throughout the industry, KLA members have, for the most part, not felt too much of a sting from the newcomers’ continued encroachment on their transportation turf. The lack of a significant impact is twofold: TNCs are providing services not typically performed by members’ companies (like so-called late-night “drunk runs”) while struggling to find qualified drivers.
Several board positions will be announced in January, but the December meeting saw the installment of two officers, President BJ Burton of Limos By Knight and 1st Vice President NeVelle Skaggs of Skaggs Limousine & Transportation.
Before adjourning the meeting, Sparks thanked all in attendance for their support during his three years on the KLA board, especially during his tenure as president. Spark was also the winner of the 2018 CD Show pass that Jagiela raffled off before the meeting headed to the nearby Bristol Bar & Grille for KLA’s yearly holiday celebration.
The next KLA meeting will be January 9.
Visit kylimo.org for more information.
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Mike Muhsin, president & CEO of KLTS, says that this expansion will give them the opportunity to build new affiliate relations and acquire new accounts in the L.A. region. In the coming year the company plans to grow the L.A. office’s fleet to 30-40 vehicles.
This year has been very eventful for Muhsin and his growing company. In January 2017, KLTS acquired LJ Transportation, one of the Sand Diego area’s oldest and most successful limousine services. Then in July, KLTS merged with Talia First Class Limousine and Wine Tours of El Cajon.
Muhsin is excited about the future of his business. “We’re looking forward to continuing to grow and serve the Southern California market. We now have more than 70 vehicles that run between San Diego and L.A.”
Visit kltslimo.com for more information.
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In a letter to association members, NLA Secretary Scott Solombrino, president, Dav El/BostonCoach, cited this as “the single biggest event since our passage of the ‘Ride Act’ years ago” and praised Senators Murray, Brown, Warren, Casey, Carper, Sanders, Murphy, and Sheehan for their roles in pulling the provision from the bill. He also thanked his NLA President Gary Buffo of Pure Luxury Transportation along with Robert Alexander of RMA Worldwide and Jason Kaplan of The Driver Provider, his co-chairs on the Legislative Committee and Public Relations Committee.
“This is a HUGE win for our tiny but very powerful industry," said Solombrino. “Battles like this will not go away; they will continue to try to find pathways to legalize their criminal business practices.”
In the weeks after the NLA’s legisilative win, Solombrino penned an open letter to President Trump in order to bring attention to the negative impact that autonomous vehicles will have on the American workforce. In the letter below, which was drafted on behalf of the NLA, Solombrino responds to Uber's move from its current model of ride-sharing using freelance drivers to owning a fleet of autonomous cars about not being a commercial business until drivers are no longer in the picture.
Chief among the issues raised to the president is Uber’s advocating for the development of autonomous vehicles, despite the company “that has built its existence on the hard work and labor of its drivers, profited off of the revenue generated by hardworking Americans and now it has publicly stated that its goal is to rid itself of the majority of its workforce.”
Solombrino also cited a report from CBS, which stated that "at least 10 million US jobs have a high risk of bowing to automation in the next decade as companies deploy machines that can learn and perform tasks." Also, he mentions that more than 1.8M truck drivers' jobs are now on the line, with .some estimates pegging the number of jobs in the U.S that rely on driving at 20 million.
The open letter (which can be read in its entirety at limo.org/press-room/5598789) makes an appeal that President Trump not only consider the economic effects of autonomous vehicles, but also the safety implications of not having a person in control.
“To be put simply, it is your promise and your prerogative to ensure that the American worker is protected and allowed to prosper,” wrote Solombrino. “Drivers are voters, computers are not. This will be among your most enduring legacies as President, and I urge you to speak out on this issue and come to the aid of hard-working American drivers.”
Visit limo.org for more information.
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