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HALCA President Wes Hart of American Corporate TransportationHouston — When members of the Houston Area Livery and Charter Association (HALCA) met up at the Crowne Plaza on March 22, CD’s Director of Events Jess Pavlow was among those present for an evening of discussing industry, local, and association topics.
The meeting kicked off with previews of upcoming events, like the city’s basketball-centric trifecta of the March Madness Music Festival, NCAA Final Four, and Fan Fest. Operators were told to prepare themselves for extended hours of operation to accommodate the surge of 70,000 out-of-towners as well as locals all looking for transportation to and from the high-attendance events—though there won’t be staging areas for parking, so all vehicles will have to leave upon completing their drop-offs.
HALCA President Wes Hart of American Corporate Transportation then introduced the association’s board members: Matt Assolin of Nikko’s Worldwide Chauffeured Services, David Dillon of Carey Houston, Ismael Abed of La Bresse Limousine, John Ferrari of AFC Transportation, Kevin Claypool of Atlas Corporate Transportation, Younis Ouazdi, and Moe Boughaba of Houston Corporate Transportation.
Matt Assolin of Nikko’s Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation and CD Director of Events Jess Pavlow
Assolin then reported on HALCA’s December holiday party, which saw an attendance of more than 150 members and supporters while raising more than $2,500 for the association, which will be reinvested right back into HALCA and its operating fees.
Representing HALCA’s Website Committee, Ouazdi provided updates about her goals for the association’s website, which include SEO, payment systems for members, a blog, newsletters, recaps of meetings, a Q&A section, and a member database. She is also looking for input and opinions about any other features or options that would best serve HALCA’s membership.
NLA’s upcoming Day on the Hill, scheduled for April 25-27 in Washington, D.C., was also discussed, as were the benefits of the event’s opportunities for face-to-face conversations with legislators. With TNCs’ worker categorization and the industry’s vehicle depreciation concerns still hot-button issues, members are hoping that the legislative days will help make some headway toward resolutions.
The meeting closed with conversations concerning Houston’s TNC operations, especially in regard to ground transportation companies losing business because of them. Members are looking to soften their unified efforts of speaking about TNCs, as negativity casts an unflattering light on the industry, as well as seeking the assistance of the local bus industry to strengthen their numbers.
The next HALCA meeting will be June 21.
Visit houstonlimos.info for more information.
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President and CEO of Dav El | BostonCoach, Scott SolombrinoBoston — Marcou Transportation Group dba Dav El Miami recently announced that it completed the acquisition of the assets of Worldwide Transportation in Miami, Fla. The company will be called Dav El of Miami.
Worldwide Transportation was founded in 2001 and provides transportation services to an array of corporate and event clients. It has a fleet of over 70 vehicles and provides service nationwide in 25 metropolitan areas and serves more than 500 destinations worldwide. The acquisition is the culmination of the company’s successful strategy to eliminate debt and strengthen liquidity while continuing to provide high-quality chauffeured transportation services to its thousands of clients.
“Dav El Miami has negotiated with Worldwide over the last few months to execute a financing transaction, ultimately leading to this acquisition pursuant to Section 363 of the bankruptcy code,” said Scott Solombrino, president and CEO of Dav El | BostonCoach. “We believe the company is an industry leader with an incredibly bright future, and we are eager to work with the management and employees to continue to build the business. We expect to become the largest chauffeur transportation company in South Florida.”
In addition to the acquisition of Worldwide Transportation, Dav El │ BostonCoach acquired San Diego’s Torrey Pines Transportation and Chicago’s Metropolitan Limousine in recent months.
In other news, Marcou Transportation Group has agreed to sell its Harrison Global dba BostonCoach in the Raleigh-Durham market to longtime partner, Academy Bus.
Academy Bus began operating in the Raleigh-Durham market over a year ago with a fleet of 30 full-size motorcoaches.
“After a 40-year relationship with Academy Bus, we felt that a sale of these assets to our longtime partner was in the best interests of our Raleigh client base,” said Solombrino. “Our goal is to build a deeper customer base in larger markets across the globe. Having Academy already in the market created a rare opportunity for a strategic shift of our resources.”
“We are excited to be a strategic partner of our longtime business associates at Dav El | BostonCoach,” said Francis Tedesco, CEO of Academy Bus. “Academy Bus is thrilled to expand our service in the Raleigh-Durham market. We have been in the market for over a year now and seen tremendous demand in a short amount of time. We look forward to providing our clients with the highest level of customer service they have become accustom to for years to come.”
Terms of the deals are not being disclosed.
Visit bostoncoach.com for more information.
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Rockville, Md. — The Washington Metropolitan Limousine Association (WMLA) will be holding a meet-and-greet organizational meeting at Timpano from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 19.
In addition to the opportunity to meet WMLA’s new Executive Administrator Mary Presley, the gathering will also serve as a forum to discuss both the direction and the future of the association.
“We are currently working on a new website, which we hope to launch by the end of April, as well as encouraging any potential new members to join and help grow the organization,” Presley said.
Those interested in serving on the WMLA board are welcome, as positions needing to be filled within the association will be discussed. The association also is currently seeking sponsors for this upcoming meeting.
Email tourtrvl@comcast.net for more information about WMLA and ways to get involved with the association.
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