In fact, with an average price of $156, Bruno Mars was the second most expensive Houston Rodeo tickets last year behind George Strait, Martina McBride, and The Randy Rogers Band triple performance that closed out the festivities. This year, it’s more of the same as Maroon 5 and Usher, two distinctively non-country acts, check in as the two most expensive shows with average ticket prices of $183 and $151, respectively. With nobody like George Strait on this year’s slate, the highest priced country music act of the 2014 Houston Rodeo is Blake Shelton at an average price of $156. Tickets for other country music acts like Jason Aldean tickets,Keith Urban, Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan tickets all have average price exceeding the $100 mark. “Regardless of who plays, this is the biggest cultural event in Houston every year,” Said Malcom Robinnson, CEO of MyTicketIn.  This year, the combination of Usher, Maroon 5 and Blake Shelton, all judges on NBC’s the Voice, has been a big boon for demand, according to Robinson.

While this is Usher’s first Rodeo, it is Shelton’s second-consecutive year preforming and he is the most expensive country act scheduled, and $10 more expensive than last years performance.  Right up there with him in that second tier of ticket prices for both years are some of the most popular names in country right now, including Luke Bryan, Zac Brown Band, both of whom price even higher this year than last. Tim McGraw was another high priced act at last year’s Houston Rodeo, checking in as the 7th most expensive act at an average price of $104. This year, rather than performing at the Houston Rodeo, he chose to play at the San Antonio Rodeo which came to an end about two weeks ago.

Held at the AT&T Center from February 6 to 22, the annual San Antonio Rodeo sends the San Antonio Spurs on a lengthy road trip around the All-Star break to make room for a multiday event similar to the Houston Rodeo. While the San Antonio Rodeo does not have nearly the same scale as the Houston Rodeo, production of the event typically requires over 4,000 volunteers, and attendance reaches well over one million people. Because the San Antonio Rodeo takes place at a substantially smaller venue than the Houston Rodeo, ticket prices are more limited in quantity and reached slightly higher price points this year. Tim McGraw’s February 8 evening show was the 2nd highest priced event at an average of $206, and was the single most expensive to get into with the cheapest tickets selling for $83. The most expensive act of this year’s San Antonio Rodeo was none other than Pitbull, at an average price of $209. Perhaps his heavily country influenced chart topper “Timber” might have something to do with that.

1) All drivers must pass a physical exam, be drug tested and fingerprinted and submit to full FBI Background Check.

2) All vehicles used for transportation of passengers must have submitted a rendition to Harris County Appraisal District for Ad Valorem Property Taxes on the vehicle which must be paid every year. (State Law)

3) All transportation companies must submit an annual report of all trips, the destinations and revenues for City Planning purposes.

4) UBER and Lyft must have a physical office in Houston and a phone number answered by a live person fluent in the English Language to answer the phone during normal business hours and take customer complaints.

5) All drivers must have either a Limo or Taxi driver license or a license designated to the new category.

6) Security cameras will be required in all cars.

7) The requirement for four vehicles needed to start a limo company and the 30 minute delay in getting a limo and the six year age limit of vehicles were left intact.

8) All UBER, UBERx and Lyft vehicles must have one million commercial vehicle insurance, paying first dollar in addition to uninsured/underinsured drivers . This insurance must be 24/7/365 or at the very least WHENEVER THE APP IS LIVE AND THE DRIVER IS TROLLING FOR RUNS.

These are the most stringent rules placed on UBER and Lyft anywhere in the USA. It is hoped that other cities will copy these rules that were wisely established by the Administration and Regulatory Affairs (ARA) Department of the City of Houston and submitted to Council.

OTHER MAJOR CITIES BLOCKING UBER AND LYFT: Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas, Portland and New Orleans.

MORE EGG ON THE FACE FOR UBER AND LYFT. UBER had sent out hundreds of e mails to Limo drivers encouraging them to show up, speak up and voice support. NOT EVEN ONE showed up for either company.

