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The two have spoken to both the broadcast and print media, and also have been reaching out to state officials, according to Jon Ziemba. While his father has been interviewed by Fox 4 News and Naples Daily News about Uber and local efforts to raise awareness of how the company ignores safety regulations, he reports that many of their efforts to reach elected officials haven’t yet received responses.
A town-hall-style meeting on December 15 brought together southwestern Florida taxi and limousine operators for a closed session to discuss their concerns about the unregulated TNC’s new presence in the area. While the session was not open to the public, Uber representatives had been invited and accepted the invitation, but ultimately did not show up. According to Jon Ziemba, many local government organizations also were noticeably absent from the meeting.
“I was there and my father was there,” he said. “My father was one of the people who spoke, and he voiced his opinion on what needs to be done for the public’s safety and to create a level playing field. But with there being almost no government there to hear it and nobody to respond from Uber, I don’t think it reached enough ears to make a real difference.”
American Comfort Limousines operates in Collier County, which Ziemba says has not issued a statement regarding proposed plans for regulating Uber. But in nearby Lee County, where Fort Myers and its Southwest Florida International Airport are located, has spoken up on the matter.
“In Lee County, they’ve said that Uber will be viewed just like a taxi or limousine company,” Ziemba said. “But there haven’t been any new developments after that statement came out, so we just have to wait and see what happens.”
Like many other ground transportation operations, American Comfort Limousines does a significant amount of business in airport pickups and drop-offs. Ziemba said that Uber is still new in the area and hasn’t yet escalated to numbers that might draw more livery companies’ ire, but he added that the burgeoning problem becomes apparent when using the Uber app to see the TNC’s airport activity.
“Uber’s presence in this area is small right now, but the frustration really lies in opening their app and seeing how many of their cars are around the airport,” he said. “You can see Uber cars going in and out of the airport all the time, and there are more and more every day doing what legally operating companies are set up to do.”
Despite the frustrations that come with battling TNCs, the Ziembas’ efforts to educate the public about Uber’s unregulated operations and the effects they have on safety have certainly found a receptive audience in their corporate passengers.
“We’ve gotten a lot of calls and email, as well as feedback directly from customers in our back seats, saying that they won’t be jumping into Uber cars because they don’t know what they’re in for,” Ziemba said. “I think it’s opening a lot of people’s eyes to how much a regulated industry does to ensure passenger safety with things like driver background checks, insurance, and vehicle inspections.”
Visit americancomfortlimo.com for more information about American Comfort Limousines.
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The holiday event brought together association members, supporters, and industry operators alike. Chauffer Driven’s Show Manager Lauren D’Ambra and Editor Madeleine Maccar were both in attendance for the night of good cheer and good company that delivered plenty of opportunities for those present to mingle on a friendly basis after a year fraught with ongoing battles against TNCs and meetings with state regulatory agencies.
Everyone received chips and play money to try their hands at the likes of black jack, roulette, and craps, with the option of purchasing more to increase their chances of landing the jackpot in their games of choice. Winnings were turned into raffle tickets, as many companies donated prizes to be won by those who had the luck of the draw on their side. Included among the various prizes were two passes to the 2015 Chauffeur Driven Show, which will be held in Miami from October 11-14, and were won by Vince Mazzarella of Champagne Limousine and Craig Gentzler of At Your Service Limo.
Outgoing PRLA President Jim Salinger of Unique Limousine spoke to the crowded catering hall, as did the association’s new president, Steve Rhoads of Rhoads Limousine.
The next PRLA meeting will be January 14.
Visit prlainc.com for more information.
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“It was nice that there were a bunch of people who came from all over to celebrate with us at our holiday party‚” said Kevin Illingworth of Classique Limousines‚ the GCLA’s newly elected president.
The evening’s holiday spirit kept the atmosphere festively light‚ though much association business was handled during the event. Members who were recently elected to either leadership or board positions were presented for the first time at the party‚ and are as follows:
President: Kevin Illingworth of Classique Limousines
First Vice President: John Rafferty of Executive Limousine & Coach
Second Vice President: Perry Barin of Music Express Worldwide
Treasurer: David Kinney of API Global Transportation
Secretary: Anne Daniells of Torrey Pines Transportation
Regional directors: Joel Amato of Gateway Global; Gary Buffo of Pure Luxury Transportation; Alex Darbahani of KLS Worldwide; Christopher Quinn of Corporate Transportation Solutions; Ryan Silva of Epic Limousine; Brandan Stein of Exclusive Sedan Service; and Matt Strack of Strack Chauffeured Transportation
Outgoing GCLA President Rich Azzolino of Gateway Limousines will be retiring from the GCLA‚ the National Limousine Association board‚ and his company‚ and was honored for his contributions to the industry. Outgoing GCLA Treasurer Jack Nissim of Integrated Transportation Services‚ Cheryl Berkman of Music Express Worldwide‚ Mark Stewart of CLI Worldwide Transportation‚ and Vendor Director Lee Martinez of TransCap Insurance were also honored with awards and the association’s gratitude.
“We recognized a lot of hardworking people‚ we gave out some gifts‚ everyone had a chance to network‚ and we talked about what we accomplished during the year in regard to legislation and fighting TNCs‚” Illingworth said.
As the incoming GCLA president‚ Illingworth hopes that Uber will continue to be prevented from doing pickups at Los Angeles International Airport‚ and also will work to alter bills like SB 109 and SB 611‚ which focus on modifying vehicles’ emergency exits and safety requirements‚ respectively‚ to be more mindful of the costs they demand from operators without comprising passenger safety. He estimates that the cost of modifying some vehicles according to the bills’ requirements would average more than $20‚000 per vehicle‚ which risks putting some smaller operators out of business.
Issues relating to the bills as well as TNCs will be among those addressed during the GCLA’s Day on the Hill in Sacramento on January 15‚ which will be the second time the association has participated in the legislative day.
“It’s about making our representatives aware of what’s going on in our industry and vocalizing it from different areas‚ from San Diego all the way up to Northern California‚” Illingworth said. “We saw what a difference it made when we went last year. Our lobbyists were reacting to the power of the people.”
GCLA’s Day on the Hill will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.
The next GCLA membership meeting will be February 10.
Visit gcla.org for more information.
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