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Members of the ILA board include (L to R): President Tracy Raimer of Chicago Transportation Group, Secretary/Executive Director Paula DeBiasi of Chicago CoachWorks, Vice President Brian Whitaker of Chicagoland Transportation Solutions, and Directors Terrin Lange of Chicago North Shore Limosuine and Scott Delhaimer of Class Act Limousine
Des Plaines, Ill. — The Illinois Limousine Association (ILA) kicked off 2017 with its first open board meeting of the year on January 3, hosted at vendor member Midwest Transit Equipment’s headquarters and included a vehicle preview.
The meeting saw 35 members and nonmembers alike come together for the opportunity to discuss attendees’ various industry, operational, and TNC-related questions, as well as an overview of what the association is planning for the year to come.
“ILA’s first meeting of the year was a breath of fresh air!” said ILA President Tracy Raimer of Chicago Transportation Group. “The attendance was great, and the interaction and discussion from everyone was lively and informative. We spent a bit of time discussing what topics our membership would like to see for our upcoming annual meeting on May 10, and were able to create a decent list of ideas to begin working on.”
“I feel it was a great starting meeting for the year,” added ILA Vice President Brian Whitaker of Chicagoland Transportation Solutions, who was especially thrilled with the camaraderie exhibited by those in attendance. “The discussion was incredible: Ideas were flowing from many of the attendees. Members and non-members started throwing out questions, like where to get buses washed and who to use for phone answering service—right away, George Jacobs offered for them to bring their bus to Windy City, where it would cost less to wash than what they were paying now. And Chris Vecchio of Chi Town Party bus offered to talk with another member about answering services and even hinted that he had something in the works himself.”
ILA’s open board meeting at Midwest Transit Equipment hosted 35 members and nonmembers As the ILA has been embroiled in a fight with the city of Chicago to seek a more level playing field between the regulated transportation industry and TNCs, some of the conversation inevitably steered toward that—though it was unanimously appreciated that the focus was more on empowering operators than fighting with the likes of Uber and Lyft.
“One comment that was great to hear was from Anuj Patel of Ponterelli Companies that we were having great discussions and that the words “Uber” and “Lyft” were no longer the main topic of conversation,” Whitaker said.
The next open ILA board meeting will be February 1.
Visit illinoislimousineassociation.com for more information.
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Charlotte —The Charlotte Regional Limousine Association (CRLA) began 2017 with plans in place to benefit the industry it serves as well as fight for a level playing field in the North Carolina city with the state’s strictest—and only—ground transportation regulations.
CRLA Vice President Shawn Glasgow of Peak Limousine said that while the association cancelled its January 4 meeting, the board has been working hard to enact changes in the laws governing their companies, since TNCs get a free pass in Charlotte while operators are hit with hefty regulatory fees to remain legal outfits.
“We have achieved quite a bit of those goals: I would say half of our current policies are changing with the ordinances but they have to go through city council to be approved,” Glasgow said. “If that works, we have achieved success for our local market. Is it a level playing field? No. And it will never be level because of the main fact that our state mandates that our local city cannot govern Uber. So their hands are tied, and we’re moving our fight to the state.”
CRLA Vice President Shawn Glasgow of Peak Limousine
It is, however, difficult to seek neighboring companies’ assistance, as calling for background checks and fingerprinting for TNC drivers would also mean imposing those new regulations on other chauffeured transportation companies.
“Charlotte is the only city in North Carolina that has regulations, so why would any other city, county, suburb, want to help an organization fight statewide to make Uber fingerprint background-checked when they don’t have to have it either?” Glasgow said. “We would be forcing this city’s view on the entire state, and I don’t think our local friends would like it if we got the entire state to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to mandate that Uber drivers needs a background check—but that means all of your chauffeurs will have to be background-checked and fingerprinted, too.’”
Now armed with a lawyer, CRLA’s next goal is to “get in front of the state representatives and plead our case.”
“We do have help from our city’s attorney,” Glasgow said. “He is an advocate for leveling the playing field but he’s also an attorney for the city. All he can do legally is make recommendations based on what he hears, what we need to change, what we’re requesting; however, he said that if we get ourselves in front of whatever division we need to talk to to get these laws changed and they requsest that he makes a presence in Raleigh on behalf of Charlotte, he will say exactly what needs to be said. So we do have an advocate who will speak for us on the city side.”
Additionally, Glasgow said that while the removal of all the city’s ordinances is not possible and would actually create a whole new host of problems by dismantling the entire preexisting structure, CRLA has seen the number of regulations that its members and regional operators are expected to abide by cut in half.
“The city will not removes its ordinances, so all our attorney can do is to make recommendations to remove some of the red tape,” Glasgow explained. “He has reduced our ordinances and requirements to half of what they were—like getting fined $50 for not wearing a name tag on your suit.”