UBER did claim to have a petition with 9,000 signatures (Out of 4 million people?). UBER’s phishing, hacking and spamming is well-documented, however, and many of the “Statements of Support” all had the same wording. Others said, “Okay, here’s my tweet, where is my coupon for a free ride”?

IN A VULGAR DISPLAY OF COMPLETE CHUTZPAH AND ASININE AUDACITY, UBER, in front of TV news cameras for the same report I was on said “We are legal in all areas we operate in”. Notorious lawbreaker UBER has more Cease and Desist Letters and Temporary Restraining Orders against them than there are grains of sand on the beach in Galveston.

On their website, they brag about how they choose cities from those they perceive have little or no enforcement of transportation laws.

http://blog.uber.com/2013/04/12/uber-policy-white-paper-1-0/

UBER AND LYFT INSURANCE SCAM: If you are a Houston Limo or Taxi operator, your commercial policy must be on file with the City and anyone who wants a copy can easily get one through the Freedom of Information Act, Public Records.

DESPITE REPEATED REQUESTS, neither UBER nor the Houston ARA have permitted us to see the policy they “Claim” is first dollar commercial. This is hogwash. A surplus line cannot pay over a personal auto policy. Otherwise, why would anyone, including eighteen wheel truckers, bother to buy commercial insurance?

We had Mary Vaught and Beau Budde, two of the largest Limo Insurance brokers in Houston, testify to these facts before the two committees (Transportation and Public Safety) today.

MORE COUNCIL OUTRAGE: ARA Chief Tina Paez said that five new supervisor-level city employees would need to be hired to oversee UBER and Lyft if they were approved. Houston has a hiring freeze on Policemen and Firemen and ambulance shifts are being canceled to avoid huge overtime bills and dangerous sleep deprivation of existing Firemen.

So here you have a situation of rogue operators notorious for illegal operations needing five “Babysitters” at a cost of $495,000 per year while the public safety of the people of Houston is cast to the wind with the emergency personnel shortage. It should also be noted that UBER and Lyft will contribute little or nothing to the City Treasury. (Ad Valorem property taxes go to the County).

MORE COUNCIL OUTRAGE (2). The ARA commissioned a transportation study by Professor Ray Mundy at a cost of $50,000. At the end of the report was a long list of recommendations for the City of Houston.The ARA, for reasons known only to themselves, chose not to recommend ANY OF THEM for action to Council.

When asked how this incongruent conundrum could exist, ARA Chief Tina Paez and her consiglieri Chris Newport got a “Deer in the Headlights” look while they fumbled for words.

The Council wisely tabled all action for a month until Dr. Mundy could be summoned to Houston to explain all the inconsistencies in person before a full council and the Mayor.

UBER AND LYFT’s “FREE” RIDES? Looking to pull a fast one on City Council, both UBER and Lyft started running “Free” runs to try to jump the gun and get in on the very lucrative Rodeo starting next week.

Here’s the deal: If you transport the public for compensation for hire, you need either a taxi or Limo company permit and the driver needs to have the respective city driver license (Over and above a State of Texas Driver’s License) (Out of State Drivers Licenses are also illegal) (City of Houston Chapter 46 Limousine and Taxi Ordinance)

“SOMEBODY” is paying for those “FREE” rides. The drivers are not stupid and they are not charities providing free runs for work-averse alcoholic millenials. If money is changing hands from UBER and Lyft corporate to the drivers, what do you have? UNLICENSED COMMERCIAL PASSENGER LIVERY SERVICE.

Why ARA is unable to see this for what it is only adds to the further questions of ability to perform due diligence and function in its mandated capacity by the ARA.

