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Orlando — The Greater Orlando Limousine Association (GOLA) launched a billboard campaign at the end of September. Its members are aiming to raise awareness about the dangers that TNCs present to public safety by operating illegally and shirking the regulations that traditional transportation companies must abide by.
President Cliff Wright of Royal Transportation Group says that the association’s messages are on 28 electronic billboards throughout the Orlando area and appear “roughly 150,000 times a day.” So far, the billboards—which started running the same day that local media outlets reported that an Uber driver had been arrested for assaulting a female passenger, who had recorded evidence of the incident—have garnered the association quite a bit of attention.
“We’ve had a great response so far. A lot of people have seen them and we’ve been doing a lot of interviews,” Wright says. “We’ve picked up a few new members because we put the GOLA logo on the billboards. A lot of people didn’t know there even was an operator organization here.”
GOLA also has recently partnered with the Florida Livery Association (FLA), so anyone who joins the regional association will automatically become a member of the statewide one. Wright says that the partnership was a long time coming since the two groups have frequently worked in tandem before, and was inspired by the two organizations both heading to Tallahassee last year in an effort to combat Uber.
“The FLA is going to keep pouring money into this fight. It’s hard asking single operators to keep throwing in money: We decided it would be easier if we could work it out so all of our members could become FLA members so the FLA has a steady contribution from us,” says Wright.
GOLA has also found an ally in Mears Transportation, which handles the majority of Orlando’s tourist transportation.
“Right after our September meeting, we went to a city council meeting about TNCs and, between us and Mears, we forced a lot of pressure on the city to have another public hearing, which will be October 13,” says Wright. “Everybody wants to voice their opinions.”
While the fight to get TNCs on the same playing field as regulated livery companies has been a long and frustrating one, it has highlighted the necessity of traditional operators forming a unified front.
“We have to stick together,” Wright says. “We’re all united on the same thing: Just make TNCs operate legally, make them get permits, make them pay for the same things we do.”
The next GOLA meeting will be October 14.
Visit getaroundorlando.com for more information.
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The meeting kicked off with a short presentation from representatives of Vehicle Tracking Solutions. LILA members who currently utilize the service remarked that‚ while it has helped them confirm when drivers have made illegal runs with company cars‚ the mere potential for surveillance often keeps their chauffeurs honest. They also discussed how being able to monitor drivers’ routes for possible traffic delays and other unexpected hurdles is greatly beneficial to shuffling schedules to accommodate clients’ needs with immediate dispatches.
Chauffeur Driven Editor Madeleine Maccar was present at the meeting. After providing an overview of the upcoming Atlantic City show‚ she raffled off a free show pass‚ which was won by Michael Fargnoli of Precious Moment Limousines.
The meeting took a lighter turn befitting the jovial‚ casual atmosphere when operators shared their industry horror stories‚ the worst—or best—of which would earn the storyteller a gas card. Tales ranged from on-the-clock vehicle malfunctions to clients directing drivers to locales of illegal activity to nightmares from the retail side of the business. Jim McIntyre from Crystal Coach was declared the winner.
The next LILA meeting will be November 25.
Visit nslali.com for more information.
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With less than six weeks to go until the Chauffeur Driven Show in Atlantic City, N.J., this November 2-5, what are you doing to get ready?
Pick Your Mentor
Are you planning on participating in our Operator Mentoring Program, where one of 17 of the industry’s leading operators will share their advice, tips, and tricks to longevity and growth? You need to register BEFORE the show! We’re talking about some pretty serious knowledge here, so this isn’t an opportunity you want to pass up. We’re the only industry show to offer this type of program, so make it work for you. The Operator Mentoring Program will take place on Sunday, November 2 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Some groups are almost full, so register ASAP to ensure that you’ll meet with the mentor of your choice. Sponsored by Don Brown Bus Sales and Grech Motors. Register here: chauffeurdrivenshow.com/show-info/mentoring-program.html.
Peruse the Vendor List
Nearly 100 of the industry’s top vendors, from insurance and marketing to dealers and manufacturers and everything in between, will be exhibiting at the Chauffeur Driven Show this year. It’s a pretty big floor, so take some time before the show to get your questions together so you can properly formulate your plan of attack. You don’t want to miss out on some fantastic show-only deals because you ran out of time. Don’t forget our Association Pavilion, where you can chat with representatives from some of the industry’s most successful associations (sponsored by Chosen Payments), as well as our Title Sponsors, The Lincoln Motor Company and Don Brown Bus Sales. Check out the full list of exhibitors and associations here: chauffeurdrivenshow.com/exhibitors/exhibitor-list-2014.html.
Hours of Education
We have a packed program for you over four days, but nothing is more important than our educational seminars and workshops. We devote the entire day on Tuesday to helping you nurture and grow your affiliate network, starting with our seminar on how to gain more affiliate business, followed by our Affiliate Central Global Partner Forum (sponsored by A1A Airport & Limousine Service), and affiliate meetings of two of the largest networks: EmpireCLS and Music Express. But don’t forget about all the other events like our Keynote Address (sponsored by Grech Motors and Mosaic Global Transportation) with Jim Donald, CEO of Extended Stay America and former CEO of Starbucks (check out his special message to attendees click here) or our State of the Industry panel. We’re also working on our list of Micro-sessions, which are short bursts of education on our show floor. Check back for those sessions soon. For the full lineup of our seminars and workshops, click here: chauffeurdrivenshow.com/show-info/workshop-seminar-schedule.html. Our education program is sponsored by FASTTRAK Cloud Livery Systems.
Register!
If you waited to register, today is your lucky day because we’ve extended our $499 full show passport and 3-night hotel stay for just a few more days. After that the price jumps to $549. You can register online at chauffeurdrivenshow.com/registration.
Want more? Be sure to visit chauffeurdrivenshow.com for the full details about our event. Remember, there’s #only1choice this November!
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