Rent A Car … And A Chauffer
Think hiring a driver means a flashy black Town Car and a hefty price tag?
Avis Rent A Car is setting out to challenge that notion by offering chauffeurs to customers in the top 10 business markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C.
Avis supplies the car, and WeDriveU, a San Mateo, California-based firm, provides the drivers at $35 an hour for at least three hours. Drivers can pick up the car for you and pick you up straight from baggage claim–all for less than hiring a limo service.
And, for $10.95 per day, you can rent a Wi-Fi connection and work from the backseat while your driver shuttles you around town.
Photo by Avis.
stewart on February 19th, 2009 7:50 am
Wanted: A Level Playing Field
The Limousine Industry Calls Avis Chauffeur
Drive to the Carpet
by Liz Hunter
Not all of us saw it coming. Not all of us took the threat seriously. But now, in the middle of a recession where price means almost everything, the Avis Chauffeur Drive program is capitalizing on the industry’s weaknesses with a mass hiring
wave in some of the nation’s largest markets. Advertisements
for chauffeur positions have been posted in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, D.C., and more. Twenty-eight in all. For those not familiar with this program, it’s time to get educated because it could be coming to your city soon. Avis is a rental
car company that also happens to own a 45 percent stake in Carey International. WeDriveU is a chauffeur rental service. Combine the two and you can have a rented vehicle driven by
a rented chauffeur. Sounds a lot like the model for the livery industry, doesn’t it? But Avis isn’t really operating up to the same standards as our luxury ground transportation industry. As we’ve reported previously, members of Florida Limousine Association (FLA) decided to use the service, and videotaped the entire trip for educational purposes. The vehicle provided to them was a Hyundai Sonata—not exactly classified as luxury. On top of that, there is nothing that shows Avis Chauffeur Drive licensing or background checking its chauffeurs, nor are the vehicles being outfitted with the proper permitting stickers. Yet everyday groups, corporate executives, and other travelers use Avis to get around, unaware of the potential danger and liabilities—insurance and otherwise—they risk when getting into one of these vehicles. As Chauffeur Drive gains momentum across the country, operators are taking up the fight—a large majority of them using power in numbers. Associations are leading the charge fighting the cancer that is spreading and further weakening our industry. Florida is ground zero. “It is literally destroying Florida,” says Barry Lefkowitz, executive director of Limousine Associations of New Jersey (LANJ). “This is a crisis of major proportions. The industry cannot roll over and play dead and just let somebody put us out of business.” Operators from Florida to San Francisco are asking Avis for one thing: a level playing field. “It’s a free country. If you want to go into business that’s fine, but you need to be operating on the same playing field as the rest of us,” says Carla Boroday, president of Florida Ground Transportation Association (FGTA) and owner of Associated Limousine Services in Hallandale, Fla. “The fact that Avis is operating without having to jump through the hoops we have to jump through just to be in business is ridiculous. We want to see them stop, cease and desist otherwise.” Boroday gives several examples of the ways Avis is violating local and state regulations in Florida. For one, there is no universal county license; her chauffeurs must have licensing in all counties. Her vehicles must also be licensed in each individual county. “We have a lot of vehicles, and let’s say for instance one of my chauffeurs takes the wrong car, arrives at Miami’s airport, but doesn’t have his Miami identification, even though he is licensed,” she says. “He will be fined $1,000. On the other hand, the Avis drivers don’t need any certifications and they don’t even have AVI transponders on their vehicles.” AVIs are required on all for-hire vehicles coming in and out of Miami International. Disregard for the industry’s regulations on Avis’ behalf has been something that operators in the New York City area have pointed out for nearly a year. There have been several meetings between National Limousine Association (NLA), Black Car Assistance Corp (BCAC), LANJ, WeDriveU, Avis, and NYC Taxicab & Limousine Commission (TLC). Victor Dizengoff, BCAC executive director, has attended these meetings and says it is all a work in progress. “It’s an issue in flux right now,” he says. “Our thoughts are that if we all have to be regulated, then there’s no reason Avis can’t play the game the same way.” At press time, BCAC had lawyers involved to draft regulatory language and to urge TLC to take some action. Lefkowitz sat in on some of these