TAXI/LIMO SOLIDARITY. The night before the hearing, the Taxi and Limousine companies held a joint meeting for the first time in history at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Hwy 290. Also present were company owners of Charter Sightseeing and Jitney Companies. Four industries, all united in vehement opposition to allowing UBER or Lyft and their illegal platforms invade our city. (UBER had two 20-something spies in the audience and they were outed)

In-depth discussions were held and topics and speakers for the following morning meeting with Council were carefully prepared. At the Council hearing, over 150 Yellow Cab drivers wearing yellow tee shirts and 30 Limousine company owners in suits filled the gallery. When a statement was made that resonated with us, we all stood in unison and faced Council to showcase our presence.

Several cab drivers spoke and said how they appreciated the opportunity to be able to have worked for Yellow Cab for twenty years or longer and how they supported their families and paid the mortgage on their homes with their income. They said that if UBER and Lyft came into Houston and got into a price war, as has happened in Boston and elsewhere, their livelihood would be destroyed and they would become tax burdens instead of taxpayers.

HEARTFELT APPEARANCE BY A HANDICAPPED PERSON. A petite lady in an electric wheelchair came up to the front of the chamber to speak. The microphone was lowered for her. She addressed Council, “I am disabled and on public assistance. I am paralyzed and have little mobility. I depend on Yellow Cabs with wheelchair access to take me to my doctor’s appointments at the same fare as a regular cab. Sometimes I stop by a store on the way home and the driver goes in and gets me a few things and helps me into my home. If UBER and Lyft get into a price war and Yellow Cab is put out of business, I will be unable to live in the home I have had for decades and likely need to be in a nursing home at the expense of Houston taxpayers. My words for UBER and Lyft are:

PLAY BY ALL THE RULES OR DON’T PLAY AT ALL. (This elicited a standing ovation from people with tears in their eyes) (You go girl)

UBER and Lyft do not have a single wheelchair accessible vehicle anywhere in the world. Houston Limo and Charter sightseeing companies who have more than ten buses are required by Federal USDOT law to have 10% of our fleets ADA compliant. Why should UBER get a free ride in this area? Our House, Our Rules.

NIGHTMARE AT HOUSTON’S AIRPORTS. In the audience was Richard Godeke, Director of Ground Transportation for Houston’s Bush Airport (IAH). UBER and Lyft are highly unethical, greedy and incorrigible reprobates in the marketing of their “Services”. They callously over-saturate an area with their drivers and cars and engage in a race to the bottom price war everywhere they go.

The end result is hundreds or thousands of cars circling and trolling for passengers. Some drivers have all three iphones on their dash and immediately garb the first one that pings. Some UBER/LYft drivers work 24-36 continuous hours without sleep and then pass the car off to a relative who may or may not have a commercial drivers license.

The other end result is very heavy traffic congestion and air pollution. (Limousines are not dispatched until they have a confirmed pre-arranged fare. Taxis remain parked somewhere in a taxi line).

Mr. Godeke said that 100’s of extra cars circling and trolling the already congested airport terminals was absolutely out of the question. He said that an EZ Tag transponder system would again be needed to be implemented and ALL COMMERCIAL vehicles would need one and in view of the prohibitive cost, each time a vehicle came on airport property, a fee of $8-15 would be in the realm of possibility to recoup the cost of the transponders, receivers and book keeping and billing systems.

It should be noted that compulsive lawbreakers UBER and Lyft devised a scam in Los Angeles to stage by the Iberia Air terminal. Inspectors eventually got suspicious as to why twenty vehicles would be at Iberia when there was no flight for another six hours. Drivers were arrested and cars were towed for a minimum impound period of 30 days. Lyft now advises their drivers to avoid LAX. Lyft made no effort to reimburse their drivers for fines or towing. (“Hey, we’re just an APP on an iphone”)

DUPLICITOUS TREACHERY BY THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

In Chronicle coverage of Mayor Parker’s Inaugural Speech, the Chronicle said, “One of Mayor Parker’s major goals for 2014 is a complete re-write of the Taxi and Limousine Ordinance”. People who were present in the audience said the subject was not mentioned.

