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FLA President Rick Versace of A1A Airport & Limousine Service (left) and Arthur Messina of Create-A-Card Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — The Florida Limousine Association (FLA) demonstrated that the chauffeured ground transportation industry is only getting more involved in the motorcoach world by hosting its January 9 meeting in conjunction with the United Motorcoach Association (UMA) Expo. To further solidify the connection, UMA offered all those who attended the FLA meeting free admission to the expo for the rest of the day.
During the meeting, FLA President Rick Versace of A1A Airport & Limousine Service announced exciting news: Legislation is being proposed that would create one statewide permit for luxury ground transportation operators in Florida—as operators currently need to be licensed in each of the state’s 67 counties, this would be a much more efficient move.
According to Versace, operators in every county are bleeding thousands of dollars paying for permits and fines while the likes of Uber and Lyft don’t. In certain areas of the state, companies need to have 11 different permits (and pay the related fees) to operate within the letter of the law. In Miami, a citation for one violation could be upward of $2,000.
“It's not right and it has completely eliminated any values our permits previously had,” he said. “Miami Dade permits that previously went for $30k are now going for $3,000. Business is tough enough: Why should we have to pay for permits and get citations left and right while the TNCs operate with impunity?”
This legislation will create strict guidelines regarding who can operate a luxury ground transportation company—but it will be a single set of guidelines, not conflicting rules determined by every county with a separate fee for every decal. Companies would obtain state authorization to freely operate anywhere in Florida. There will be stiff penalties for companies that do not comply.
As Versace has been meeting with other associations in Florida, their respective leaders and the entire board of directors of the FLA are 100-percent committed to getting this legislation passed. It will not be easy and it will not be cheap.
“We need your financial support,” Versace said. FLA members can renew their membership and make a contribution today at the FLA website, floridalimousine.com. “You can pay your county $250 to renew one car or you can contribute $250 to the FLA and never have to pay for another permit.”
The next FLA meeting will be March 23 in Las Vegas.
Visit floridalimousine.com for more information.
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President Kevin Barwell of Giorgio's Limousine Service Buffalo, N.Y. — As New York state grapples with the looming potential for a statewide ban on limousines, operators in The Empire State’s upstate wine country are especially concerned.
Limousine, Bus and Taxi Operators of Upstate New York (LBTOUNY) President Kevin Barwell of Giorgio’s Limousine Service says that in a market where the limousine is still more hotly in demand than the sedans, SUVs, executive vans, and coaches that enjoy increasing popularity, this law could very well be a death knell for numerous operators—and a headache for customers who have already booked their special-event transportation.
“I’ve had operators calling me and saying, ‘What are we going to do? I’m going to be out of business.’ And as LBTOUNY president, I have to look out for them. These companies are basically looking at going bankrupt: You can’t sell these vehicles in the state that banned them, so you hope someone elsewhere buys them—and then you have the financial cost of switching your whole fleet over. But people are not going to rent a limobus for five people on a wine tour, especially when they wanted to arrive in a limousine.” he said. “What do we tell brides who have had vehicles booked for months: ‘Sorry, we have to cancel your wedding transportation.’”
According to Barwell, the region is already besieged by regulatory and financial hurdles that have presented mounting challenges to his and his local peers’ businesses, and has been for the past few years. LBTOUNY and upstate operators have been not only shouldering a state tax that “transportation gets double-taxed for” but also facing an up-and-down TNC scene that once included a ban on the likes of Uber and Lyft. Barwell believes this latest development could be what finally drives some long-suffering operators to shutter their companies.
And he believes that a ban “regulating upstate New York like it’s the major metropolitan area that New York City is” could have potentially fatal consequences, too.
“In the upstate area, you still have a lot of companies that are limousine based. They have a lot of limousines, stretch limousines, and stretch SUVs that might now be taken off the road. So companies either have to start using buses—or people going on wine tours will start driving themselves, so we’ll see more drunk drivers,” Barwell said. “The real problem is that the governor is treating upstate New York like New York City instead of focusing on the increased problems we’ll have as the result of a limousine ban. They’re two completely different things: Here, you still have companies whose entire fleets are nothing but limousines—unlike the sedans and SUVs of New York City.”
The suggested ban is a reaction to the October 2018 crash in New York, where a vehicle that has been revealed to be non-road-worthy malfunctioned in a tragedy that claimed 20 lives. Barwell and LBTOUNY, much like most of the nationwide industry, feel that a ban targeting stretched vehicles misses the point—especially when it punishes legally operating companies that strive for compliance, rather than the fly-by-night companies running old, unsafe vehicles that have failed Department of Transportation (DOT) inspection.
“For me, it doesn’t make sense to ban stretched vehicles when the real problem is someone skirting the already-strict regulations that are in place to protect not only our passengers but also operators,” he said. “We have enough regulations, and most of us know that there’s no benefit to going around them. The rules we have in place are fine—but what do you do when someone peels off their ‘Out of Service’ sticker?”
The association has been and will continue to be vocal opponents of the proposed ban. Barwell says that LBTOUNY director David Bastian of Towne Livery has already started advocating for LBTOUNY and New York operators, and that he himself is ensuring that the association keeps this issue at the forefront of local politics.
Part of the problem, Barwell says, is that new proposals that would result in sweeping changes to an industry rarely include the perspectives and practical concerns of those who understand it best—and stand to be affected the most.
“They won’t include anyone from the industry in these conversations,” he said. “My phone hasn’t rung, and it’s like—why aren’t you talking to the people who are most knowledgeable in what needs to change to come up with a real solution? This is like going to pizzerias and telling them they can’t have pizza ovens anymore. They need to talk to an upstate operator face-to-face to understand the consequences. Otherwise, we have to fight this and move forward with defending ourselves.”
Anyone who wishes to make their voice heard as an industry peer or as an affiliate should reach out to the office of Governor Andrew Cuomo to express their concerns as a livery expert.
Visit lbtony.com for more information.
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Allen John Serafin : November 20, 1945 - January 10, 2019 Allen Serafin, one of the original owners of Flyte Tyme Limousine, passed away on January 10, 2019.
Serafin founded Flyte Tyme in 1979, and was part of the company until his retirement in 2008. In addition to being a devoted member and active advocate for the Limousine Association of New Jersey, Serafin was one of the founding members of the National Limousine Association, and remained a committed member until his passing.
Serafin was father to four daughters, three of whom followed his footsteps in the luxury ground transportation industry. His familial ties to the industry spread further when his daughter Michelle married David Seelinger of EmpireCLS in 2002. The following year, Serafin became the father-in-law to industry veteran Tim Rose, whom his daughter Doreen married in 2003.
With the family involved with two of the largest and most successful companies in the industry with EmpireCLS and Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation, Seelinger and Rose acknowledged that Serafin created a limo family dynasty and was a true father figure.
Serafin is survived by his wife Teresa, four daughters, 21 grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.
Despite close affiliation with luxury cars thanks to his long tenure in the industry, Serafin loved to be on his boat on the water, and was a member of the Coast Guard auxiliaries in New York and Florida.
The Chauffeur Driven team would like to extend their condolences to Serafin’s family and friends.
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