meetings as well. “We’ve made it most clear that if TLC allows WeDriveU to do what it is doing, then limousine companies are going to adopt the same template and TLC would end up with no one to regulate,” Lefkowitz says. “It puts TLC between a rock and a hard place because Avis could sue for restraint of trade, but then our industry could sue if this went forward without the service meeting the same responsibilities required of limousine and black car operators.” Drivers with unknown backgrounds frightens Mike Ballard, chairman of Maryland Limousine Association (MLA). As the country’s most historic inauguration is upon us, Avis Chauffeur Drive is of course advertising in the nation’s capital to provide service during inauguration week. “There are at least 5 million people coming into D.C. on inauguration day,” says Ballard, co-owner of Hire Quality Limousine in Bel Air, Maryland. “Unknown drivers will be working this event, possibly driving politicians, and it’s our duty to say something to the regulating authority about this.” Ballard has been in contact with Maryland’s Public Service Commission (PSC). He sent his contact at the agency the Chauffeur Drive recruiting information and explained his fears. Like Lefkowitz, Ballard has mentioned the possibility of the limousine industry adopting the Chauffeur Drive template. “I told PSC if it cannot control Avis, I will write a letter to operators in Maryland saying, ‘You are now a vehicle leasing company and people can rent your chauffeurs. Scrape off your permit stickers and get regular vehicle tags.’ PSC could no longer regulate us and no longer take money from us.” Ballard has alerted local news media about this issue as well. Joanna Fridinger, MLA president, says, “This isn’t getting attention from anybody except for within our industry. The only way the public is going to be aware is through the media.” The limousine industry has high standards for its chauffeurs: intensive training, stringent insurance requirements, background checks, drug tests, and various licensing. If one can’t make it through this process, what would stop him from going to Chauffeur Drive where he doesn’t have to go through half of that and still make decent money? The chauffeur advertisements offer $15 per hour, which is appealing considering the economy. Boroday has had chauffeurs leave her company to work at Avis. “We put our chauffeurs through a two-day class, fingerprinting, background checks, and without their chauffeur ID they can’t drive, so it’s easier for them to just go to Avis,” says Boroday. Clients are also looking for a better deal. Avis is charging about $35 an hour for its Chauffeur Drive service. “We have a legislative minimum in Florida and that is way below,” says Boroday. “Businesspeople or destination management companies (DMC) are going to look at the difference between $35 and our $55 per hour and say the limousine is too much, especially once our gratuity, surcharges, and airport fees get tacked on.” While associations in the New York area and Florida have some lawyers involved, some other options can be explored to help prevent Avis from operating, says Lefkowitz. “It really has to be looked at on a state-by-state basis,” he says. In New York, the industry will need help from surrounding states to get legislative language passed. The Limousine Association of Houston acted fast and stopped Avis from operating there. Airports may also be of help, an unusual ally considering the industry’s relationship with them. San Francisco International, Sky Harbor in Phoenix, and Denver International have all come out and said the Chauffeur Drive program cannot be done there, and Atlanta Hartsville made it clear that it could not operate there. Philip Devlin, VP national operations for Cooper-Atlanta Transportation Services, says the airport has not formally gone on the record with its position, however. “The airport says it doesn’t see the value of Avis becoming involved in Chauffeur Drive because it would be a detriment to the rest of the livery industry,” Devlin says. “If we’re driven out of business it’s no good for the clients the airport is servicing.” Devlin is aware of Avis advertising for chauffeur positions in Atlanta, but says none of the jobs the program has done have been at the airport. “The airports can be our ally in this situation,” says Devlin. “There is revenue on both sides. Airports get money from rental car services and limousines, so why would they want to cut one out of that equation?” Avis Chauffeur Drive is a local problem various markets are facing, but one that will soon become a national epidemic if nothing is done. Lefkowitz says operators should not only contact state legislators to raise awareness, but also their state associations because that is who is going to pick up the ball and run with it. “If this continues,” says Lefkowitz, “the industry is on the brink of becoming obsolete.” LD
Leave a Reply