- Details
- Category: Industry News
You asked for it and we listened. In this column, we ask operators of all sizes and from all walks of the industry a question about their business and report their answers so you can assess how your own company compares to your peers. If you would like to participate, please email Rob Smentek at rob@chauffeurdriven.com for next issue’s question.
TOPIC: What type of procedures have you taken to keep your offices and those currently working safe?
Carla Boccio, Owner
Buffalo Limousine in Buffalo, N.Y.
Kristina Bouweiri, President & CEO
Reston Limousine in Sterling, Va.
Maurice Brewster, Founder & CEO
Mosaic Global Transportation in San Jose, Calif.
Reza Choudhury, CEO
HYRYDE by Reliance in London, U.K.
Brent Ferguson, CEO
Brentwood Livery in Kitchener, Ontario
We have been looking at the various partitions that have come on the market and have placed an order for a soft vinyl model that seals the driver from the passengers. We anticipate that passengers will require these when travel starts to resume. At the airport, the chauffeur will have no physical contact with the passenger and will change gloves after loading the bags into the vehicle. We strictly adhere to guidelines of the Irish Department of Health.
Myles Flood, CEO
LfL Chauffeur Services in Dublin, Ireland
www.paxtraining.com/Covid-19. The videos are free and cover the office and vehicle protocols.
Bruce Heinrich, Founder & CEO
LEADER Worldwide and PAX Training
Blackcar Offers Limo Services has developed a COVID-19 health and safety plan to protect employees and chauffeurs. This plan includes:
- Actively encouraging sick employees and chauffeurs to stay home. Sick chauffeurs have to stay at their homes.
- Providing employees and chauffeurs training on proper hand-washing practices and other routine infection control precautions. This will help reduce the spread of many diseases, including COVID-19.
- Providing employees and chauffeurs access to soap, clean running water, and drying materials or alcohol-based (at least 60 percent) hand sanitizers at their worksite.
- Providing employees and chauffeurs with appropriate gloves and training on properly using them.
- Providing disposable disinfectant wipes so that surfaces commonly touched by the employees and chauffeurs can be wiped down.
- Providing tissues and no-touch disposal receptacles for use by employees and chauffeurs.
- Providing vehicles deep-cleaning in all parts using Lysol. We require social distancing of six feet, and employees and chauffeurs must use a mouth cover all the time.
- Placing posters that encourage staying home when sick, cough and sneeze etiquette, and proper hand hygiene practices at the entrance to the workplace and in other workplace areas where they are likely to be seen.
- Reaching out to local public health officials to establish ongoing communications to facilitate access to relevant information before and during a local outbreak.
Agustin Hernandez, Owner
Blackcar Offers Limo Services in Mexico City, Mexico
Bardha Krasniqi, Head of Operations
AZ Luxe in London, U.K.
Katarina Monsberger, Managing Director
RSL Premium Chauffeured Services in Vienna, Austria
As far as vehicles, every driver has gloves and masks and Lysol wipes to wipe down the vehicles after every ride. We use a commercial disinfectant on all of our shuttle buses daily. We are installing sneeze guards from Lakeview Coach in a few vehicles. Welcome to the New Normal.
Jeff Nyikos, CEO
Leros Point to Point/Royal Coachman in Valhalla, N.Y.
Joseph Reinhardt, President/Owner
Carolina Limousine in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Quentin Shackelford, Owner
AllClassLimo.com in Wichita, Kan.
Nancy Vargas, CEO
DH2 Transportation in Jamaica, N.Y.
Scott Woodruff, Owner
Majestic Limousine & Coach in Des Moines, Iowa
We’ve loved hearing your answers to our benchmarking questions—but we always welcome suggestions for future topics, too!
Send an email to rob@chauffeurdriven.com you just might see your query answered in our next E-News.
[CD04.28.20]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
The American Bus Association (ABA) recently released a statement after President Trump signed the latest Congressional funding aid package, which added more funds to the already depleted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This bridge package, specifically aimed at small businesses, has been nicknamed CARES Act 3.5 by many, as the country awaits discussions of the next major stimulus on the level of the CARES Act.
