ACQUISITION: Operator John Olinger bought the company of operator Eric Weiner on Jan. 13, forming a Providence-based powerhouse in the New England chauffeured transportation market. The deal, arranged by industry business consultant Tom Mazza, was announced “on the eve of the LCT Show.” That’s good timing for some strong buzz, giving showgoers even more to talk about in the wake of the Dav El/Hertz deal. . .
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DRIVE AWAY CAM: Whether by design or via a business model that wasn’t very well thought out, DriveCam has made it clear they don’t want to do business with our industry.
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LEARN about one of the unsafest uses of technology behind the wheel. . .
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LINDA MOORE: We have not seen an economic environment such as this in our lifetimes. Our business in general is off about 30%, compared to this time last year. It is inevitable that with this kind of loss there will be some fallout for operators who just won’t be able to hang on.
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TRIAL LAWYERS LURK: We bring you THIS AMULANCE CHASER AD to underscore the importance of maintaining every safety standard and insurance policy to the max. An at-fault accident for a chauffeured transportation operator or a charter/tour can devastate a business in the absence of solid safety practices and ample coverages. Chauffeured operators branching into motorcoach service should get updated on the fallout from bus crashes of late and fully embrace NTSB safety standards, including as-of-now voluntary installation of individual seatbelts. For a helpful resource, please consult LCT's Finance & Insurance web channel. -- M.R.
CONTROLLING SUBSTANCES: With so much concern about prom teens and limo drinking, how would operators prevent the following limousine fiasco?
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LINDA MOORE ASKS: In this recessionary climate, some operators are closing down while others are limping along. What happens when a bankrupt or on-the-brink company can't pay? How do you deal with collections?
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NEW BLOG: LCT Magazine would like to welcome a new voice of analysis and reason to the industry: Matt Assolin, the 22-year-old vice president of Nikko's Transportation Service of Houston, a worldwide chauffeured car service provider. Assolin recently earned a bachelor's degree in finance and a minor in economics from the University of Houston-Downtown and plans to start his M.A. in economics soon. Assolin combines his family business background with economic expertise to look at how economic and financial news affects the chauffeured transportation industry. His most saleable quality: A supply-side economics perspective -- a much needed antidote to the hopeless socialist nonsense afflicting the private sector. Operators, pay attention. Blog:
http://www.limomoney.blogspot.com/ -- M.R.
PRICE POINTS: Reston Limousine had these EYE-OPENING charter bus trip rates published in one of its local papers, the Fairfax Times:
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WEB NEWS: Here's the latest on LCT's website LCTmag.com:
-Three new important industry channel pages are starting up: Finance & Insurance, Technology, and Driving Green, and more are in the works.
-eTrader will soon be added, and is a great place to purchase and market chauffeured transportation vehicles.
-Visit the website for daily news (especially on Wednesday when the weekly Driving Force e-newsletter goes out, and which has been getting really good in the past month) and regular feature article additions.
-Take the Web Poll and give LCT timely feedback on industry issues of great concern.
-Ask Dr. Limo to cure fleet maintenance and repair problems giving you a headache.
-See photos from LCT events (some cool ones from the Vegas show are up now) and links to all of these exciting upcoming destinations.
-A section on LimoCentric (which you should know something about, being here now).
-Links to important industry associations for chauffeured transportation and charter and tour operators (recently added).
Some of this you can see now, some will be taking shape soon. -- Jon LeSage