Leads Discussions in San Antonio, Los Angeles and Atlantic City on Sustainability and Other Transportation Topics I have visited several cities over the last few months to speak at various conferences, including: San Antonio, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Atlantic City, New Jersey addressing a diversified set of transportation topics and groups.

The first stop was in San Antonio where the Air Ground Transportation Association (AGTA) held its Fall conference. Some of the best ideas were born along the “Riverwalk” of the San Antonio river including a new joint research project that I will be undertaking with Dr. Ray Mundy, the Executive Director of AGTA, with the cooperation of several organizations including:

The study will be entitled: “Airport & Taxi Synergies: the Evolution & Metamorphosis of Airports into Quasi-Taxi Regulators.”

Taxi and limousine drivers are the first and last faces seen by most visitors who travel by air to cities around the world often leaving a lasting impression of the host city and the overall travel experience. The intersection of the air and ground transportation modes is unique as airports often provide lucrative and consistent fare opportunities and income for ground transport businesses and drivers while airline passengers often expect, as an extension of the airport travel experience, a seamless, efficient, safe and customer friendly hand-off to one’s final destination. Reliability and service standards by local regulators as well as airport accommodations, logistics and amenities for drivers are essential for success.

A national trend in the U.S. has developed over the past decade or so where airports have increased their regulation of ground transportation companies, vehicles and drivers as a condition of entry to pick-up and discharge passengers on their premises. These conditions come in the form of gate or entry fees, separate licensing credentials and a host of other requirements where some airports have actually achieved more stringent regulations than nearby or local taxi regulators. For example, the Minneapolis, Minnesota Municipal Airport Commission has either divergent or higher standards than the city’s Licensing & Consumer Services agency in the following areas:

The study, working closely with IATR and AGTA members, will compare and contrast licensing requirements of taxi commissions and airports, identify trends, best and worst practices, and offer recommendations for further academic study and/or cooperation between airports, regulators and the industry to enhance safety and customer service at hopefully lower costs and less red tape.

Matthew W. Daus, Esq., counsel and head of the Transportation Practice Group at Windels, Marx, Lane & Mittendorf, LLP was retained to attempt to settle a legal dispute between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and passengers claiming that bus service cuts in Brooklyn have a discriminatory impact on the disabled and senior citizens in violation of New York State and City Human Rights Laws.

At a press conference in front of the New York State Supreme Court held on October 21, 2010 in downtown Brooklyn joining various passengers are, left to right, Council Member Vincent Gentile, Professor Daus (speaking) and State Senator Marty Golden.

TLPA Conference - Los Angeles: Wheelchair Accessible & Clean Taxicab Mandates

I co-chaired two panel discussions at the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association’s (TLPA’s) conference held in October addressing wheelchair accessible vehicle mandates and clean air vehicle mandates. A group of industry members and some regulators were present for lively discussions. A common and surprising theme that ran throughout the accessible taxicab discussion was that many operators around the country were “voluntarily” including accessible vehicles in their fleets because it makes “good business sense.” In fact, these operators agreed that they would prefer mandatory accessible vehicle operator training from the government though mostly for legal reasons.

The discussion about clean air mandates focused mostly on which fuels were less expensive, cleaner and supported by adequate fueling infrastructure including compressed natural gas and propane. Government mandates are legally problematic at this time due to court rulings in the case of MTBOT vs. Bloomberg, Daus et al, which ruled that TLC regulations governing hybrid-electric taxi mandates are preempted by Federal environmental laws. The IATR’s and TLPA’s positions on the Green Taxis Act national legislation were discussed which, if passed, may render the above court rulings moot and allow some States and Cities to enact rules governing taxi fuel efficiency.

I would like to congratulate Victor Dizengoff, the outgoing President of the TLPA, for not only a remarkably successful tenure, but for an astronomically storied career. Known as the founding father of the black car industry in both New York and Chicago, Victor’s mark on the industry and the numerous improvements he spearheaded are legendary. We wish him well in his retirement, but I know he cannot go far as he loves the industry way too much.

While Victor is irreplaceable, I cannot think of a better person to take some of his reigns than my former TLC Chief of Staff and good friend, Ira Goldstein, who I would like to congratulate on his appointment as Executive Director of the New York State Black Car Operators’ Injury Compensation Fund. Ira was one of the hardest working, smartest and best public servants I have ever worked with as he helped change the regulatory world by managing the Taxicab Passenger Enhancement Program (T-PEP) that brought credit cards and GPS to NYC taxicabs.

Finally, congratulations to Al LaGasse, Executive Director of the TLPA on an inspiring and productive conference, and to incoming President Robert McBride who will be a formidable and pragmatic leader whom I look forward to working closely with in my capacity as IATR President in the coming year.

Limo Digest Show – Atlantic City: New US DOT Laws for Limousine Businesses

I just returned from a very well attended and successful limousine conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey where signs of economic recovery and optimism were contagious. Chris Weiss and his conference team did a fantastic job of organizing both a fun and educational series of events. I was honored to receive an award recognizing my years of public service at the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission at a breakfast event sponsored by the Luxury Base Operators’ Association (LBOA) to a packed room.

LBOA President Sergio Sanchez and his Board have demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment in growing this fine and effective organization, and I am grateful for their recognition. The next day I delivered a presentation to another brimming room at a breakfast organized by the Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) with my friend Barry Lefkowitz – an exceptionally effective lobbyist, and LANJ President Tim Rose.

I explained the new laws passed by Congress and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration affecting the limousine industry. These new regulations require vehicles seating between 9 and 15 passengers “intending” to engage in interstate for-hire transportation to obtain a US DOT number, motor carrier operating authority, and imposes extensive requirements upon bases including:

The audience was both alarmed and concerned as I answered questions about both the substantive law, the adjudicatory process and the tens of thousands of dollars in potential fines businesses could face if they fail to comply.

Now that the conference season is over it is good to be back home and back to business in New York City. Have a fulfilling and Happy Holiday Season!

IATR — IN FOCUS
by Matthew W. Daus, Esq. President, International Association of Transportation Regulators Distinguished Lecturer, University Transportation Research Center, Region 2