The Chronicle went on to publish a totally libelous bogus article on the Mundy report. (See below) Dr. Mundy insisted that a retraction be printed and they flipped him off.

This would at first seem strange unless you peel a few more layers of the onion off and you start to get the really powerful smell. The Chronicle is owned by the Hearst Corporation which is headquartered where? San Francisco, the scumbag capital of the world and near the same den of thieves – UBER, where else.

City Council should issue a subpoena deuces techum to the Editor of the Chronicle and inquire of him why his paper is such a lying piece of trash trying to influence legislation before Council that would affect all Houstonians.

Check this out:

To Houston Chronicle and City Council/Mayor:

This letter is in response to your reporting of February 1 article, “Houston drives idea for taxi app”, and your editorial yesterday entitled, “Deregulate Taxis”. These reports are simply false and incorrectly cite our recently completed study of the Houston Taxi System on several important issues. Your statement; “City staff, based on the report, recommended elimination of a $70 base fare on all private trips and a requirement that trips must be arranged 30 minutes prior to departure”, is just plainly false and gives the impression that the report recommended this – it certainly did not! In fact, the report, in appendix D, discusses the very negative aspects of eliminating limousine/sedan minimum rates.
Additional false information in these articles was the indication that Uber service would be more responsive than current Houston taxi services. Houston currently has very responsive taxi service – over 50% of calls to the dispatched taxi companies go serviced within 9 minutes. And, over 90% of calls throughout the 640 square miles of the City of Houston are provided taxi service within 30 minutes. As the report states in its first paragraph, this is among the better taxi service levels in North America. The report is not an indictment of Houston’s taxi and limousine service – far from it! The report lays forth a strategy for improving your taxi services – the exact opposite of deregulation.
During the performance of this study, consistent advice was provided to City officials that the experience of other cities with elimination of minimum limousine fares has proven problematic. The elimination of minimum fares for limousine/sedan operations erases the distinction between on-demand taxi services and the traditional pre-arranged limo/sedan services which results in unfair and ruiness competition to the taxi industry.
Your reporter also needs to perform some basic fact finding and actually read our report. Houston is not the only major U.S city without the services of Uber – far from it. In Texas alone, Uber is not in Austin or San Antonio. Both of these major cities have minimum limo/sedan rates which preserve the majority of on-demand trips for taxi services. Both of these Texas cities have also indicated that Uber and any other ridesharing services are welcome but that they must comply with current regulations for ridesharing and limousine operations.

Many other communities have also refused attempts to either drastically change their current regulatory requirements or permit these new transportation dispatch companies to operate. Other cities, such as Seattle, are limiting the number of vehicles these new entrants may have (100) and are allowing them to operate only 16 hours per week.

As one might expect, drivers in the taxi industry worldwide oppose the operation of new entrants that do not have the liability coverage they are required to have, the commitment to a regulated fare, extensive background checks, vehicle inspections, etc. Taxi drivers from Sacramento, California, Denver, Colorado, and Paris, France have blocked streets demonstrating against what they feel is unfair competition.

Taxi operations are in a regulated industry – one where there is a compact between the regulated and the regulators. In return for charging the approved rates (and no more) at all times of the day and night, serving all calls, and providing good service, the regulated firm can expect to be protected from unfair competition. Permitting limo/sedan operations to use variable rates and operate with distance based fares and no minimum is unfair competition! No investor or taxi driver wants to operate at such a disadvantage.

The City of Houston would do well to take its time in reviewing the experiences of other communities. Deregulation of your taxi industry would be a disaster for not just the industry but its drivers and the people they serve. These new transportation offerings that are attempting to illegally enter the Houston market or to force radical changes to minimum standards can be put on hold for a while with no negative effects to the city. Preserving and building upon the on-demand taxi service levels and driver incomes will take time and resources of the city. Houston can join its fellow Texas cities of Austin and San Antonio and wait to see just how other communities adopt or not adopt these new transportation network apps.

