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"We've had 1.4 billion impressions in just 14 days," said NLA Secretary Scott Solombrino of Dav El/BostonCoach regarding the PSA. "In comparison, all of the press releases that NLA produced last year barely hit 1 billion impressions, combined. We've had a massive impact on these companies that have tens of millions of dollars for public relations."
This is the second PSA that the NLA has produced with Anderson. The first, "The Driver Game," featured a flirty Anderson interviewing drivers in the style of the "The Dating Game." This time around, "The Signs" PSA—with a more serious tone and a focus directed toward corporate customers and corporate travel buyers—caught the attention of media outlets like The New York Times, Today With Megyn Kelly, the U.K.'s Daily Mail, and was even featured in entertainment website TMZ's daily rundown. Millions have seen the video.
"When I first embarked on my quest to raise awareness about the safety risks associated with ride-hailing apps, I had no idea about the frequency or disturbing nature of the incidents," said Anderson. "It is digital hitchhiking. These apps are optimized for predators and will remain so until common sense safety measures are put in place."
Kelly had a sit-down interview with the actress, where she recalled times in Hollywood where she was promised cars or homes if she would be a director's or a producer's "number-one girl," but that she walked away without exception. Anderson has also been open about her abuse by a babysitter and a later rape when she was a preteen, and she now works closely with nonprofit PAVE, which aims to empower students, parents, and civic leaders to end sexual violence with prevention education. PAVE, founded by rape survivor Angela Rose in 2001, also cosponsored the PSA.
"The question is, whether [Uber & Lyft's background checks] are as tough as ones you get through a pre-arranged service. The bottom line is be smart, be safe, and never get into any car with someone who is a stranger to you," said Kelly during the program.
When the NLA's Ride Responsibly campaign was announced in 2015, the association leaders knew that it was going to be a battle for the future of the industry—but one that pitted a small but respected association against a multi-billion-dollar company with a lot of free, positive press and a public that loved it. (Lyft at the time was riding on the coattails of Uber, allowing the larger company to front the battles with legislatures.) Society is changing so quickly that legislators and the general public are usually more fascinated by what technology can do rather than being concerned about its potential negative consequences, and that certainly seemed to be the case with TNCs.
"I've had numerous meetings with California legislators and they get it, but they won't stop or slow down the progress of these companies for the sake of innovation," said NLA President Gary Buffo, whose company, Pure Luxury Transportation, is based in the Bay Area. "And if they have to ignore safety and regulations for innovation, then they will—and do."

Buffo and the NLA Public Relations Committee, co-chaired by Solombrino and Jason Kaplan of The Driver Provider, have been working with EVINS Communications for the past three years to develop a multi-tiered strategy to combat TNCs in pursuit of a level playing field—and to have regulators take notice of the dangers that the riding public is subject to without one. The timing for this PSA, however, couldn't have been better as sexual harassment scandals have exploded across numerous industries, spurring the #MeToo movement.
"Pam deserves a lot of credit," said Kaplan. "We're not a huge conglomerate that's paying her tons of money to be a spokesperson. It's not about that. It's a personal and passionate cause for her, and she has gone above and beyond to take on this battle. She believes in this so strongly that she's become a better spokesperson than we could have ever hoped for."
While the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Solombrino, there has been some pushback that the PSA is "anti-driver" rather than an attempt to level a playing field for all. In fact, the NLA launched a summer 2017 partnership with nonprofit Jobs With Justice, to highlight the responsibilities that Uber and Lyft have shirked regarding their drivers—often leaving those drivers chasing trips far from their homes or working insane hours for a low payout. The Huffington Post took notice of that campaign and reported on it in August of last year.
"We are not anti-TNC just for the sake of competition ... that has nothing to do with it," said Kaplan. "We as an industry are regulated much more than they are and we all take training and passenger safety very seriously for anyone we put in a car driving our passengers. And none of that comes into play with TNCs."
Solombrino agreed: "We're on a mission to get fingerprinting and drug testing as a standard in all states for all TNC drivers. We're trying to elevate the level of consciousness of the general riding public. No sane person would ever get on an airplane if they didn't think that the FAA had drug testing requirements for pilots."
Aside from assaults and kidnappings, lax regulations have exposed several other potential issues with TNC drivers: legal recreational and medicinal marijuana use, and hours behind the wheel—which is strictly regulated in states like California.
