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(ROCKVILLE, Md.)—After an initial test phase and an unveiling at its Annual Convention & Trade Show last month, the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA) is seeing an enthusiastic response from fleets across the United States who are enrolling in its new online Taxicab Driver Education Program. The program is the first standardized driver enhancement program in the history of the American taxicab industry. Fleets from Los Angeles to suburban Washington, DC, and parts in between have already signed up their drivers for the program. “We expect thousands of drivers to go through the program in the next several months,” said Alfred LaGasse, CEO of the TLPA. “We had a limited testing earlier this year with nearly 200 drivers, and we worked out a few of the kinks. Now the program is running smoothly, and is available 24/7 anywhere in the world. We’ve even had interest in this from fleets in Canada, Europe and Australia.” The TLPA Taxicab Driver Education Program consists of nine self paced courses available online. The entire set of nine courses can be purchased at a cost of between $50 to $70 per student with discounts for TLPA members and for bulk orders. Drivers who successfully complete the program receive a certificate at the end of each course, and bulk purchase managers (fleet operators or regulators) can have the option of monitoring student progress through the program. “Passengers know that the quality of taxicab service can vary from taxicab to taxicab, fleet to fleet, and city to city. We designed this program to provide an affordable and easily accessible tool for improved driver performance with special emphasis on customer service and safety as well as to demonstrate what it means to be a professional driver and business person,” LaGasse said. The courses include:
Established in 1917, the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA) is a non-profit trade association of and for the private passenger transportation industry. Its extensive membership spans the globe to include 1,100 taxicab companies, executive sedan and limousine services, airport shuttle fleets, non-emergency medical transportation companies, and paratransit services. For more information please visit www.tlpa.org.
What is included in the Taxicab Driver Education Program? The program includes nine on-line courses that are delivered to the student over the Internet.The first course is an assessment of the student’s understanding of English and of U.S. currency. After successfully completing this course, the remaining eight courses may be taken in any order. These courses cover the basics of being a successful driver, including such topics as:
All of the courses are delivered to the student over the Internet. Students can register and take the courses as an individual, or a company or agency can register for a block of courses that can then be made available to their individual drivers as needed.Once registered, each student receives a unique student identification code to identify him/her, which is then used by that student each time he/she logs on to the Taxicab Driver Education website. The first course is an assessment of the student’s understanding of English and of U.S. currency. After successfully completing this course, the remaining eight courses may be taken in any order. Each course includes one or more lessons and each lesson includes a quiz to confirm understanding. Students can stop at any time during a course and log off if they do not have time to continue or complete the course. They can choose to return to that point the next time they log on. Upon successful completion of each course the student receives a certificate of course completion.
The courses are delivered to the student over the Internet so a computer and Internet access are required. If you do not have a computer or Internet access these may be available through your local taxicab company, airport, regulatory agency or local library.
The Taxicab Driver Education Program provides drivers with basic information that they can use to be more successful in their careers as professional drivers.The courses show drivers what it means to be a professional. Good customer service is also described and demonstrated. A more professional driver who is customer service oriented means more satisfied customers and more earnings for the driver through larger tips, referrals, and more repeat business.
All nine courses included in this program are available as a unit for one price which varies between $50 and $70 per driver as follows:
Fill out the New Account form. Once completed a confirmation notice will be sent to email address. Select web link in email to confirm your account and log in. Enter your personal username and password to log in and access courses you are enrolled in.
The bulk purchase for users is the ability to pre-pay for a "bulk" number of users to access the Driver Education courses in a single transaction. After verification of the successful single transaction, the person making the transaction will receive an email at the email address provided during the purchase process containing a "bulk" number of access codes equaling the number of users that was pre-paid. For example, a person who "pre-pays" for 10 users to access the Driver Education courses will receive an email receipt containing 10 access codes. These bulk purchased access codes can be distributed to any 10 users. The users then use these pre-paid access codes to allow enrollment in the Driver Education courses. John Boit • Melwood Global © 2013 TLC Magazine Online, Inc. |