While Glasgow said that “it could be next week, it could be July, it could be September” until the ordinances that CRLA is backing are passed—like dramatically reducing the time it takes to put new chauffeurs behind the wheel from two-and-a-half months to about weeks—he is optimistic that they will ultimately pass.
“These ordinances have been restructured and reorganized and are now sitting on the next agenda for the Safety Council meeting, and once they unanimously approve it, then it goes to the City Council for a vote,” Glasgow said. “At least the attorney has rewritten it, and everything he has suggested in the past has gone in his favor.”
The next CRLA meeting will be February 1.
Visit
mycrla.org
for more information.
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Fleet Forward Is Theme of TLPA’s Annual Convention & Trade Show 
TLPA Immediate Past President Dwight Kines of Transdev (left) and 2016-2017 TLPA President Bill Scalzi of Metro Taxi The Taxicab, Limousine, & Paratransit Association (TLPA) held its 98th Annual Convention & Trade Show from October 31-November 4, and Chauffeur Driven’s Director of Events Jess Pavlow and Business Development Manager Rickie Roberts were among those in attendance.
“We were very pleased with the strong show of support from our industry’s vendors at our trade show,” said TLPA CEO Al Lagasse. “Our showroom floor was filled and looking great, and the level of sponsorships was outstanding. We owe a huge thank you to our vendors.”
Members of the Advantage Funding team (L to R): Dan Morgan, Kristian McCausland, and Peter Heber Building on the Fleet Forward theme—beginning with this summer’s initiative of the same name that aims to educate and inspire operators by highlighting those who are thinking outside the box when it comes to new ways of doing business—this year’s TLPA event focused on empowering attendees with three general sessions, a show floor featuring nearly 100 vendors, plenty of networking and optional events, and a varied educational program that included 29 unique sessions.
The education included 18 interactive sessions and 11 breakout sessions, all designed to help operators remain effectively competitive in a constantly evolving market. Topics ranged from social media to diversity and catered to all facets of ground transportation operators from all around the world.
L to R: Craig Hall, Dave Edmunds, and Mike Massey of Ford-Lincoln Limousine and Livery “In this challenging time for our industry, I am very proud of the meaningful educational sessions TLPA’s Fleet Forward program is providing,” LaGasse said. “Our technology, marketing, and public relations consultants gave important presentations at the convention, providing TLPA members with options for matching alternative aggressive business strategies with the correct complementary technology platform that is then very actively marketed and promoted.”
CD Director of Events Jess Pavlow with TLPA’s Immediate Past President Dwight Kines of Transdev (left) and CEO Al LaGasse Convention participants were also able to attend sessions on the TLPA National Marketing Program and connected vehicle technology, as well as a rousing presentation from Matt Daus, president of the International Association of Transportation Regulators on the white paper that he has prepared to help municipalities and local companies in their battles against TNC intrusions. Daus stated, “TNCs have demolished the local transportation regulatory structure, but the industry is still standing and at the end of the day, we are still concerned about the safety of our passengers.”
The meeting’s keynote address, Matching Your App Technology to Your Business Strategy, was delivered by Matthew Ranen, a San Francisco technology consultant. Ranen stated that while it is impossible to predict the shape of future markets, he believes that understanding the range of possibilities that those markets hold will lead to more decisive, confident, and adaptive strategic choices. He said that “a good app does not equal a good business model,” and discussed the core strategies fleets will need in order to thrive in today’s market.
Lucy Singer and Paul Zizzo of RRL Insurance The convention also served as the forum in which drivers and fleet executives were recognized with a number of annual awards honoring exemplary service within the taxicab, limousine, and paratransit transportation industries. The 2016 award winners included:
Limousine Operator of the Year: David Friedman of Carmel Car & Limousine Service in New York, N.Y.
Limousine Chauffeur of the Year: Frank Johnson of Executive Transportation in Newport, Ky.
Paratransit Operator of the Year: Judy Potter of Black & White Transportation in Toledo, Ohio
Paratransit Driver of the Year: Gregg Katz of 10/10 Taxi/Kansas City Transportation Group in Kansas City, Mo.
Taxicab Operator of the Year: Nick Cambas of United Taxi in Clearwater, Fla.
Taxicab Driver of the Year: Enders Abdu of Yellow Checker Cab in San Jose, Calif.
L to R: Roberto D’Anetra, Ed Brodeur, and Jorge Alvarez of Autocab International Outgoing President Dwight Kines of Transdev welcomed newly elected TLPA President Bill Scalzi of Metro Taxi. Scalzi laid out his platform of change and growth in his acceptance speech, which began his one-year term at the helm of the nearly-century-old association.
TLPA’s 99th Annual Convention & Trade Show will be in Denver, Colo., from October 8-12. The association’s next event will be its Spring Conference & Expo from April 25-27 in Palm Springs, Calif.
Visit tlpa.org for more information. [CD1216]