“As we expected the original money earmarked for the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program ran out quickly and the government has to replenish it to help small businesses," said ABA President & CEO Peter Pantuso. "We support this legislation and every bit the government does to help businesses stay afloat during these dark times. However, we also know that whatever money was put in to replenish has already been spent as the program was over-subscribed with small businesses in desperate need of help. Unfortunately, adding more money to this program still does not help the private motorcoach industry or all of the group travel industry. The motorcoach industry needs $15 billion in grants and loans to ensure that our 3,000 independent, family-owned businesses survive this pandemic until Americans can travel again."
The aid package negotiated by congressional leaders and the administration would increase spending by about $483 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office. The latest aid package includes $321.3 billion in additional appropriations to support PPP, which the bill would modify to set some funds aside to support loans issued by smaller lenders; and $60 billion for separate disaster loans to small businesses.
The measure omits additional funding sought to support states and cities, and it does not change the eligibility rules for businesses to receive loans under PPP, which leaves many small businesses out of the loop.
The ABA is requesting $15 billion in loans and grants from Congress to ensure an essential sector in America's transportation stays afloat during this pandemic. In the third package, Congress meted out $100 billion for other transportation sectors such as the airlines, airports, Amtrak, and public transit but left out the motorcoach industry. Pantuso noted that if this industry fails, it will have devastating to consequences to the millions of Americans who rely on it to go to work, visit family, go on vacations, evacuate them when natural disasters strike, and move the military.
“We look forward to working with Congress on the fourth package to ensure our businesses will be there when America can start working and traveling again,” said Pantuso.
However, there is good news. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) requested Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell consider providing at least $5 billion in loans to over-the-road bus carriers under a program recently enacted by the CARES Act. The Economic Stabilization and Assistance to Severely Distressed Sectors of the U.S. Economy program allocates $454 billion to help struggling companies, such as those in the motorcoach industry.
“The motorcoach industry is not only an important part of the nation’s transportation network, it is also an important part of the economy, providing over 88,000 good-paying full-time equivalent jobs,” Neal and DeFazio wrote in the letter, which can be viewed here.
Pantuso applauded the chairmen for their efforts. “These chairmen are taking extraordinary steps to ensure the viability of a key mode of transportation mode that was overlooked in prior relief bills,” he said.
Visit buses.org for more information about ABA and COVID-19 resources for motorcoach operators.
[04.24.20]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
The Minority Limousine Operators of America (MLOA) held another weekly conference call on Wednesday, April 22, to touch base with their membership and share best practices during the COVID-19 crisis. First Vice President Travis Latham of Fellowship Fleet served as host for this week’s call, and kicked things off by providing an update about the second round of stimulus that was in legislation (which was signed into law on April 24).
Latham then introduced Tiffany Hinton of MOTEV and Reginald Tymus of Capital City Limousine, both of whom serve on the MLOA’s membership committee. After thanking members for their consistent support of the weekly meetings, the pair also revealed future plans for the association to hold small regional meetings throughout the year.
Next, guest speaker Dan Goff of A. Goff Motorcoaches offered insight on social distancing and cleaning buses. As the industry ponders the future business needs of its customers, Goff believes it will be less about luxury and more about safety and trust. The veteran operator also shared the grim statistic that more than 100 bus captains have died from COVID-19, which only stresses the importance of having a strict procedure in place for cleaning and distancing.
Goff fielded a series of questions from the members including maximum seating on motorcoaches, pricing during the crisis, and cleaning frequency. He encouraged operators to check on the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines at least weekly as scientists learn more about the virus every day. Goff created an information sheet with best practices available for download here.
MLOA Founder Maurice Brewster of Mosaic Global was the next speaker on the call, sharing a bit of advice on “getting business when there is no business.” Brewster advised all members to contact state and federal FEMA representatives about providing transportation, as that government agency is in need of service nationwide. After applying online at sam.gov to provide government work, Brewster found himself fast-tracked to get a contract. He stated that the government is actively seeking minority-certified vendors, and they are paying “top dollar” for transportation services.
The next MLOA conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, at 1 pm ET. Recordings of past calls and resources for operators can be found here.
Visit mlooa.org for more information.
[4.24.20]