Very sincerely yours,
Ray A. Mundy, Ph.D
Director, TTLF
tel. 314 -225-7039
fax. 314-516-7272
email: rmundy@ttlfconsulting.com
web: www.ttlfconsulting.com

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Articles on Tuesday’s Council UBER Hearing

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Cabbies-protest-at-city-hearing-on-ridesharing-5266036.php?cmpid=htx

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2014/02/25/city-of-houston-committee-takes-a-hard-look-at.html

http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1386612846-The-Future-Of-Paid-Transportation-Sparks-A-Spirited-Debate-At-Houston-City-Hall.html

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CONCLUSIONS: I had been asked by “Certain people” not to speak today. I was told the tide had turned and a majority of Council had a very bad taste in their mouth about UBER and Lyft.

No need for me to drive home points I had already made. Council would know what I was about to say before I said it anyway. Better to let some fresh new faces have a go.

I was absolutely amazed when I saw how enraged Council was at UBER and Lyft as they gave them the drubbing and ass-whipping they so desperately deserved. It was if 16 Joe Jordans were sitting in the Council member’s chairs. Bellissimo.

I am reminded of the lyrics of the 250 year old song, Anchors Away. “On our last night ashore, drink to the foe”. The next day the sailors and Marines would sail with the tide on the USS Constitution from Boston or Philadelphia and engage the mighty British Fleet. By the end of the day, many would die. So you drink to those you must kill before they kill you.

General Patton refined the sentiment by saying, “Make the other poor dumb sob die for his country”.

One can only imagine the response of UBER CEO Travis Kalanick in his wolfschanze bunker in San Francisco to the outcome of today’s joint Council committee hearing. Probably went something like this:

“Achtung! Ach du liebe. Der UBER blitzkreig im Houston ist kaput und verklempt. Unseren lobbyists bin alle sheiskopfs”. (Click google translate)

As glasses were raised and champagne flutes were pinged together across Houston Limo Land this evening, I warned operators, we have poisoned the well and gored the ox, but the UBER bear is hiding in its cave, licking its deep wounds and planning the next day’s attack. Now is not the time to relax or rest. We must push forward and attack even more viciously than ever before. Never give an opponent like UBER a break. A day without attacking them is a sign of weakness they will exploit to their advantage if you let them.

In my lifetime, I have seldom had a such a fun and enjoyable pastime as trashing UBER at every opportunity.

“May you live in interesting times” – Buddha

Joe L. Jordan, Editor
Limoinsider Report
14173 Northwest Freeway #166
Houston TX 77040

Phone:713 680-3181
Fax: 713 893-0208

1. Growth through acquisitions

Part of your long-term business strategy should be to grow through acquisitions as they present themselves to you. My company has done five acquisitions in the last six years, and it has allowed us to show significant growth without a serious outlay of capital. Acquisitions also allow you to collect valuable assets—not just personnel and vehicles, but those very important client contacts as well. Gasoline drives our vehicles, but a brand new, freshly minted client list from a recent acquisition is the real fuel that powers our success. Our most recent acquisition was a straight asset purchase which included the company’s customer list, website, and access to all its corporate business—a virtual goldmine.

2. Outside sales
Emails, phone calls, LinkedIn messages, and even Skype meetings all serve a purpose in our “not-enough-hours-in-the-day” busy business lives. But you should never ignore the power of that rare opportunity to shake a hand, pass a business card, or look someone straight in the eye without being filtered through a computer monitor. Join local ground transportation associations, be seen at limousine conventions, and make your presence felt at your local chamber of commerce. Build your brand by talking to people face-to-face. It’s something with which no fancy, high-tech, graphics-loaded website can ever compete.

