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TLPA President Mike Pinckard Oklahoma City —In a schedule packed with industry updates, breakout sessions, and the latest products showcased by vendors, the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association’s (TLPA’s) April 10-12 Spring Conference & Expo unveiled new customizable features for a national marketing program, hosted numerous technology discussions, and offered helpful advice on improved operations.
The event, held at Oklahoma City’s Renaissance Convention Center Hotel & Spa and Cox Convention Center, drew about 200 attendees and vendors. The following are some of the highlights of the conference:
• An important update to TLPA’s Ride Local marketing campaign for fleets, which is now easily customizable for all TLPA members. From vehicle decals to posters to wearable swag, this marketing program reminds the public in individual cities to “Ride Local” by choosing locally owned, locally operated transportation. To find out more, visit tlpa.org/Ride-Local.
• An overview of TLPA’s strategic planning process that is mapping a vision for the future of the industry, as well as TLPA’s role in helping members meet the opportunities and challenges ahead.
• Panel discussions and breakout sessions on how to transition to soft meters in taxis; how to make more money through motorcoaches and survive a DOT audit; working constructively with transportation brokers; strategies for improving taxi service; hiring and retaining skilled paratransit drivers; and an alternate path for addressing independent contractor driver benefits.
The 3 Taxi Guys team served TLPA members a whole hog cooked in their famous cabeque “I am very energized by where this industry is going and what we see happening just around the corner,” said TLPA President Mike Pinckard. “What we’re doing as an association is really setting the table for how we continue to help transportation fleets well into the future, and this conference laid a great foundation for the big event coming up in just a few months when we all gather for our landmark 100th Annual Convention & Trade Show.”
The conference was made possible through the generous support of sponsors including Azpired and MTI Dispatch (Gold Sponsors); The Black Car Fund (Silver Sponsor); and Flywheel, Airport Express, Inc./MedRide and 3 Taxi Guys (Bronze Sponsors).
In a special treat, conference-goers sampled the award-winning culinary expertise of the 3 Taxi Guys BBQ. The company, formed by three longtime taxicab operators and TLPA members, brought its signature taxi-turned-barbecue smoker to Oklahoma City especially for this event, treating all attendees to a BBQ dinner held at the operations center of Airport Express, Inc./MedRide, the host operator of the conference.
The TLPA’s next event will be its Mid-Year International Leadership Conference/Legislative Fly-In in Washington, D.C., from June 19-21. The 100th Annual TLPA Convention & Trade Show will be held Oct. 26-29 in Las Vegas.
Visit tlpa.org for more information.
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Turtle Top Vice President Phil Tom
New Paris, Ind. — Following a period of transition for the company, bus manufacturer Turtle Top is back up-and-running and stronger than ever with 10 buses a week coming off the line—and that number is increasing sharply. With the company now in its 53rd year of business, it has returned to the hands of the Cripe and Tom families.
F-550 Terra Transit with front entry door
“In November 2017, we underwent a hard reset of the company, after selling the company June 30th, 2017, and then repurchasing it late October 2017,” says Phil Tom, Vice President. “I thought we’d lose a lot of clients, but our long-term dealers have been 100 percent behind us, even with our slightly longer lead times. But we were honest with everyone, and they stayed with us. It’s very, very humbling how people have gathered and circled around us to help. We’ve had vendors that came back to us and said “what can we do to help.” We have old employees calling to come back. It’s coming from all directions.”
To help commemorate the re-acquisition of the company, Turtle Top is releasing an updated model of their flagship Van Terra shuttle bus, which debuted 20 years ago. The new model will make its way to operators in June with a fresh design and upgraded features. Tom says their new buses are equipped with front vision windows, and the interiors have upgraded electronics. Aside from the Van Terra, other models currently offered include the VT3 (Ford Transit), the Terra Transit (Ford/GM and Ford F550 with a new front entry door), the Odyssey (Ford and GM) and the Odyssey XL (Ford F550 and FCCC S2C).
One of the last original Van Terra models on the production line
While Turtle Top remains committed to building an attractive, high quality, and safe vehicle, they take exceptional pride in the service they provide to operators through their distributor network.
“As hard as we work on the front-side of things to build a good quality bus, we’re going to work harder on the behind the scenes to take care of our clients,” Tom says. “I truly believe that’s why people rallied around us when we returned after our reset. Things couldn’t be better for us: the future’s bright.”
Visit turtletop.com for more information.
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Affiliate Manager Corey Witzel
San Francisco — Ground transportation company UrbanBCN Worldwide is proud and excited to announce the addition of Corey Witzel to their team, effective May 1, 2018. He will serve as the company’s newest affiliate manager.
Witzel is an industry veteran who began a chauffeur and quickly worked into various aspects of company operations, including dispatch, information technology, and affiliate relations.
According to Dave Uziel, president of UrbanBCN, Witzel will focus primarily on developing and maintaining UrbanBCN’s domestic and international affiliate network, and will assist Uziel with his strategic partnership strategy.
“Corey’s experience and expertise will be a tremendous asset to our team as we continue our future growth plans,” Uziel says. “Corey brings additional tenure to our company, which already has almost 40 years in the industry. We’re pleased to welcome him to the family."
Visit urbanbcn.com for more information.
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