TLPA
12TH LARGEST TLPA SPRING CONFERENCE & EXPO
HELD IN KANSAS CITY
by HAL MORGAN, TLPA DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association held the 12th largest Spring Conference & Expo in its 31 year history was held at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri on May 7–10. The exciting event had a huge turnout of over 200 participants. Almost all of the attendees stated that they had attended a TLPA Spring Conference in the past. This Spring Conference & Expo featured a new format where most TLPA committees and the Board of Directors met during the conference. All of the meetings were open except for the organizing meeting of the new TLPA Vehicle Committee and the Foundation’s Board luncheon which were held the morning before the conference began.
TLPA’s event sponsors were instrumental in their support in providing members with yet another successful TLPA conference & expo packed with good speakers, informative topics, exhibits and events. Once again this year, the conference registration bags were sponsored by Liberty Motor Company and Digital Dispatch Systems contributed the name badge holders.
A new vendor this year at the Spring Conference & Expo, Promptu Systems Corporation sponsored the welcoming cocktail reception on Wednesday night and also the buffet lunch on Thursday held in the exhibit hall. The exhibition was busy with the 26 vendors interacting with the operators during the breakfast, lunch and cocktail reception held in the exhibit hall.
TLPA President Brian Hunt OF Diversified Paratransit, Pomona, California, addressing the meeting
The official first day of the conference was on Wednesday afternoon, May 7. Two concurrent open committee meetings were held. The Taxicab Steering Committee meeting was rated as 100% excellent or good with several comments about the good information and high attendance that generated a lot of input. The Paratransit & Contracting Steering Committee meeting was rated 100% excellent or good with comments about the great topics presented from a broad topic range and the valuable contributions of multiple participants voicing opinions or concerns. The day ended with the grand opening reception in the expo hall.
After the delicious buffet breakfast held in the expo hall on Thursday morning, the Taxicab Steering Committee presented two roundtable discussions. Managing an Ethnically Diverse Work Force received 100% excellent or good ratings from the participants. Positive comments were made about the lively and productive discussions in the roundtable session atmosphere and about the good ideas that were given.
The second roundtable discussion, Strategies for Getting Contractor Drivers to Improve Customer Service received 100% excellent or good ratings. Attendees commented on the good handouts from the moderator which was something tangible to take home. The handouts were of items to include in the contract which members raved was great information and very helpful to them.
Also, on Thursday morning, two Paratransit & Contracting breakout sessions were presented: The Status of Transportation Planning in Region 7 and The Medicare Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Gap session.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has entered into a cooperative agreement with TLPA to provide educational seminars, instructional articles, technical assistance, and other web based materials to assist private for-hire vehicle operators in understanding and becoming involved in the collaborative transportation planning processes through their states and local metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). As a prelude to the types of information TLPA will be providing under this cooperative agreement the educational session on transportation planning Status of Transportation Planning and Coordination in Region VII was provided featuring:
- Steve Billings, Administrator of Transit for the State of Missouri DOT,
- Stewart Nelson, Transportation Planner for the Mid America Regional Council (MARC), the local Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and
- Cindy Terwilliger, Deputy Regional Administrator, FTA Region VII Office who also spoke about the TLAP/FTA cooperative agreement and how much it was needed.
Steve Billings, Administrator of Transit for the Missouri DOT, distributed a map outlining the 19 Regional Planning Commissions and the seven Metropolitan Planning Organizations in the state. He noted that under SAFETEA-LU, the State is responsible for soliciting applications and selecting projects for both the New Freedom Program and the Jobs Access and Reverse Commute Program. He said the New Freedom and JARC proposals must be derived from locally developed, coordinated public transit human services transportation plans, that is, coordinated plans. It is the state’s responsibility to allocate funds for projects in these areas based on a competitive selection process.
Stewart Nelson, Transportation Planner for the Mid America Regional Council, discussed the role of the MPO in transportation planning and how the for profit sector fits into the Federal spending stream. He said that transportation planning plays a fundamental role in the state, region’s and community’s vision of the future. He described the transportation planning process, the acronyms used by planners, and the components of specialized services where he said there were a myriad of opportunities for private company to participate in providing public transit services.
Cindy Terwilliger, Deputy Regional Administrator, spoke about Private Participation in Service Delivery. She described the FTA Statutory Protections for Private Enterprise, the participatory role of private operators in metropolitan and statewide planning. She described the joint FTA/FHWA planning regulations and what FTA oversight of the transit program and private sector participation entails. She explained why FTA considers private operator so important to the FTA program and outlined what a private operator needs to do to get involved in the planning process.
