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Atlantic City‚ N.J.—For the first time ever‚ a number of industry dispatch system providers have put aside their competitive concerns to collaborate to bring emerging technologies to the industry. Today‚ ground transportation operators utilizing Livery Coach‚ FASTTRAK Cloud‚ The Hudson Group‚ and SedanMagic‚ have real-time access to vehicle location data‚ intra-network communications and on-demand booking capabilities delivered via a new system-agnostic neutral communications platform.
“The emergence of Uber and other ‘apps’ has forever changed the way passengers look at chauffeured transportation services‚” says Chip Bowman‚ a partner at Livery Coach. “If we‚ the technology providers for more than 1‚000 operators‚ do nothing and let new technologies run how our customers do business‚ instead of the other way around‚ then we are not doing our jobs. The members of The CoNext Project are now positioned to give our clients the tools that are necessary to manage both pre-reserved and on-demand transportation services if that is what they choose to do.”
The CoNext Project also facilitates the integration of their own global mobile booking apps to regain their—and the industry’s—competitive edge. “Now‚ each of us will be providing mobile applications that allow operators and their passengers to see their passengers in any car‚ regardless of who owns the vehicle or where in the world they are traveling. As long as a passenger has Internet access on their smartphone/tablet‚ then we can provide real-time GPS data and visibility‚” says John Rowley‚ COO of The Hudson Group.
The CoNext Project brings together over 1‚030 operators‚ 31‚525 cars and 68 million rides each year for the ground transportation providers represented by the CoNext system providers‚ according to Amir Zafar‚ founder and CEO of GRiDD‚ the technology company who developed the neutral platform.
“What we‚ and our technology partners have put together is ‘Connectivity for the Next Generation‚’” says Chris McCrae‚ EVP of SedanMagic.
This new connectivity will eliminate the need for ground transportation operators to call in reservations to their affiliates. With a push of a button‚ they will now be able to send jobs electronically to any operator—regardless of their dispatch system—and they can get real-time ride statuses‚ book changes‚ and send rides to an affiliate regardless of the software they are using‚ thus drastically reducing the overhead of their dispatch and reservations operations.
This is the first time operators from different software providers can communicate directly through technology in real-time.
“Livery Coach‚ SedanMagic‚ The Hudson Group‚ and FASTTRAK have all collaborated to allow this innovation to take place. We have created a neutral platform which eliminates the need for operators to phone‚ fax or email rides that they already have in their systems. It allows them to be more efficient and saves them money‚” according to Zafar.
Eddie McCoy‚ founder of FASTTRAK‚ is excited to be part of this project. “We have not seen anything this innovative in more than a decade. What is truly unique and gratifying is that it is not just one software company. Any company providing software to our industry can work with us. The project was developed with the transportation operators’ need at the forefront‚” he says.
In addition to the connectivity‚ operators will now be able to elect to go on demand when they have excess capacity. The on-demand feature will be at the discretion of the company not the driver.
The CoNext Project will launch with a celebratory “toast” at an event at the Chauffeur Driven Show on November 2‚ 2014 at 8:00 pm in the Diamond Ballroom at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City‚ NJ. All are invited to attend to help us celebrate and learn more about this ground breaking connectivity.
During the show‚ demos of the platform‚ including the on-demand functionality‚ can be seen at Sunday night’s event and information will be available at the participating software provider booths during the show.
Visit theconextproject.com or email info@theconextproject.com for more information.
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Vendors In Alliance (VIA) announces the initial stages of the formation of their vendor group. This group of industry vendors/suppliers has emerged to positively influence their respective companies and the livery industry at large.
VIA is a professional group of senior-level executives, committed to cooperation, education, the exchange of ideas, and increased industry buying, resulting in the growth of each member as well as the industry. The group will be facilitated by Rick Szilagyi, owner of Lexian Management, a company specializing in working with small nonprofits since 2001.“This group represents a broad array of products and services instrumental to the overall success of livery companies. We look forward to new ideas emerging from the group, leading to improvements for the livery industry as a whole,” says Szilagyi.
The first meeting of the group will take place on Tuesday, November 4 at the Chauffeur Driven Show in Atlantic City. The initial vendors making up the group are as follows: Chosen Payments, Create-A-Card, Deem Ground, Drive Profit, GroundWidgets, LimoLive24, Livery Coach Solutions, Maxwell Unified Communications, Perfect Chauffeur, Rental Limo, Transcap Insurance, and Trip Tracker.
“We feel there is a need and strong purpose to come together as vendors for the greater good of the industry as a whole” says Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments, who has been influential in getting the group started. “We are all successful in our own regard, however success breeds success and if we can collectively work together to have a great impact for: the operators, associations, trade publications, vendors and entire industry this group will be a win-win for all” Brodsly says. VIA will have its formation meeting, introducing the members and discussing the primary focus of the group, and then move forward with planning out the calendar for 2015. Szilagyi will lead the charge with his long-term experience in the nonprofit sector.
Contact Rick Szilagyi at rick@lexian.com or 603.868.7475 for more information about VIA.
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A completed Springfield Coach Group customizationSpringfield, Mo. — Springfield Coach Group is back with new partners and a new name, but still promises the same personalized customer service and high-quality vehicles from the town where limousine manufacturing first took off.
Formerly LimoLand, the recently rebranded company has emerged from the economic slump with a renewed commitment to the livery industry for which it spent roughly three decades building custom vehicles.
“We’ve made it through the tough times, and what kept us going through the downturn was doing everything and anything someone asked us to do,” Marketing and Sales Manager Gary Spaniak says. “We are now coming back to our roots, and we’re currently even in our old building.”
The coachbuilder had once dealt entirely in custom projects, with orders that had them building a CEO-edition Denali for the Emir of Qatar and turning a 1960s Volkswagen Beetle into a four-door, front-to-back updated luxury ride for an Iranian princess. Now, Springfield Coach Group will offer an inventory comprising a variety of its ready-to-purchase custom builds—especially Chrysler 300s, Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, Ford Transits, and Lincoln MKTs—as well as by-request vehicles.
The interior of a Springfield Coach Group vehicle“In the past, it was 100 percent custom,” says Spaniak. “But now we have the ability to build up our inventory, which will not be 50 of the exact same cars. Ours will be a handful of every brand and model: That way, the customer has a variety to choose from instead of being stuck with something if they need a vehicle tomorrow.”
To further demonstrate its faith in the future, the coachbuilder recently saw a drastic personnel increase, jumping from about 15 employees to nearly 40 in a matter of weeks—and, according to Spaniak, the Springfield Coach Group team isn’t done adding talented individuals to its roster. It also now offers a five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty on its Chryslers.
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the company’s customer-first approach to doing business and ensuring that its clients get exactly what they want.
“It’s never just ‘Sign the purchase order and I’ll call you when your car’s done.’ Throughout the whole process, the customer receives updates, pictures, and videos of the car that’s being built for them,” Spaniak says of Springfield Coach Group’s custom-build procedure. “We’re trying to develop a relationship instead of making a sale.”
Visit limoland.com for more information.
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