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(L to R:) Brandy Ollie of Go Platinum Transportation, FLA President Rick Versace of A1A Airport & Limousine, Chauffeur Driven Industry & Brand Ambassador Philip Jagiela, and WFLA President Dave Shaw of Network Limousines
Tallahassee, Fla. — The Florida Limousine Association (FLA), with some help from the Florida Taxicab Association, spearheaded its first-ever Florida Ground Transportation Day on March 25, which Chauffeur Driven’s own Industry & Brand Ambassador Philip Jagiela attended. Operators from around the state came together for the legislative event in Tallahassee, presenting a unified front for the state’s chauffeured ground transportation and taxicab industries alike, while highlighting how unregulated transportation services put the riding public at risk.
FLA President Rick Versace of A1A Airport & Limousine said that more than 150 operators swarmed the capital to meet with their respective legislators and discuss the public safety hazards that accompany TNCs, thanks to the newer companies’ model of less stringent insurance requirements and background checks. According to Versace, TNCs are trying to pass state legislature that would circumvent local jurisdictions, making it so companies like Uber and Lyft won’t have to apply to operate in each individual county.
“The rally was an attempt to educate our lawmakers about some of the issues surrounding the TNCs and also to indicate to them that you can’t legislate on a statewide basis if there’s no enforcement behind it,” said Versace. “We had appointments setting up everyone with their own elected officials, so we had a full schedule. Everybody in the capital knew we were there. It was a very well-done, well-executed event and we’re very happy with the outcome.”
The day’s agenda included a news conference held just outside the Tallahassee Capitol building, which presented facts about the day’s meetings to news outlets ranging from local to national media.
“Once Uber found out that we were having a press conference, they attempted to short-circuit it by holding one inside the center office building with senators and a big Uber sign—it was almost like a commercial for Uber,” Versace said. “But it helped us rather than hurt us because all anyone had to do was go downstairs to get the opposing point of view. The capitol press corps was there and every major news outlet was there. We ended up getting about three times as much press coverage as we probably would have been able to get on our own, so it really backfired for them.”
Given the success of March’s “Rally in Tally,” many Florida-area operators are returning to the state capital April 8, and will continue meeting with state officials on a smaller scale for the remaining few weeks of the current legislative session.
“They’re holding Miami-Dade County Days, so we’re meeting with Miami and Tampa Bay-area legislators,” said Versace. “For every week that’s left, we’re going to be up there. We’re letting our elected officials know that we’re not going anywhere: We have better public service, better customer service, and a more personalized relationship with our customers than anonymous drivers do.”
To finance its ongoing lobbying initiatives and PR campaign, FLA has established a “Join the Fight” page on its website, floridalimousine.com, which can be found in the drop-down menu under the site’s “UBER” tab.
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TACT President Carly Haley of Grand Avenue Worldwide
Nashville, Tenn. — The Tennessee Association of Chauffeured Transportation (TACT), formerly known as the Tennessee Livery Association, recently announced that it is not only changing its name, but also overhauling all aspects of its mission and operations in order to best serve the legislative interests of its constituency: the state’s chauffeured transportation operators.
Dormant since 2012, TACT is reemerging with new goals, as well as new officers of the board:
President: Carl Haley of Grand Avenue Worldwide
Vice President: Matt Yorke of Signature Transportation Services
Secretary: Nathan Spears of Geny Insurance Agency
Treasurer: Victor Tsague of Advent Transportation
Members-at-Large: Johnny Sansom of Alpha Limousine, Edward Coleman of Emerald Luxury Transportation, and Jim Simms of Cool Springs Limousine
The organization is pledging to proactively engage the state’s legislators at a time when the number of car service options for Tennesseans are increasing and the laws governing them are inconsistent.
“As the transportation business continues to grow, it’s important the laws regulating all car services are consistent and fair for everyone in the business,” Haley said. “We are really looking forward to working on behalf of our newly energized organization, and with a strong group of new board members, to strengthen our statewide representation for the benefit of everyone in our industry.”
“We have worked hard over the years to represent the chauffeured transportation industry in the state of Tennessee, advance the goals of all operators and address their concerns,” Yorke added. “I am extremely excited at the rejuvenation of our association and the wonderful talent that has committed to further this mission, including all of our members.”
One of TACT’s major goals for 2015 is to ask state legislators to address discrepancies in regulations governing chauffeured transportation operators and taxis versus fast-growing TNCs. In addition, TACT will work to develop better relationships with the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, where a large percentage of TACT’s members do business.
For more information on TACT, contact Carl Haley at 615.714.5466.
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UMA Members at Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. — Eighty United Motorcoach Association (UMA) members canvassed Capitol Hill March 17-18 to speak to their congressional elected officials about issues affecting the motorcoach industry at the association’s annual Capitol Hill Days.
In total, UMA operator members held 418 individual appointments at congressional offices—a sharp increase from last year’s 284 appointments.
UMA members shared information about their own businesses and rallied for backing of three critical needs during their meetings: opposition of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposal to raise the federal financial responsibility limits; support of Rep. Barletta's proposal (H.R. 1371, "Safer Trucks and Buses Act of 2015") to remove CSA scores from public view until the data used to calculate the score can be improved; and support to preserve the current charter service rule.
Meetings were professionally arranged specifically for the individual UMA members by Prime Policy Group, a Washington, D.C.-based global public policy and government affairs firm.
“Without a doubt, this was the best fly-in we've ever had," UMA President and CEO Victor Parra said. "Our members rose to the challenge and came out to help explain to congressional leaders, face-to-face, how these legislative and regulatory changes will affect their businesses and communities. We made some real progress here and now we need our members—all members, not just those who came to D.C. today—to keep reaching out to their elected leaders to ask for their support."
Visit tinyurl.com/coach-issues to learn more about the key issues discussed during Capitol Hill Days, and uma.org for more information about UMA.
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