"We had 22 Uber drivers apply at our company in a one-week period and 21 of them failed the drug test so we couldn't ever hire them," said Buffo. "They likely went right back to working for Uber. We're hearing of drivers who come in from Tracy—about two hours away—to work in San Francisco for four days, sleeping in their cars and working 20-hour days. We have a one-on-one relationship with the people we are interviewing and ultimately hiring, and that's why our industry—on a good day—hires maybe one out of nine people who apply. That's why we don't have the problems that TNCs have. Regulators haven't stopped going after this industry, and all we can do is continually educate the end-user about the differences between them and us."
Solombrino will host a one-on-one discussion with Anderson at the Las Vegas show, which he said is sure to garner lots of media attention for both the association and the cause.
The NLA is also working on another PSA that will be released later this spring, one that Solombrino says will hit on all the pillars that they think are important to get across to the riding public and regulators. He says that the next will ultimately build on what they have wanted to communicate so far.
"In 2017, we created and built upon the public's awareness of the downside of TNCs with EVINS' guidance. In 2018, we're making that impact. And now with the #MeToo movement, it's helped to make it a global issue where TNCs are a landscape that need to be examined and truly made safer for consumers," said Kaplan.
Visit rideresponsibly.org or limo.org for more information on the campaign. Visit youtube.com/watch?v=bb9ZxP4rgSk to view the latest PSA in its entirety. [CD0318]
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WLA President Mike HartmannWisconsin — TNCs continue to beleaguer The Badger State, and the Wisconsin Limousine Association (WLA) has been battling their incoming droves by the twofold method of getting safety information to their passengers and sounding a call for increased unity among local ground transportation operations.
As members have been seeking a way to inform their clients about the dangers of TNCs with specific examples and facts, Wisconsin operators have begun utilizing the TNC position papers issued by the NLA’s Ride Responsibly initiative—and learned some unsettling things themselves in the process.
“From our meeting, one of the members asked for something simple to show customers about the percentage of TNC assaults compared to limousines and taxis,” WLA President Mike Hartmann of Stardust Limousine said. “From what I see, authorities do not keep track of where assaults and other incidents happen. What I do find interesting in the NLA paper is that the customer can be found liable if the TNC driver does not have the correct insurance and the TNC denies liability. We could tell our customers that they may be at risk for liability if their TNC driver causes injury and give them an example, like if their TNC driver hits a bike rider while a customer is in the vehicle and then the bike rider goes after the rider for damages.”
AB-918 called for the “regulation of taxicab companies and taxicab dispatch services, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and providing a criminal penalty.” On February 22, the Wisconin State Assembly voted 7-1 on it.
Papers were submitted to the state senate March 1 regarding SB-759, Streamlining Regulation of Taxicab Companies. The senate bill aims to “simplify the regulation of taxicab companies and dispatch services in Wisconsin” via a standard regulatory structure that would help “create a level playing field” and highlights the fact that companies offering similar services should be legislated the same way.
The next WLA conference call will be March 21.
Visit wisconsinlimo.org for more information.
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The MCTA welcomed nearly 30 attendees to its March 4 post-Super Bowl partySt. Paul — Even a year before the February 4 Super Bowl LII brought scores of out-of-towners, football die-hards, and one of the busiest days in sports to Minneapolis, the members of the Minnesota Chauffeured Transportation Association (MCTA) have been gearing up for The Big Game’s nearby arrival.
On March 4, the association combined its annual holiday party with a post-Super Bowl celebration observing members’ successful completion of statewide transportation logistics that required true all-hands-on-deck participation and support. The celebratory dinner at The Lexington brought together nearly 30 local operators, their spouses, and teams to toast to a job well done.
MCTA members—including President Charlie Murray of Total Luxury Limousine (third from left)—enjoyed dinner, drinks, and a reception at The LexingtonMuch like previous years, the evening affair included a Year in Review slideshow and a trivia contest filled with fun facts about and childhood photos of attendees.
Current MCTA President Charlie Murray of Total Luxury Limousine—who began making his company’s Super Bowl plans as far back as January 2016—held a short program to recognize 2017’s outgoing president Len Nelson of Valley Limousine and secretary/treasurer Gina Brennan of Corporate Car & Coach.
Check out the April edition of Chauffeur Driven for expanded coverage of the event.
Visit mnlimo.org for more information.
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