Last April, Car dealer David Flynn of Columbiana, Ohio, bid the sum of $200,000 for the right to purchase the first retail production model of the 2016 Cadillac CT6 sedan.
Related: See Cadillac CT6 cover story in the April issue of LCT Magazine
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Starting soon, travelers can board a Vamoose Gold Bus in Arlington, Va., at 6 a.m. with a single pick-up stop in Bethesda, Md., and arrive at 30th Street and Seventh Avenue, one block from Penn Station in the heart of midtown before 11 a.m. No other bus company offers this service between New York City and the Washington, D.C. area.
“With the expansion of our premium Gold service, Vamoose is now able to bring more visitors into New York City,” said Florence Bluzenstein, a company co-owner, in a press release. “You will arrive early in the heart of the city and will be able to do more – business meetings, theater, shopping, dining, or enjoy a full range of tourist activities during your day.”
The Gold Bus features wide-body, “two-and-one” leather seating with extra arm- and legroom, on-board free Internet service (Wi-Fi), and 110-volt AC electric outlets. It carries only 36 passengers, compared with 56 seats on its standard coach buses.
The Gold Bus is expected to be in high demand from corporate travelers seeking an alternative to air travel or train, and Vamoose believes that its luxury service will appeal to any traveler who values comfort and amenities over lower cost service.
In an interview with LCT, founder and owner Sam Bluzenstein said the Gold-level service has gained in demand since Vamoose started it in 2010. The company started its standard motorcoach service in 2004.
Vamoose leases motorcoaches from DC Trails, a motorcoach comopany based in Washington, D.C. that offers all types of bus transportation, including city tours of famous landmarks and destinations. The company uses five buses during the week and 12 on weekends for its standard and Gold-level service levels. DC Trails runs a fleet of about 70 motorcoaches. Bus models used by Vamoose range from 2013 to 2015 MY Van Hools.
The average one-way bus trip takes about four to four-and-a-half hours without stops. That timespan also compares favorably with the total ground-transportation-TSA-check-and-air-travel time when flying between the two cities.
Passengers on the Gold buses are also offered complimentary bottled water and Mon-Sat copies of The New York Times, Bluzenstein said. All passengers are allowed to bring aboard their own food and drink.
Vamoose Bus was awarded “Best Bus to NYC” by Washingtonian Magazine in 2015.
Sources: Vamoose Bus and LCT editor Martin Romjue
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The service is called zTrip, which is a ride-hailing software platform developed by TransDev North America, a division of Paris-based TransDev. Transportation companies such as taxicab or chauffeur services can contract with TransDev to add app-based ride-hailing to their services. TransDev has already launched zTrip in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore, Orlando, Tampa, Denver and Phoenix.
Austin Business Journal article here
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The tragic Kalamazoo, Mich., Uber driver shootings and the accompanying anger and sadness have refocused attention on the need for driver background checks. Those checks, however, don’t just need to cover the criminal; drugs and alcohol are just as vital a component, as proven by incidents in which a handful of Uber drivers have been found to be drunk or stoned.
The state of California, for example, requires that all commercial drivers follow Department of Transportation standards for drug testing. But Uber, on its website, classifies itself as “…a technology company that has developed an app that connects users (riders) with driver partners who provide transportation to the user. Uber is not a transportation carrier, and does not employ any drivers.”
Therefore, TNCs do not believe it is mandatory to adhere to the same laws as chauffeured transportation companies do, which have the best maintained cars, professional chauffeurs, commercial insurance, and duty-of-care responsibility.
Independent Drivers Consortium (IDC) CEO Ben Caswell and Founder and Chief Medical Director Dr. Marshall Zablen are working together to create an affordable drug testing program possible for chauffeurs as well as professional independent drivers. The two have developed a turn-key solution that not only makes this simple, but low cost as well.
The driver simply inputs the code number for their contractor or contractors, who will then receive the test results. The app contains locations for this driver to take tests, a copy of their program certificate, the expiration date of their program, and a copy of their most recent drug test.
An employer can choose to have Norton Medical (IDC’s parent company) select the drivers for random testing. Then, the company can see all the drivers that were selected randomly and send them whenever is most convenient. Drivers will receive text and voice call alerts telling them they were selected, and they can then find whichever testing location is closest to them via zip code search. With over 7,000 collection sites, it’s impossible for a driver to complain about testing being inconvenient.
Drivers are proud to be in a drug testing program because it means they are serious professionals. US DOT drug testing programs have been proven to work as shown by the significant improvement in professional truck drivers who are required to be tested for illegal substances, Zablen said. When random testing began in 1989, 18% of truck drivers had cocaine, amphetamines, or marijuana in their systems — that’s one in five drivers. Twenty-five years later, the rate of drug usage has fallen to less than one percent. You have to drive by 99 trucks to find a driver with drugs in their system. As a result, fatalities have fallen more than 80% for every one million miles driven.
“What really makes me angry is that [Uber drivers] continue to tell us they are professionals, yet they certainly aren’t acting as a professional driver should,” Caswell says. “Limousine drivers are professional and adhere to regulations. We are trying to make it easier and more convenient for them.”
Zablen adds, “Limousine companies that choose to use the app are provided with a logo graphic to add to their website and a decal for their vehicles to help differentiate them from competitors who don’t drug test.”
In addition, Caswell and Zablen are talking with several livery software companies to integrate the Norton back-end management solution into their systems so an owner can have fingertip access to MIS reports and the statistical analyses they need during DOT audits.
The IDC app allows chauffeurs to tout their commitment to safety to their corporate and repeat customers. Whether you absolutely loath TNCs or want to work with them, the main goal should be keeping drivers who are under the influence off the streets.
To preview the mobile interface, click here.
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Emergency Number For Uber Customers Exists, But Is Nearly Impossible To Find: Uber has an emergency phone number for passengers and drivers to get in touch with a human employee at the ride-hail company, according to a report in Inc. Thursday. The number, which has been operational since October, is only available in 22 cities and is only intended for non-911 related emergencies. The revelation comes after Uber faced questions about a “panic button” in the wake of a deadly shooting in Kalamazoo, Michigan by an Uber driver last month. The Verge article here.
Uber Won’t Leave It’s Florida Users Alone: Residents who open the Uber app today will see a message that reads “tap to vote for Uber.” This leads to a second message: “Legislation currently blocked in the Florida Senate would allow all Floridians access to Uber.” Users are then urged to register their support (green checkmark) or opposition (red x) to that statement.
This brings up a third, more existential message. “It’s not hard to hold an up or down vote,” it reads. ” There are only three days left in the 2016 session for the State Senate to vote on allowing all Floridians access to Uber. A bill that would do just that passed the House 108-10, but Senate President Gardiner is refusing to even let the Senate take a vote.” (Emphasis theirs.) The Verge article here.
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