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With more than 20 years of experience in change management, sales and public service, Tousignant helped the Montréal taxi industry's revitalization and development strategies. He worked closely with prominent industry partners, different levels of government along with regional tourism associations to establish and strengthen Montréal taxi industry attractiveness.
His accomplishments surrounding his taxi revitalization plan include:
- The rebrand of Montréal taxis with a fresh, two-tone bright color scheme that says "Bonjour" to all Montréal clients;
- The creation of the Taxi Register—an open-data platform that shows where all taxis are located in real-time—making data available to taxi companies and developers of mobile technology solutions;
- Implementing the requirement of background checks for all applicants seeking service intermediary permits, and for all taxi drivers and owners, beginning January 1, 2016; and
- The percentage of green taxis in the city has risen from 4 percent in 2013 to 38 percent today, with help from subsidies from the Quebec government for the purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles, and to cooperative efforts with the Aéroports de Montréal.
The City of Montreal, as a founding member of IATR, and its Bureau du taxi de Montréal, are highly active in the organization. The Bureau hosted the 2015 conference in Montreal, and Sylvain is both Chair of IATR Canadian Regulators Committee and a member of the IATR's Technology and Innovation Committee.
"Sylvain is not only a very active volunteer who has been highly involved in organizing and building the Canadian IATR membership and sharing its best practices," said IATR President Matt Daus, "but he also has taken a private sector results-driven approach to solving industry problems and innovating, to enhance service for the future."
"I am both honoured and humbled to receive this recognition,” said Tousignant. “However, this is not just about my accomplishment as much as all the work done by the entire team at the Montreal Taxi Bureau led by André Poisson, and the indication of the support of Mayor Plante and Montreal council."
Daus and IATR Chairman Jim Ney joined 2017 Regulator of the Year Ernest Chrappah in the presentation of the award to Tousignant.
Visit iatr.global for more information.
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The Silicon Review interviewed LMC Founder and CEO Kristen Carroll to learn what principles and decisions had solidified The LMC Group as one of the most trustworthy companies.
In an article announcing the award, The Silicon Review explained what differentiates LMC from other companies: “Engaged employees do not rent their positions, they own them—and that is certainly the case at LMC. The entire team at LMC has an ownership mentality, and everyone considers the company to be a reflection of their own character. With an engaged workforce, the quality soars, and that is another key to a stellar reputation. People really want to work with The LMC Group, either as a part of its team or as its clients. The company has never had to use the hard sell.”
According to The Silicon Review, “LMC’s collaborative, partnership approach led to new services based on client needs.” LMC’s culture of integrity protected them from launching new services that didn’t really meet a need. As consultants, LMC rises and falls on its relationships with its clients. A major part of being an ethical organization is being trustworthy, and LMC team members follow time-tested guidelines to maintain faith with their clients.
The Silicon Review describes Carroll as an “ingenious visionary,” and further elucidated, “Kristen is a real-life renaissance woman who is an accomplished artist, photographer, vocalist, and writer. She is a visionary with creativity that informs her every thought and business approach.”
Carroll explained that integrity was the first non-negotiable she established when launching the company.
“When faced with a decision between an ethical choice and a profitable choice, it’s not even a question for us—ethics wins every time,” she says. “Ethical business practices are integral to The LMC Group, spelled out in our values of contribution, responsibility, and integrity. Every time we have made what felt like a sacrifice in service of our ethics, we have never regretted that decision.”
The entire team at The LMC Group is tremendously proud to be named one of the 50 most trustworthy companies of the year. They look forward to a bright future of partnering with each other and with their clients.
Visit lmc.group for more information.
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The meeting began with PRLA President Steve Rhoads of New Rhoads Transportation welcoming attendees to the meeting, and introducing Treasurer Tony Viscusi from Global Limousine, who provided the group with a fiscal report.
Next, Rhoads gave the group a somewhat unhappy update regarding their ongoing battle with the Philadelphia Parking Commission. In recent months, the PRLA has been making significant headway with House Bill 2473, which sought put limousines operators under the same vehicle assessment structure as the TNCs within Philadelphia. In recent months, the bill had made significant headway, passing through three unanimous considerations in the house, ultimately going to the Senate in late September.
“Then we hit a bump in the road,” says Rhoads.
Unfortunately, the bill was passed over during the six voting sessions that were held in the State House, killing it entirely. With the end of the year approaching, it appears that the Senate is reluctant to vote on anything deemed “controversial.”
“While much of our hard work—and money—has been essentially wasted, we’re not giving up. Right now we’re trying to determine which direction we’re going to take,” says Rhoads.
With the many of the bill’s supporters not returning next term, most significantly its sponsor Representative Robert W. Godshall, who is retiring, the PRLA will likely be forced to start again with a new bill. Given the unanimous approval their proposal was met with in the house, this will likely be a minor setback for the association and Philadelphia-area ground transportation providers.
After dinner, Pete Corelli from Lakeview Custom Coach welcomed guest Bill Battisti from Battisti Customs, who spoke about his product line to the operators in attendance. Corelli had vehicles on-hand at the restaurant, which were available for first-hand viewing.
Finally, the meeting ended with the election of three new members to the PRLA board. It was announced that Mike Barreto of Eagle Chauffeured Services, Tracy Salinger of Unique Transportation, and Bob Euler, Jr. of King Limousine and Transportation, will replace outgoing board members Anthony Onorata of Anthony Limousine, Chris Haines of Michael's Classic Limousine, and Rhoads, who is stepping down after a distinguished term as president. The current board will remain in place until January 1, and then new officer elections will take place early in 2019.
“It’s time to get some new blood in there,” says Rhoads. “They have fire in their bellies, which is good for the organization.”
Visit prlainc.com for more information.
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