TLPA
TLPA PRESIDENT BRIAN HUNT’S ATTENDANCE AT THE IRU MEETING IN ISTANBUL
On October 10, 2007, Brian Hunt was elected President of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association. In his acceptance speech, he spoke about his life and how he entered into the transportation business. His work plan for 2008 included:
- Continued implementation of the TLPA strategic plan,
- Development of a Web based TLPA Driver Enhancement/ Training Program,
- Implementation of a Free TLPA Technical Assistance Program for Transit Planning,
- Establishment of a TLPA Library of Favorable Administrative and Court Cases,
- Development of TLPA Positions on Accessible Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Issues,
- Production of the three TLPA 2008 conferences in Kansas City, Paris, and Tampa,
- Carrying out legislative initiatives to ready TLPA for the new presidential administration in 2009.
The highlight of President Hunt’s year in office, however, was the attendance at the International Road Union (IRU) Annual Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. Following is his description of the trip.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Istanbul is a very picturesque and modern city with many views of the water and hillsides. The people I have met are exceptionally polite although a tourist may never be sure exactly about the culture of the country when interfacing only with those in the tourism industry.
I arrived on Tuesday afternoon after about 25 hours of poor travel and was met by the IRU management, specifically Murielle, Michael, and Oleg. Even though Mikhail Gorbachev is a VIP here, I doubt he has been treated any better. I have a very nice complimentary room and meals. So far I have spent nothing in this city.
My hosts took me and about twenty-five other TLPA members to a famous restaurant, the Topaz, which overlooks a harbor and some of the city. The food was fantastic even though I doubt I could name any of the courses, of what they consisted or how they were prepared.
Today, I attended the Taxi Committee meeting and again was referred to several times from the podium as a VIP. I have spoken (when spoken to) a few times during the meeting. My official presentation is on Friday afternoon.
It seems the taxi operators in the room, even though from Bulgaria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and other places, have similar issues as those in the U.S. Complicating my understanding of the various taxi industries is the differences between authorities of the respective governments to regulate transportation. It is interesting to see that the taxicab industry faces similar issues no matter what country we visit.
A governing body of concern to the taxi industry in Europe is the European Union (EU) which is limited in scope to financial issues such as currency exchange and free trade. However, like our national government, the EU is finding more and more ways to expand their authority. Like our national government they expand authority by way of attaching regulations to grants.
Issues such as requirements of “black box” data reporting in taxicabs as a way of verifying taxes and defining the role of taxis in public transit which allows governance of quality standards are issues to be discussed in today’s committee meeting.
One interesting item of conversation was the curriculum entitled “Eco Taxi”. This training is available to operators in Brussels and would be a profitable addition to the TLPA on line training program we are currently developing. The two hours of training teaches a driver ways to save fuel.
Other initiatives of the IRU include publishing guidelines for the taxi driver to use when transporting the disabled. These common sense guidelines are published because the European taxi community sees transportation of disabled as a business opportunity. There is very little discussion about whether the taxi vehicles should be accessible. Since the market is not taken completely by public subsidized transit like in the US, the private operators contemplate targeting this niche rider ship.
I next attended the governing council meeting, another chance to learn the views, policies, and challenges of the European industry. The agenda included a debate over an hour and wage issue which was resolved with a compromise with the Labor Unions. Certain operators were not happy with the compromise, however, it passed by majority.
Other issues discussed revolved around the coordination of transportation licenses and rules between countries. Since the European transportation network is very popular and used extensively by many people to travel to other EU countries, there is need to uniform some of the regulations and licenses. For example, a Belgium based bus bringing passengers to Germany may be subject to different licenses and barriers than a bus bringing passengers from Germany to Belgium. The IRU is active in each country to promote fairness of competition.
The IRU membership policy is to “promote open entry to the markets.” What they mean by this is they wish their members access to any public moneys used for transportation.
