We
are changing gears again ...
..........TO PROMOTE
TRANSPORTATION, TOUR & TRAVEL SERVICES
Today,
March 10, 2010. If
you are a California Limited Liability Company (LLC) please check this
warning about solicitation by businesses pretending to be the Secretary of
State's Office
http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/alert-misleading-solicitations.htm.
IS THE PUC
QUESTIONNAIRE PROPER?
And, for those of you
operating as LLCs the PUC has implemented an effort similar to the movie
"Minority Report" to compel transportation operators operating as LLC (even
startups) to establish "Workers Comp. Insurance" even if you have declared
no employees (under penalty of perjury): so as to prevent you from
committing the "future crime" (as in Minority Report) of not declaring
employees. For those of you who may have already received the "PUC
Questionnaire" what do your attorneys think? From some of our clients'
points of view, this is just another expense that prevents them from
starting their transportation business in California.
Remember, Workers Comp.
matters use to be under the purview of the very specialized unit of the
California Labor Commission called "Department of Industrial Relations
(DIR)." And, whether someone is an employee or not is best
determined by the "Employment Development Department (EDD)". Furthermore,
the nature and structure of a limited liability company (LLC) is best
defined by the California Secretary of State (SOS). So, why is the PUC
assuming and or adding the roles of DIR, EDD and SOS to it's own functions
of licensing/regulating transportation operators? Would someone, please ask
the PUC! We are
still investigating the origin of the Questionnaire: may be just a
Commission staff concerned with employee safety or the Commissioners
themselves or may be the California Legislature. We'll let you know.... You
may be able to reach the California PUC at
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/ or find out what your local media knows
about this issue.
As you
may already know, limousines are pre-arranged, exclusive,
charter transportation services that you can hire/pay by the hour (basis of
time) or by the mile (mileage of use) or a combination time and mileage. In California limousines operate under
a State issued permit or certificate prefixed "TCP" and suffixed by the
letters "A" or "B" or "P": the suffix letters tell what type of service
the limousine operator is authorized to provide (scope authority). With
limousine service the customer has exclusive use/control of the vehicle for the
duration of the charter: limousine only go where the customer wants, and
picks up only people the customer wants............read
more about limousines
Shuttles, on the other hand, are
"shared-ride" passenger ground transportation services that are authorized
to operate between specific points;
unrelated people ride together in the same general direction, and pay
individual fares approved by the state (fares are published in the
operator's tariff, and must be made available to the public upon request).
As common carriers they are required to serve any party seeking
shared-ride service within the territory the carrier is authorized to serve.
We know all this information about transportation services because we help
license some of the most popular transportation companies..........read
more about shuttles
y providing Information, Education and
Assistance to people who need the services we offer on the web and at
location, Transportation Information Center has entered the E-Commerce
arena. Our goal is to make it easier to find transportation, travel
and tour services anywhere. A good market arena is one in which the
participants are a well informed. We have now developed solutions that
help passengers avoid illegal operators, tardiness, overcharges and other
irregularities often told about passenger ground transportation
services.
For the
busy business traveler or family we also offer help to find and reserve
transportation services.
ACCESSIBILITY!
For us, accessibility means "its available on-demand and
affordable!" Very few individuals and corporations have ready access
to services offered by transportation companies because they do not have the
correct market information about what these companies are
licensed to do. Another
difficulty in the past was that transportation companies sold their services
under such trade names as airport shuttle, limousine, livery service,
car-for-hire, tour-bus, etc. We want to sell their services from the point
of view of their respective operating licenses: this results in
user-friendly services and allows for a more flexible transportation service
systems. The impact the trade-names have on pricing will be removed and more
services will become more affordable. Anyone should now be able to take a
weekend limousine ride or impress a date without the excessive charges!
WHO NEEDS TRANSPORTATION SERVICES?
Its anyone who chooses not to drive on any given time or day, or
anyone who has a special occasion or event.
It could be you or someone you know! Take a limousine or a
car-for-hire (Taxi-without-boundaries) to the movie theater or anywhere you
wish to go, including but not limited to airports, train stations, harbors;
or use it for a date, a special occasion, an event or to just
get-about-town.
You may take the office party or meeting on an entertaining charter/tour bus
ride, or go where you will and see the sights & hear the sounds, or get that
intimate feeling in a limousine.
And, how about transportation for infants and children to and fro daycare!
These are all available services we have helped create!
You know in California, as with most other states/provinces, only luxury
sedans and stretched sedans are classified as
limousines.
Regular sedans, SUVs, Vans, RVs, Motorbikes and all other vehicles licensed
to provide exclusive, single-load/party transportation services are
generally known as "car-for-hire"
services: they may provide similar comfort and services as limousines, but
they are not limousines! However, they're much better than Taxi
and give the same feeling as limousines but probably for less price. Now,
because they are licensed by the state to pickup/drop-off passengers
anywhere in the state it is easy to see why we call them
"Taxi-without-boundaries".
Transportation Information Center is determine to make it easier for anyone
to get around town. Limousine, shuttle services to and from airports,
train-stations, bus-terminals, harbors and other places and points of
interest are some of the services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We just package and make these various services accessible and affordable to
our customers.
OUR LICENSING ACTIVITIES:
We have helped individuals, corporations, limited liability companies
and various entrepreneurs establish and operate transportation services.
And, using the US and California Models, you too may start your own
shared-ride services business and collect fares on an individual basis, or
provide
exclusive-single-party charter services such as limousine, car-for-hire
(using van, bus, SUV, motorbike, etc).
By using the
California model we offer the
most diverse licensing services for privately owned for-hire transportation
businesses. We encourage all transportation service providers
worldwide to use our model to diversify or create similar services: we will
help you advertise and sell your services.
Watch for more news about us, as we continue to grow and expand our
services to other regions.
