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Randolph, Mass. — ETS International, a Boston-based ground transportation company, recently entered into an agreement to handle the reservations for The Gronk Bus, a 25-passenger party bus designed by New England Patriots tight end Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski and his family.
Customized inside and out by the Gronkowski family, The Gronk Bus includes such amenities as two flat-screen TVs (43 and 24 inches), ceiling LED lighting depicting a football field, a lighted party wall showing a football scoreboard with the final results of the 2015 Super Bowl, Gronk memorabilia, a bar, restroom, and a dancer pole.
To announce the partnership, Dan Gronkowski said on behalf of the family, “Our goal was always to make The Gronk Bus not only accessible to as many people as possible, but also make that access just a simple app away. With ETS we found the perfect partner, a company with strong Boston roots who not only knows the ground transportation game but a company that has at its fingertips the latest technology our customers need and expect.”
The 25-passenger party bus was designed by the New England Patriots player and his family
With close to 100 drivers and a fleet of 50 vehicles, ETS International has won numerous industry awards. And according to ETS President Johnny Greene, this relationship is another feather in the company’s cap.
“Next to maybe Tom Brady, there’s no bigger personality on the New England football scene than Rob Gronkowski,” said Greene. “We think allowing people to ‘party like Gronk’ is a tremendous idea and we are excited about the role we will be playing in helping to bring the party to the people.”
ETS International will use its advanced technology and 30 years of limousine experience to not only utilize its base of award-winning drivers, but also implement its state-of-the-art customer service technology into making The Gronk Bus’ reservation process as easy and customer friendly as possible, said Greene.
Rob Gronkowski added, “I enjoy surrounding myself with winning players, and ETS International has shown over the years that they know how to do it right!”
Visit etsintl.net for more information.
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HALCA President Wes Hart of American Corporate TransportationHouston — When members of the Houston Area Livery and Charter Association (HALCA) met up at the Crowne Plaza on March 22, CD’s Director of Events Jess Pavlow was among those present for an evening of discussing industry, local, and association topics.
The meeting kicked off with previews of upcoming events, like the city’s basketball-centric trifecta of the March Madness Music Festival, NCAA Final Four, and Fan Fest. Operators were told to prepare themselves for extended hours of operation to accommodate the surge of 70,000 out-of-towners as well as locals all looking for transportation to and from the high-attendance events—though there won’t be staging areas for parking, so all vehicles will have to leave upon completing their drop-offs.
HALCA President Wes Hart of American Corporate Transportation then introduced the association’s board members: Matt Assolin of Nikko’s Worldwide Chauffeured Services, David Dillon of Carey Houston, Ismael Abed of La Bresse Limousine, John Ferrari of AFC Transportation, Kevin Claypool of Atlas Corporate Transportation, Younis Ouazdi, and Moe Boughaba of Houston Corporate Transportation.
Matt Assolin of Nikko’s Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation and CD Director of Events Jess Pavlow
Assolin then reported on HALCA’s December holiday party, which saw an attendance of more than 150 members and supporters while raising more than $2,500 for the association, which will be reinvested right back into HALCA and its operating fees.
Representing HALCA’s Website Committee, Ouazdi provided updates about her goals for the association’s website, which include SEO, payment systems for members, a blog, newsletters, recaps of meetings, a Q&A section, and a member database. She is also looking for input and opinions about any other features or options that would best serve HALCA’s membership.
NLA’s upcoming Day on the Hill, scheduled for April 25-27 in Washington, D.C., was also discussed, as were the benefits of the event’s opportunities for face-to-face conversations with legislators. With TNCs’ worker categorization and the industry’s vehicle depreciation concerns still hot-button issues, members are hoping that the legislative days will help make some headway toward resolutions.
The meeting closed with conversations concerning Houston’s TNC operations, especially in regard to ground transportation companies losing business because of them. Members are looking to soften their unified efforts of speaking about TNCs, as negativity casts an unflattering light on the industry, as well as seeking the assistance of the local bus industry to strengthen their numbers.
The next HALCA meeting will be June 21.
Visit houstonlimos.info for more information.
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President and CEO of Dav El | BostonCoach, Scott SolombrinoBoston — Marcou Transportation Group dba Dav El Miami recently announced that it completed the acquisition of the assets of Worldwide Transportation in Miami, Fla. The company will be called Dav El of Miami.
Worldwide Transportation was founded in 2001 and provides transportation services to an array of corporate and event clients. It has a fleet of over 70 vehicles and provides service nationwide in 25 metropolitan areas and serves more than 500 destinations worldwide. The acquisition is the culmination of the company’s successful strategy to eliminate debt and strengthen liquidity while continuing to provide high-quality chauffeured transportation services to its thousands of clients.
“Dav El Miami has negotiated with Worldwide over the last few months to execute a financing transaction, ultimately leading to this acquisition pursuant to Section 363 of the bankruptcy code,” said Scott Solombrino, president and CEO of Dav El | BostonCoach. “We believe the company is an industry leader with an incredibly bright future, and we are eager to work with the management and employees to continue to build the business. We expect to become the largest chauffeur transportation company in South Florida.”
In addition to the acquisition of Worldwide Transportation, Dav El │ BostonCoach acquired San Diego’s Torrey Pines Transportation and Chicago’s Metropolitan Limousine in recent months.
In other news, Marcou Transportation Group has agreed to sell its Harrison Global dba BostonCoach in the Raleigh-Durham market to longtime partner, Academy Bus.
Academy Bus began operating in the Raleigh-Durham market over a year ago with a fleet of 30 full-size motorcoaches.
“After a 40-year relationship with Academy Bus, we felt that a sale of these assets to our longtime partner was in the best interests of our Raleigh client base,” said Solombrino. “Our goal is to build a deeper customer base in larger markets across the globe. Having Academy already in the market created a rare opportunity for a strategic shift of our resources.”
“We are excited to be a strategic partner of our longtime business associates at Dav El | BostonCoach,” said Francis Tedesco, CEO of Academy Bus. “Academy Bus is thrilled to expand our service in the Raleigh-Durham market. We have been in the market for over a year now and seen tremendous demand in a short amount of time. We look forward to providing our clients with the highest level of customer service they have become accustom to for years to come.”
Terms of the deals are not being disclosed.
Visit bostoncoach.com for more information.
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