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by Matthew W. Daus, Esq. |
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BUILDING REGULATORY BRIDGES BETWEEN AIRPORTS AND TRANSPORTATION REGULATORS
2013 IATR-AGTA Joint Conference Preview
By Professor Matthew W. Daus, Esq., IATR President
Taxicab and limousine government officials and airport ground transportation professionals have existed for way too long in separate regulatory silos. Airports are the elixir of economic life for regulated for-hire transportation industry owners and drivers, as well as for tourism and business travel to most neighboring localities.
Many members of the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR) and the Airport Ground Transportation Association (AGTA) have little or no communication with one another. However, they share important responsibilities for seamless customer service and passenger safety for private ground transportation to, from and beyond airports. Well, all of that is about to change. Better regulatory communication and collaboration in these challenging times is not an option, but a necessity.
The IATR's first ever joint conference this year will be held from September 22-25 in St. Louis, Missouri with AGTA. The theme will be "Building Regulatory Bridges" between airports and regulators.
- We will explore best practices among airport and taxicab and limousine regulations while providing attendees a unique opportunity to network and communicate with one's local counterparts.
- We will establish or re-establish working relationships for the benefit of the industry and the public for years to come.
Sessions will explore the differences and similarities between such regulations and revenue or fee permit models. Also, the conference will address the latest developments in both legal and rogue smartphone application technology with an emphasis on the new ridesharing or group riding phenomenon. The impact of such new technology on airport regulations and franchise agreements will also be addressed.
The conference will also feature an emphasis on "Big Data for Regulators", and how the ability to collect, track and analyze supply, demand and other data points can lead to more effective regulation and airport ground transportation management.
Finally, the use of taxi and limousine brokerage models, dispatch technology and apps, will be analyzed to show fiscal savings, increased wheelchair access and more efficient service both at and beyond airports.
We will also hold several breakout sessions and workshops that will include:
- The Passenger Safety and Security Act (PASS Act) - an overview of the status of IATR legislation (H.R. 2596) providing for national criminal background check access for regulators, and a strategy/planning meeting;
- IATR Model Smartphone Regulation Workshop - coinciding with the release of the final proposed model regulations, regulators will meet to coordinate a national and international strategy for implementation of regulations to bring order to the app universe with actual drafting, commitments and dedicated resources being devoted to action and advocacy;
- NIOSH Report Briefing - the research paper, prepared by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, analyzing the effectiveness of partitions (safety shields) and/or in-vehicle security cameras to help deter and prevent crimes against taxicab and limousine drivers, will be presented for regulator review and discussion;
- IATR Fact Book Workshop - As a new value added member service, IATR has committed to producing a Regulatory Fact Book. IATR's Academic Research Committee will seek input from regulators and other stake holders as to both the topics, outline and methodology for data collection to produce a draft outline for the report and implementation plan to be shared with all conference attendees before closure of the conference;
- IATR Model Accessible Taxi Regulation Workshop - Regulators and wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) suppliers are looking for the same thing - an ideal configuration for accessible taxis. This is not a new dilemma. The vehicles used in European cities that are considered 100% accessible do not, in fact, accommodate all of the mobility devices required by Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specifications. If vehicles must accommodate all mobility devices, will there ever be a vehicle appropriate for on-demand taxi service?; and
- Modelling 101 - An unprecedented wave of review and reform has regulators looking for methodologies to test assumptions and possible regulatory scenarios based on local market conditions. This session will explain how modelling works: (a) the state and use of data; (b) methodologies for on-street surveys; and (c) how to analyze the scenarios.
As transportation businesses expand their tentacles through affiliated networks and international airports, recent disruptive events orchestrated by technology companies introducing smartphone applications and ride sharing have brought together otherwise non-communicative or non-agreeable stakeholders such as regulators, airport operators, for-hire industry owners and drivers. These start-up technology transportation providers coupled with social media saturation have upended both regulators and industry alike leading to regulatory unrest around the world over the past year.
The reality is that passengers and government officials want and need smartphone application technology to bring service to new levels of excellence without sacrificing public safety. However, this movement borders on the promotion of deregulation, and involves opportunistic disruption due to the scarcity of available resources needed to enforce the law.
The management and apps is necessary as well as the need to manage "Big Data" - the critical lynchpin for regulators to become more effective overnight with data analysis tools at their fingerprints. These topics will be covered and all final IATR model regulations will be released at the conference.
The IATR will help develop an aggressive implementation plan for these model rules governing apps and ridesharing, help ensure the sanctity of airport franchises affected by apps and ridesharing, and will address broader enforcement and app management issues through the collection and analysis of big data to assist regulatory reform and modeling.
Another major issue that is at a regulatory crossroads involves civil rights for disabled passengers addressed through wheelchair accessibility and improved pararansit services. The economic and service failure in many public transit agencies to deliver effective public transit service for the disabled can and will be improved by "parataxis" operating point-to-point with single passengers rather than multi-passenger vans.
The publicly funded paratransit industry intersects now for the first time with taxi and limousine service providing a unique opportunity to remove the barriers between public transit and private for-hire operation. Recent litigation and legislation has set the stage for change which affects all stakeholders and passengers. The IATR will be exploring the feasibility of developing model regulations for accessible vehicles and services in the for-hire vehicle realm.
The unity of government and the licensed and responsible private transportation industry is a rare event leading to unparalleled cooperation and enhanced working relationships. A rare moment in time exists now to capture the momentum created by all of these recent events and developments.
The historically under appreciated taxi and limousine modes have existed on a regulatory island for over a century without appropriate academic study, and without smooth, common sense intermodal integration.
The time is now. Let's seize this regulatory moment in time and build bridges between regulators, airports, legal technology companies and other industry stakeholders to protect and better serve the public.
To register for the IATR conference, please visit www.iatr.org. The deadline for conference registration is fast approaching so please make your plans now before we are sold out.
Former NYC Taxi & Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus (center) celebrates the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with city commissioners at Gracie Mansion, along with his executive assistant, Cher Manning (left) and NY Black Car Fund intern Nicole Renzi (right).