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The two-day seminar included classes on safety and other educational sessions
Ashburn, Va. — The United Motorcoach Association (UMA) held its 12th annual Safety Management Seminar December 2 and 3 at the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) training center in Ashburn, Va. UMA has held the seminar on a yearly basis since first identifying a need within the ground transportation industry. Its specific topics vary based on current demands but always aim “to assist motorcoach operators with safety and compliance,” according to Terri Tackett, UMA’s marketing and membership director.
In addition to agency updates from the NTSB, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the day-and-a-half seminar also featured educational sessions.
“We kicked the seminar off by discussing proactive approaches to loss prevention, which included strategies and discussions on prevention programs, such as safety committees, cause analysis and establishing safety cultures,” said Vic Parra, UMA president and CEO. “We also had a session on OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).” One of the other sessions, “Drivers Wanted: How to Get Them Coming to YOU,” was popular, as it seems that everyone needs drivers and there are not enough of them. This topic shared some successful strategies that will help set the companies that attended this apart from the competition and it will make drivers take notice.”
Event-goers benefited from plenty of networking opportunities
Other topics included “The Politics of Safety,” “FMCSA Update,” and an Electronic Learning Device (ELD) panel, “What the Salesman Didn’t Tell Us.”
“The seminar is capped at 140 attendees, which allows for a small, personal gathering where individual questions and concerns can be presented, so operators can walk away with solutions to real-life problems,” said Ken Presley, UMA vice president of industry relations and COO. “There’s a fairly even split between those who frequently attend the seminar to stay on top of changes in the industry and its regulations and those who may not necessarily be new operators but are participating in the event for the first time.”
“It was definitely a success this year,” Presley added. “The event was sold out, and many attendees gave us great feedback and said that it was the best program that we have had so far.”
UMA’s next big event will be Motorcoach EXPO, now in its 31st year, in Atlanta, Ga., from January 31 to February 4.
UMA Vice President of Industry Relations and COO Ken Presley delivers one of the event’s seminars
“The UMA EXPO show floor is 99 percent sold out, and each year UMA completely overhauls the entire program to make sure every education topic is current and helps meet today’s demands. This year, the show also has new networking programs. We also have brought back the FMCSA listening session to the UMA State Association summit.”
“The UMA Motorcoach EXPO is a show that can benefit not only those in the motorcoach industry but also livery operators who are interested in expanding their fleets to include buses.” Said Parra.
“For [chauffeured transportation] operators, it’s a great venue if they’re thinking of getting into bigger equipment,” he said. “They can see the vehicles on the show floor, and they can attend our sessions to learn about them. The motorcoach industry does transport passengers, but it is a different world with all the regulations this industry needs to think about, so this show is a great learning resource for anyone starting out in the bus and motorcoach business.”
Visit uma.org for more information.
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Tracy Salinger Long of Unique Limousine won the 2016 CD Show pass raffle
Trevose, Pa. — Philadelphia Regional Limousine Association (PRLA) held its 7th annual Monte Carlo Night at Twining Hall, on December 9. Platinum sponsors included Don Brown Bus Sales, P.A. Post Agency, Lancer Insurance, Research Underwriters, Lakeview Custom Coach, and Royale.
The holiday event welcomed association members, supporters, and industry operators alike. Chauffer Driven’s Editor Madeleine Maccar and Assistant Editor Rob Smentek were both in attendance for a night of fun, food, and games of chance.
PRLA Treasurer Chris Haines of Michaels Classic Limousine (left) and PRLA Director Perry Camerlengo of Luxury LimousineUpon entering the hall, guests were given chips to try their luck at various game tables, including black jack, roulette, poker, and craps. For unlucky players and the folks who just wanted to increase their chances of winning big, the option to purchase more chips was available. At the end of the evening, any remaining chips were traded for raffle tickets, which gave attendees the chance to win various donated prizes, including housewares, toys, Kindles, Eagles tickets, and a flat-screen television. Also among the prizes was a pass to the 2016 Chauffeur Driven Show held in Washington, D.C., from October 9-12, which was won by Tracy Salinger Long of Unique Limousine.
PRLA President Steve Rhoads, who will continue his position in 2016, briefly spoke to the group, and thanked everyone for their work on behalf of the association throughout the year. Later, PRLA Director Anthony Onorata and Vendor Member Peter Corelli assisted Rhoads with the raffle and distributing prizes.
The next PRLA meeting will be held January 13 at Maggiano’s in King of Prussia, Pa.
Visit prlainc.com for more information.
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San Francisco — Deem, the leading commerce-as-a-service (CaaS) company, recently announced another wave of chauffeured ground transportation operators who have signed agreements with Deem for Deem Car Service, the online and mobile reservation network for the chauffeur transportation market. Following the announcement of a groundbreaking strategic alliance with the National Limousine Association (NLA), Deem said it has signed agreements with scores of operators, including nearly 70 percent of the top 100 operators by volume.
The latest round of operators is headlined by Diva Limousine and also includes BLS, About Town Limousine, Isaac Alan Xport, Unique II Limousine, AAA Worldwide Transportation, Cordial Limousine, T-Star Limousine, Brentwood's DET, Class A Transportation, Drivers Unlimited, Gem Transportation, and All Roads Transportation, amongst others. These operators join EmpireCLS, Music Express, Carey International, Pure Luxury, Flyte Tyme, Arrow Limousine, Gem Limousine Worldwide, Mosaic Global Transportation, Universal Limousine, Presidential Worldwide Transportation, U.S. Sedan Service, North Point Transportation, AJL International, and Sterling Limousine, who are already on the network.
"The buy-in and trust of the industry reinforces the drive the Deem Car Service team comes to work with every day," said Patrick Grady, founder and CEO of Deem. "Diva Limousine is one of the latest operator partners to join the Deem network and adds yet another top 100 operator to what is already the largest chauffeured transportation network on the planet."
"Our industry has been under siege and in need of a technology solution to match the upstart TNCs for years now," said Bijan Zoughi, founder and chairman of the board at Diva. "Patrick and the team at Deem have shown not only the willingness to work with all the partners and players in our industry but also the dedication to ensure that the solution they build works with every layer of the chauffeured transportation industry to deliver the complete solution we need."
In addition to agreements with new operators, Deem has been working with other technology providers in the chauffeured transportation space as well as with industry groups to help drive industry-wide education about the benefits of Deem Car Service and to expand the footprint of operators able to easily join the network and integrate with Deem's technology. Deem has signed an agreement with Limo Anywhere, one of the industry's largest cloud-based and mobile software providers, to establish bi-directional coding between their respective platforms, allowing Limo Anywhere's customers who sign up with Deem to accept and send affiliate reservations over Deem's Affiliate Connect network. Deem also received the endorsement of the Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) as the official technology provider for its hundreds of association members.
Visit deem.com for more information.
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