3. Inbound affiliates
This just makes sense. If people are flying out of your city, then most assuredly they are also flying in, and you also want that business. Inbound affiliates are not to be taken lightly when you are putting together a business plan. In fact, they can be a major source of your revenue. For our company, six out of our top 10 clients are other limousine companies referring us their inbound work. More than $4 million of our annual revenue is a direct result of inbound affiliate sales. Do what you need to do to cultivate those important relationships, and do it right.

4. Outbound marketing
There are a number of key ways to reach potential clients, starting with good PR. Never think of yourself as being in the witness protection program: you want as many people to know about you as possible—in a positive light, of course. Send out press releases to local publications and trade and association magazines about the good you do in the community, charitable endeavors, new hires, acquisitions, bumps in your technology prowess, your green initiatives, etc. Send them your company newsletter, put them on your e-blast or e-bulletin list, drop them a postcard. If you are fortunate enough, utilize bylined articles and try to get your expertise on specific subjects printed in major trade publications that affect and impact your industry, such as Limo Digest. Then send the link to that published article far and wide. You can also utilize traditional outbound marketing avenues, such as print and online advertising, radio ads and direct mail pieces.

5. Inbound marketing
I firmly believe that inbound marketing today is what websites were 10 years ago. The sales process has changed dramatically over the past 30 years, when all it took to get in to see a client was a phone call and a briefcase. Or, if you were really lucky (and gutsy), you just knocked on their door unannounced. In the good old days that decision-maker would have been the president of the company’s executive assistant or the company’s travel manager. But in the era of company downsizing, a lot of travel decisions are being made in the procurement department. This means the person who now orders ground transportation has probably just gotten off the phone from ordering those plastic mats that go under office chairs.

So now you need them to come to you, which means you want to increase your Google presence and your social networking capabilities. Each month we do two blogs and one e-blast which are generated through our website and social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Then our sales team, each of whom belong to at least 50 social media groups (i.e. corporate travel planners, wedding planners, travel associations, etc.), send it to their contacts, and so on. Since we implemented inbound marketing, we have already seen the number of contacts who entered our company website through LinkedIn alone jump 35%. Finally, one of the most critical aspects of good inbound marketing can be summed up with two simple words—follow up. Companies like Hub Spot and Inbound Marketing Agents can be instrumental in helping you coordinate all aspects of your inbound marketing program.

“For the past year we have worked with John Greene at ETS to align their marketing and sales funnels into a lead-generation machine,” says, Bill Faeth, CEO of Inbound Marketing Agents. “But the key element is conversion, which requires targeted offers based on the leads buying cycle. You need to know your prospects and deliver the right information at the right time to get prospects to convert to customers.”

6. Customer service
I saved this for the very end because even if you hit a home run with the previous five suggestions, you are only going to wind up like “Casey at the Bat” if your primary focus isn’t on servicing the client. And I don’t mean just meeting their needs, exceeding their expectations. But keep in mind, those expectations will continue to grow. Travelers will continue to have high expectations as they search for better value. They’ll expect to be picked up by a well-trained and courteous chauffeur who shows up when and where he’s supposed to. He’ll know where he’s going, isn’t talking or texting on a cell phone during the trip, doesn’t have Van Halen blasting on the radio, and is quick to offer the customer a bottle of cold water and magazines that aren’t two and three years old (an astute observer once pointed out, “the back of a limousine shouldn’t look like a doctor’s office.”)

Chauffeurs constitute the direct link between your company and the client. They have to be friendly but not necessarily buddy-buddy. The client needs a knowledgeable, courteous, capable driver, not a new BFF. As someone once pointed out, “the biggest variable in terms of quality of experience is the chauffeur.”

So as you see, even without a GPS system to lead you to the financial promised land, there are ways—six in fact—to be successful in this tough, profit margin-thin industry. It’s a road that can be successfully navigated, even with all the obstacles seemingly looming ahead, if you use these six steps as outlined. And if you do, chances are that all those obstacles will soon be in your rear-view mirror, leaving a wide-open road ahead as you strive to build a successful ground transportation company. // LD

Contributed by John M. Greene