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





MATTHEW DAUS RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRANSPORTATION REGULATORS FOR 3 MORE YEARS!

I am pleased to announce that the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR) has re-elected me as their President for the next 3 years. This wonderful group of transportation regulators and supportive businesses from around the world strives to promote and educate government transportation officials on best professional practices as well as to support them in their legislative, research and reform endeavors.

Our annual conference this September 2011, held in Toronto, Ontario, was a tremendous success with an overbooked crowd of regulators, industry businesses and prominent keynote speakers. The theme of this conference was training and hospitality, and the program was rich with sessions covering the best methods for training taxi enforcement personnel and taxi drivers. The timing of the conference was very appropriate given the leading role Toronto has played in driver training and in current efforts to reform its Ambassador Driver Program. An entire day was also devoted to nightlife transportation issues and the symbiotic role played between the taxi industry, its regulators and the tourism industry.

Our keynote speakers included the President of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), Bill Millar, who addressed paratransit reform and establishing a closer working relationship with IATR. Also, Professor Allan Fels of the Australian government, attended with his team of reformers who are conducting a taxi regulatory reform review and inquiry in Victoria. The conference members also had great entertainment from X-Prime with musical performances by taxi regulators including Los Angeles' Tom Drischler, San Francisco's Christiane Hayashi and myself. Also, the IATR held its first ever golf outing where sponsors and regulators broke par together on the beautiful BraeBen golf course.

Left to Right: Matt Daus on Guitar, Christiane Hayashi from San Francisco on vocals, and Tom Drischler from Los Angeles on piano.

I am pleased to report that the IATR has embarked in new academic research directions where transportation professors and scholars held court for an entire day to discuss and implement a taxi research agenda for studies to assist regulators in performing their responsibilities. We had our first poster sessions with 12 taxi research papers and/or publications presented to the audience. The authors were available to answer questions and interact with members.

Also, the IATR has formed for the first time a Research Advisory Board, and has asked me to appoint professors, consultants and other organizations to this Board that will assign studies to authors and set a timeline for publication to coordinate with the Transportation Research Board. The session members discussed the following areas of research and study for the coming years:

• paratransit reform;
  
  
  
• airports as quasi-taxi regulators;
  
  
  
• sustainable transportation;
  
  
  
• bus, shuttle and jitney regulation; and
  
  
  
• taxi technology.
  

The IATR plans in the coming year to work closely with University Transportation Research Centers and academic institutions with transportation programs around the U.S. and the world on research and supportive funding while looking to increase its growing number of "academic members."

With the upcoming 2012 IATR conference scheduled for the IATR's 25th Anniversary to be held in Washington, D.C., it is appropriate to announce that our organization will be conducting legislative training for regulators and will coordinate a massive "Day on the Hill" at the Capitol immediately following the November Presidential election during the conference itself. All regulators will meet Congressional staff and Members of Congress to promote the IATR's legislative agenda.

A session was conducted in Toronto by former Parliamentarian John Nunziata to develop a Canadian legislative agenda for the IATR, and more countries may soon follow. In the U.S., the IATR is also pleased to announce that Barry Lefkowitz, the former lobbyist for the National Limousine Association, has been retained by the IATR to help organize these events and ensure passage of our legislation.

There are also a number of new initiatives that I announced at the conference that will benefit our members, including:

• IATR "Regulator of the Year": A program and award for innovative regulatory reform efforts that will be acknowledged at our annual conference;
  
  
  
• IATR "Peer Review" Consulting: Our organization will now itself provide consulting services directly to its members, including peer review and best practices analysis working alongside private consultants where needed;
  
  
  
• IATR Member Subsidy Fund: To help regulators facing fiscal issues with reduced or waived conference registrations and/or membership dues; and
  
  
  
• Policy Papers & Fact Books: The publication of policy papers and industry fact books to assist regulators.
  

Our plate is certainly full as we unveiled our long term strategic plan entitled "New Directions" for IATR to become a sustainable organization by:

• increased private and government funding in reaching for new educational and research "heights";
  
  
  
• providing organizational "depth" with a solid corporate structure, leadership stability and full time staff members; and
  
  
  
• increased "growth" of the IATR in both the diversity and number of members, as well as legislative and political influence.
  

As part of our strategic plan, I am also pleased to announce that the IATR will be holding its first European conference in Amsterdam on December 2nd, 2011 in partnership with the Taxi Research Network. Also, we will be holding our "first-ever" joint conference in 2013 with the Airport Ground Transportation Association (AGTA) in St. Louis, Missouri where the results of the study I am conducting with Dr. Mundy entitled "Airports as Quasi-Taxi Regulators" will be unveiled. We hope to influence airports to work more closely with taxi commissions. Then, in 2014, we are off to New Orleans!

Contact:
mdaus@windelsmarx.com
156 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019
T. 212.237.1106 • F. 212.262.1215