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The November 14 MCTA meeting hosted a packed house Minneapolis — The Minnesota Chauffeured Transportation Association (MCTA) met up on November 14 for a meeting chock-full of information and speakers, plus the election of the 2018 board. Outgoing MCTA President Len Nelson of Valley Limousine & Coach kicked off the meeting with his report before turning the floor over to evening’s speakers. Jeremy Lee of Wells Fargo Finance, Mike McKay of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Steve Holes of the Metropolitan Airport Commission, Todd Anderson from Carey Limousine, and attorneys from law firm Lockridge Grindal Nauen all shared a range of insights and information with the meeting’s nearly 30 attendees.
With Super Bowl LII coming to Minneapolis in February, operators are primed for an uptick in business—and immersed in planning and coordinating all the moving parts that come with handling transportation for one of professional sports’ biggest days of the year. Having found success with the casual Happy Hours the association debuted earlier this year, MCTA is currently planning another one for January in order to focus on additional Super Bowl plans. Anderson reminded everyone that the Super Bowl LII Transportation Committee will be meeting December 4 to discuss chauffeur background checks, drop-off areas, game day passes, and more.
Outgoing Vice President Charlie Murray of Total Luxury Limousine reported that Minneapolis’ January 1, 2018, rise in minimum wage will affect all companies that do work in the city, not just those based in the city. He added that operators should pay attention to a similar push for a minimum-wage increase in St. Paul.
At the end of the meeting, the 2018 MCTA Board of Directors was unanimously elected as the following:
President: Charlie Murray of Total Luxury Limousine
Vice President: Gus Ortiz of Executive Transportation
Secretary/Treasurer: Chad Peterson of Renee’s Royal Valet
Outgoing President Nelson and Secretary/Treasurer Gina Brennan of Corporate Car & Coach were thanked for their many years of serving on MCTA’s board in various capacities.
MCTA is currently planning membership meetings for both January and March, with plans to host a holiday party in February.
Visit mnlimo.org for more information.
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GCLA embers mix and mingle at the 2016 SoCal holiday party The Greater California Livery Association (GCLA) is gearing up to close out 2017 with its two annual Northern and Southern California events.
The combination annual meeting/holiday party is scheduled for the evening of December 5 in Los Angeles at the LAX Marriott, while the December 9 NorCal end-of-the-year party will take place at Napa Ford. Both meetings promise hours of networking, gift bags and prizes, delicious buffet dinners, opportunities to meet with the industry’s vendors, vehicle displays and demos, and plenty of industry-relevant updates.
The SoCal meeting will also include an awards ceremony and one of the association’s biggest fundraisers of the year, a live auction hosted by Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments, who’s also on the GCLA board of directors; the Napa meeting will feature a representative from California Highway Patrol to “answer questions and provide clarity” about the new regulations pertaining to modified limousines that will be taking place come January 1.
Tickets for both parties can be purchased at a pre-sale discount and online. Visit gcla.org/annual_meeting.php to get your tickets to the December 5 party for $65 ($75 at the door), or the December 9 party for $30 ($40 at the door) at gcla.org/holiday_party.php.
Proceeds from the events will benefit the GCLA’s lobbying fund, which allows the association to continue fighting for its members and the industry at large.
Visit gcla.org for more information.
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The welcome dinner
The annual regional meeting of the Motorcoach Association of South Carolina, North Carolina Motorcoach Association, and Virginia Motorcoach Association was held in Blue Ridge Mountains of Roanoke, Va., this September 16-20. The Hotel Roanoke & Convention Center was the perfect host property for the several hundred motorcoach operators, vendors, and staff who joined the five-day event. It included individual association meetings; education sessions with representatives from insurance, the leading national bus associations American Bus Association (ABA) and United Motorcoach Association (UMA), and government agencies like the TSA; a Market Place of affiliate bus companies operating in the region; and up-close look at the latest motorcoaches on the market; tons of networking; and lots of opportunities to enjoy some downtime with fellow operators. Managing Editor Susan Rose was on hand for the weekend events.
Like our industry, motorcoach operators are highly collaborative and often work in many different states, and thanks to proximity and shared issues, the meeting of the three associations was the ideal chance for many affiliates to enjoy the company of old friends or meet new ones. The trio also share an administrator—Linda Morris—who did an amazing job leading the charge in uniting members for the event.
Because motorcoaches are regulated through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), all operators are facing the implementation of electronic logging devices (ELDs) by December 2017, and it was one of the hottest topics across all sessions of the event. According to Suzanne Rohde with ABA, all efforts to repeal or again postpone ELDs have failed. It was clear, however, that there were still a lot of lagging questions from those companies that haven’t yet installed the devices—and even more frustration from those who have.
L to R: Wilnette Morgan of Morgan & Sons, and Rhonda Moody, Gary Moody, and David Brown of Holiday Companies
Danielle Smith of the FMCSA also attended the conference and tried to clear any confusion regarding ELDs—with some success. ELDs were born out of the trucking industry and were applied to motorcoaches, which have very different methods of operation. She admits that some of the more nuanced issues will be resolved over time as they are brought to the attention of the agency and tried to allay any fears that operators may have. ELDs log to the second, so operators and drivers alike will have to be mindful of Hours of Service and break periods because even logging on several seconds too early restarts the eight-hour break clock.
ABA and UMA will continue to monitor the situation and will report on any changes or rule modifications.
Keith Johnson of Reston Limousine (left) and Bob Crescenzo of Lancer Insurance
Security was also a hot discussion topic as the use of larger vehicles have been linked to recent terrorist activities in Europe. According to Joe Lopez and Darryell Williams, both TSA inspectors for the Department of Homeland Security who spoke at the conference, because of the lockdown of airline safety, terrorists are looking for other ways to target multiple groups of people via trains, buses, and subways. Both Lopez and Williams offered suggestions for driver training, especially in how to handle the situation should an item be spotted, and encouraged all motorcoach operators to take these threats seriously. They stressed that it’s better to be safe than sorry when dealing with suspicious items, because the device is often triggered when it’s innocently opened by a well-meaning driver. Lopez and Williams also noted that operators are welcome to have assessments of their facility done by the TSA, which includes recommendations for training, tightening security, and best practices.
Despite the seriousness of the trending topics, the event overall was filled with warm Southern hospitality and sparked a lot of great conversation. As motorcoach companies are often family-owned operations passed down through the generations, the industry has benefited from that closeness.
It wasn’t all work and no play: Attendees had a chance to enjoy some fun-filled tours that were related to the area, including a Shop ‘Til You Drop and Downtown Food and Culture. There was also a golf outing and nightly dinners. The 2018 MCASC-NCMA-VMA Regional Meeting is scheduled for August 8-12 in Greenville, S.C. Visit ncmotorcoach.org, scmotorcoach.org, or vamotorcoach.com for more information. [CD1117]