Two customer service sessions, Basic Customer Service Principles and How to Handle a Customer Complaint were also presented on Thursday morning. President Hunt led the exceptional session on Basic Customer Service Principles. Thursday afternoon, after the sumptuous buffet luncheon in the expo hall, there was a General Session in which there were two presentations and an open call for nominations to serve on the TLPA Board of Directors.
The first topic covered was Kansas City’s Certified Ambassador Program. Of those who commented favorably, they said they were inspired to take the great and very timely customer service focused ideas back to their city. One attendee even asked if there was any way that TLPA could incorporate the program into future sessions because it was a great program and very informative.
The second topic covered in Thursday afternoon’s General Session was the TLPA/FTA Technical Assistance Program for Private Operators. The Nominating Committee was introduced at this session and nominations were taken from the floor. About 30 people were nominated for positions as directors or officers. Committee Chairman Brian Wier noted that the committee will continue to accept nominations and urged TLPA members to send a letter to the TLPA office noting whom they are nominating.
Bill Scalzi, Metro Taxi, New Haven, CT, Ham Smythe IV, Yellow Cab Company, Memphis, TN and Mike Levine, Ronart Leasing, Long Island City, NY
On Thursday evening, our host operators Checker Transportation Group and Kansas City Transportation Group co sponsored an evening/dinner and attendance at The College Basketball Experience. It received a whopping 100% excellent or good rating with not a single average or poor rating. The comments we received included: “Great event—many thanks to the hosts; Very entertaining; It was different than our normal function; Very much fun and it was nice to have physical activity after all day sitting in meetings— close to the Power & Light entertainment district; Wow!”
Friday morning the first Board meeting of the year was held. It was moved up from the Mid-Year Conference to the Spring Conference & Expo. This allows the Board to review issues and provide direction to the TLPA staff earlier in the year.
Friday afternoon featured two exceptional site visits to our host operator’s facilities. The site visits were held after the conference evaluation forms were collected, but we are certain that they would have received 100% excellent ratings. The shared information, hospitality, and networking opportunity were exceptional and everyone appreciated the outstanding effort given by the staffs of the host operators. The entire conference received high ratings. The comments received included: “Good practical suggestions; Great information; Very open conversation; Good examples; Good presentation—very timely and customer service focused”. The overall rating of the food functions held at the Spring Conference & Expo was exceptional at 100% excellent or good, with no average or poor ratings. We believe this is the first conference ever where the food did not receive a single average rating.
The comments received included: Great food—nice crowds; Food was great; Good food and format.” Members who attended were happy with the Wednesday through Friday agenda timetable and commented that the meetings, food and functions were great. They specifically stated how pleased they were about the offerings of the host operators and the networking fellowship and the exhibits. The 2009 TLPA Spring Conference & Expo will be held at the Grand Hyatt New York, March 25-28, 2009.
At the end of October, while much of the nation will have a chill in the air, TLPA President Brian Hunt invites you to the warmth of Florida for the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association's 90th Annual Convention and Trade Show! The Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held in Tampa, Florida, where (of course!) we can expect lots of water, sand and sunshine. But Tampa has a lot to offer for the non-beach bum. Neighborhoods like Hyde Park — Tampa's oldest and most glamorous neighborhood — offer an eclectic collection of boutique shopping and eateries.
You'll have to take a night to stroll the brick lined streets of the famed Ybor City. Once known as the "Cigar Capital of the World", Ybor City is now a hub of entertainment with vintage clothing stores, art galleries, coffee houses, cafes, bistros and nightclubs. By the way, hand rolled cigars can still be purchased in the old brick buildings of this National Historic Landmark District. Right outside our hotel, the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, is Channelside Bay Plaza with a variety of restaurants and "places to be seen.”
The Convention will get underway with the Annual Gateway Insurance Golf Tournament to benefit the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Foundation which will be held on Sunday, October 26 at Tournament Players Club (TPC) course of Tampa. It will end with the closing night banquet on Wednesday evening, October 29. The evening features an open bar, a wonderful meal, the Operator of the Year Awards, entertainment and the silent auction to benefit TLPA's legislative arm, the TLPA Action Fund. For registration and hotel information visit TLPA’s web site at
http://www.tlpa.org/meetings/08annual_convention.cfm.
Hal Morgan, TLPA Executive Vice President, submitted this article.
NOTE NEW ADDRESS & PHONE & FAX NUMBERS
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(301) 984-5700 • (301) 984-5703 (fax)
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SAVE THESE DATES
TLPA Mid-Year International Leadership Conference
The Westin Paris,
Paris, France
July 9-12, 2008
TLPA Annual Convention & Trade Show
Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina,
Tampa, FL
October 27-30, 2008
TLPA Spring Conference & Expo
Grand Hyatt New York,
New York, NY
March 25-28, 2009
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