The Florida Intrastate Transportation Alliance

 The Great Illegal Limousine Operator Debate

As with all segments of society and business there are those who play by rules set by someone for some underlying purpose and then there are those who do not play by the rules. Then there are those who will play within the framework of a particular regulatory while ignoring another set of rules. 

Illegal businesses generally fall under those who ignore licensing mandates and law. This runs the gamut of virtually every occupation including the transportation industry and for every imaginable reason from inability to obtain licensing to outright protest of supporting rules that are enacted under the influence of economic protection of businesses from competition.

Depending on the State and locale, licensing of transportation business could be on the state or local level with the licensing ranging from micro-managment of the business by authorities, simply providing evidence of safety requirements to simply paying a licensing fee to do business.    

In demographics where imposed regulations adds economic burdens upon the motor carrier that in turn must be passed onto the consumer in higher pricing, transportation services operating without licensing generally attract those individuals looking for lower cost transportation bargains and these operatives normally work under the radar and build a business through a referral network though some are bold enough to actually go public in advertising.

Licensed operations often look upon the "Gypsy's" with destain and as a source for their own economic woes often filing complaints with regulators to understaffed to properly seek out the Gypsy and enforce regulations upon them. This leads to licensed operatives to post warnings on their websites of the dire consequences of using a Gypsy or in the example of Luken Limousine out of Los Angeles, to go as far as recording a conversation with an unlicensed business & posting that recording on the company website and for dramatics using a Long Island Limousine accident photo that has absolutely nothing to do with the unlicensed subject matter in an attempt to emphasize the consequences of hiring an unlicensed limousine service.

In Florida as elsewhere, the lack of enforcement or in Florida's case, the inability to obtain poltical backing for state regulation is in part a result of the fact that unlicensed limousines are not out there killing and maiming people eventhough the use of these lower cost operatives is rampant by consumers looking for that deal or simply cannot afford to pay the higher costs associated excessive economic regulatory or the limousine operators own business choice to only utilize and offer expensive luxury transportation.

As with many service provision businesses, economics is the primary consumer decision maker and hardly a factor to licensed business success or failure as these Consumers would not purchase the product and instead seek alternative transportation means.

Government needs to step to the plate and recognize that the catch phrase "Limousine Service" primarily means a non-taxicab, nonpublic transportation entity providing valuable services to areas not afford affordable public transportation & limit regulatory to safety issues only to lower the operating costs to the motor carriers.

Limousine Operators cannot wait for government to step in and take care of the Gypsy's to solve their problems and must recognize that the majority of consumers who are attracted to the Gypsy's is based on pricing and therefore must offer that consumer what they want and not what the luxury transportation industry  wants to shove down the consumers throats.

Limousine Bill May Cost Airports Millions

The National Limousine Association And The Taxi, Limousine and Paratransit Association have teamed up to bring forth a Bill amending the RIDE Act Title 49 USC 14501 ( d ). If passed, airports receiving federal dollars for improvements & projects will be prohibited from imposing upon ground transportation service, any fees not comensurate with fees charged to the general public. This restriction will remove fees now applied to ground transportation such as provided by limousine services at a loss of 10's of millions of dollars in lost revenue to the airports nationally.  

Lawmakers Decline Bill That Would Of Changed The Law & Allowed Out Of State Drivers To Obtain Temporary Licenses To Operate Limousines In Tampa During Special Events Such As The Super Bowl

www.sptimes.com/2007/12/02/Hillsborough/NFL_limos_may_stretch.shtml 

www.sptimes.com/2007/12/08/Hillsborough/Limo_business__to_sta.shtml  

NY State Applies Sales Tax To Users Of Luxury Transportation

Amid Cries of Being Unfair to the Rich & Famous, NY State joins other states in requiring consumers who opt for 1st class luxury transportation to pay a sales tax for that "luxury".

Luxury Limo Operators liking it or not have to collect this tax just as any other small business owner must.

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Tampa Regulators Deny Eco Friendly Green Limousine Authority To

 Pick Up Prearranged

 Travelers At TIA

www.sptimes.com/2007/08/09/Business/Calling_Prius_a_limo_.shtml#rants