- Details
- Category: Industry News
Princeton, N.J. — The Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) hosted a packed house at its most recent meeting on September 17 at the Princeton Marriott. Chauffeur Driven Publisher Chris Weiss and Editor Madeleine Maccar attended the meeting, where Weiss also spoke about both the industry and the upcoming Chauffeur Driven Show in Atlantic City this November 2-5.
After the open board meeting, the member meeting kicked off with a luncheon before the association’s president James Moseley of TripTracker welcomed all in attendance and recognized those who have joined LANJ in 2014.
Moseley, along with the association’s Immediate Past President Tim Rose of Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation and First Vice President/Legislative Committee Chair Jeff Shanker of A-1 Limousine, also discussed what the association is doing to benefit its membership base, which includes the brand-new LANJ Line, scheduled to launch in early October. The service will connect all of its members via text messages and email to both facilitate everyday business transactions and quickly resolve emergency scenarios.
National Limousine Association (NLA) Executive Director Philip Jagiela and LANJ director and membership committee member Jon Epstein of Royal Coachman Worlwide, emphasized how the national association aims to unify its far-flung members’ concerns and interests into one voice.
A number of vendors and sponsors also spoke during the meeting, including Brian O’Neill of Wolfington Body Company (based in NJ), Sandi Burgess of RightResponse, and Tim Thompson of Cadillac. The meeting was also a stop on the American Motor Products road show, which highlights the many discounted services and products it makes available to the livery industry.
The next LANJ meeting will be held at the Chauffeur Driven Show on November 4.
Visit lanj.org for more information.
[CD0914]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
After appetizers and friendly conversation, the meeting got down to business with a brief introduction from PRLA President Jim Salinger before the meeting’s speakers took to the podium.
John Bumsted of J. Bumsted & Associates, who provides DOT compliance audits and transportation-safety training, then discussed the rules and regulations for commercial drivers in Pennsylvania and the limitations of CDL versus non-CDL drivers. He then took questions from PRLA members ranging from regulatory compliance for buses to the ongoing battles with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA). PUC was the hot topic of the evening, as updates regarding its August 28 hearing on PPA were discussed.
Chauffeur Driven’s Show Manager Lauren D’Ambra and Editor Madeleine Maccar were both on hand to attend the evening event. After providing a few updates about the upcoming Atlantic City show, D’Ambra raffled off a pass to the event, which was won by Denise Sam Cali of J&J Private Car, Limousine & Coach Service.
PRLA president Jim Salinger of Unique Limousine welcomed “any vendor with a current membership” to apply for the open vendor position on the association’s board before members discussed how insurance companies are starting to come after drivers who are providing their services to transportation network companies (TNCs).
Mike Barreto of Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation then discussed a few items concerning the PRLA’s efforts to work with the Philadelphia International Airport, which has turned into a “great relationship over the years.” Chief among them was the construction of the F terminal’s baggage overpass, which will minimize foot traffic for chauffeurs, as well as working with the city to change the penalty incurred from receiving tickets in the airport’s parking lots. Parking violations themselves have been on the decline, though TNCs are still “running rampant” and account for half of the infractions.
TNCs were a main point of Barreto’s, who reiterated that while they may not have an immediate impact on the chauffeured ground transportation industry’s core clientele, “they will affect you if you’re doing business in five years and will change the way you’re doing business if you don’t adapt or at least communicate what you do for your clientele and how you service them.” He urged those in attendance to start speaking up and make their united stance against TNCs known to public officials.
“You can’t fight money with pockets that are deeper than you’ll ever know. Where you can fight it is with numbers, as a constituent,” he said. “As an industry, we have to understand that this is not a monster that’s going to show its face and then go away. It’s going to change the way we do business. Unless you try and get in front of this to protect your interests, not many people in this room will still be here.”
The next PRLA meeting will be at Fred Beans Ford on October 8.
Visit prlainc.com for more information.
[CD0914]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
The meeting kicked off with the educational seminar “Understanding and Meeting Client Expectations,” presented by Rick Cavalieri of BostonCoach. The workshop focused on training one’s chauffeurs to meet client expectations, and was offered by NELA as part of its initiative to provide association members with opportunities to better their services by increasing their industry knowledge.
NELA CEO Rick Szilagyi then addressed association matters. In addition to discussing the association’s ongoing pursuit of a level playing field for transportation network companies (TNCs) and licensed ground transportation operators, he also announced that the board has voted on changes to NELA’s bylaws. One of the most significant revisions to the bylaws is that members are now eligible to run for board positions two years after joining the association.
Dawson Rutter, president of Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation and Political Action Committee co-chair for the National Limousine Association (NLA), spoke about the NLA and the recent publication of its stance on TNCs. Rutter called for educating the public and corporate compliance officials alike on the safety issues that unregulated transportation services present, which he said would be key to ensuring the success of the legally operating livery industry.
Weiss also addressed the ongoing TNC issue, as well as the continued improvement of the economy. He attributed the livery industry’s 10-20 percent growth year over year to key areas of the business TNCs have difficulty emulating or breaking into, such as the customer-service focus a chauffeur can offer that an unlicensed rideshare driver cannot. Weiss also offered an update on November’s Chauffeur Driven show.
Chosen Payments CEO Jeff Brodsly emphasized his company’s mission to support the NLA and the chauffeured transportation industry, and discussed the ins and outs of credit card processing.
The quarterly meeting also hosted the ongoing American Motor Products’ road show, which gave an overview of the many fleet discount programs the organization’s sponsors have designed for the industry.
NELA’s next membership meeting will be December 9.
Visit nelivery.org for more information.
[CD0914]