Thursday May 15, 2008
What another great evening last night. I was taken to dinner by the Netherlands contingent, a great group of intelligent operators of taxis and buses. There was a lot of joking and good conversation about business and politics. The general view is that the U.S. war on the Taliban in Afghanistan was justified while the war in Iraq was not. They likened it to Vietnam and said we had ourselves a mess. We had a traditional Turkish dinner in a restaurant overlooking the sea. Istanbul is split into a European side and an Asian side and we could see the Asian side across the pass. During dinner we heard the call to worship several times for the Muslim people, something I have only heard in movies. There are Mosque all around us.
Today, I attended the General Congress. There are 1800 registrants at this conference representing over 70 countries and including many delegates from Associations such as TLPA. Oleg, Hubert, Michael, Jan and other members of IRU management and I sat through the sessions together. The meeting with about 200 people present was very efficient. For each adoption of a resolution there were no first and second motions only a statement about whether there was any “intervention” by members. In only one case did someone speak. After the President asked that question, he then stated, “seeing none the resolution is adopted.”
One issue was debated. That issue was whether the IRU should get involved with “local” issues. In this case the local issue was a resolution for the Romanian delegation urging the government there to take a more cooperative role with the transporters. The debate went on for a while and then the president followed his same procedure and passed a watered down resolution. I discussed our TLPA policy with IRU management, namely that the staff has the authority within guidelines to issue letters of support to companies who felt it would aid them in local matters. The situation was aptly summed up by one member: “Think Global, Act Local”
Friday May 16, 2008
My impression is that the IRU has the potential for attracting many more members and vendors, however, the trade show had about 30 exhibits and mostly trucking logistic companies. The IRU management wants to reach out to more parts of the world including the U.S. I suggested a strategic plan. They do not have one and welcomed the idea. I explained that the plan propelled us many years ahead of what we could have accomplished without one. It does this by allowing focus on specific goals and not getting side tracked on items outside our goals and objectives. I will forward a copy of TLPA’s Strategic Plan, explaining how and why we carried out the process to create this document.
We are having lunch today at a military museum and there is an exhibit 40 meters long about the development of transportation in Eurasia. This exhibit was formed in part by the U.S. through our government office of tourism and Eurasia affairs. One speaker from Afghanistan was recognized as a returning member to IRU a membership which was interrupted by the war. They are now in the process of rebuilding roads and are asking the IRU for support. Interestingly, the interpreter on stage was from Iran.
I learned that the next conference is in Republic of Kazakhstan and I will work on my entry visa between now and then. My enthusiasm for the conference is increased every day.
This afternoon I will attend the opening assembly where Mikhail Gorbachev is speaking and I will join him in a picture if possible. I will ask him to stand to the left and face right of course. The city is beautiful and clean, the weather nice at 70 degrees. Tonight there is an impressive dinner at the “Grand Bazaar” a place often visited by tourists. Since I’m one, I look forward to attending.
SPRING CONFERENCE & EXPO
GRAND HYATT • NEW YORK, NY MARCH 26-29, 2009
TLPA’s 2009 Spring Conference & Expo is being held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, March 26-29, 2009. The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, the Black Car Assistance Corporation and Ronart Leasing are co-hosting the conference. This will surely be the biggest and best TLPA Spring Conference ever beginning with a private event for all attendees at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum followed by the opportunity to purchase tickets to see a great Broadway show Jersey Boys and concluding with tours of one or two of the finest black car companies in the city. A visit to Ground Zero in the plans.
In between these events there will be:
- breakfast, lunch and an opening night cocktail reception with the Expo exhibitors,
- open meetings with the three TLPA Steering Committees: Taxicab, Limousine & Sedan, and Contracting and Paratransit,
- six breakout sessions, and
- a General Session featuring two panel discussions that will be of interest to each and every operator in attendance.
Come and meet 2009 TLPA President Rick Hewatt, learn about TLPA, learn about how to guide your business through these tough economic times, meet with the top industry vendors and play hard in New York City, March 26-29
If you are not a member of TLPA you are missing out on an exciting opportunity to grow your business and your company. Membership applications for all five TLPA membership categories can be found on TLPA’s web site at:
www.tlpa.org
Every company involved in the passenger ground transportation business will benefit from membership in TLPA.
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