IATR 25th Anniversary Conference Recap- “App-solutely Fantastic”

This past November, the 25th year anniversary conference of the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR) was held in the corporate birthplace of Washington, D.C. There is no doubt that this conference was the best and most well attended conference ever held. The IATR welcomed regulators from the Middle East, Australia, Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia. Instead of our anniversary being a retrospective on how far we have come as an organization, it instead was very “app-ropos” that we focused entirely on the future – technology, advocacy, getting things done in a way never realized or expected by the group’s founding members.
To read the full article from the IATR president, please visit the IATR website at: http://www.iatr.org/PresidentUpdate-Jan2013.html

Daus Visits Europe – Warns of “Rogue” App Invasion: Delivers Keynote in Cologne, Germany to the International Road Transport Union

Matthew Daus delivered a keynote speech before the 5th International Taxi Forum held in Cologne, Germany on November 10, 2012. During his visit to Cologne he discovered a quaint and hospitable city, with small but efficient taxicabs – many of them being Mercedes. The local custom, as in several cities, is for passengers to sit in the front seat. While most taxicab drivers spoke only German, they were able to otherwise communicate with hand motions and sparse English, insisting every time on buckling-up their passenger’s seat belt. While almost all taxicabs he encountered did provide for a credit card option, some had primitive “knuckle buster” or handheld swipe models – and this cumbersome process could use a make-over. The taxicabs are allowed to operate in their very own taxicab lanes on the right side of the road and did not appear to share this privilege with other vehicles.

To read the full article, please visit the TLC Magazine at: http://www.tlc-mag.com/archive_issues/in_focus_dec12.html

Daus’ British Invasion – Undercover in the London Transport System: “Sky Fall!” Is London Cab Falling Down?!

The International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR) and its European regulators participated in our annual Taxi Research Network sponsored Taxi Expo in Amsterdam at the end of November 2012, where the topic of consistent conversation and presentations was the London cab system. Mr. Daus was invited to visit London by John Mason, the head of Transport for London’s taxi and for-hire licensing. In addition to meeting and interviewing private for-hire and black cab drivers, he also spent many hours with Mr. Mason and PCO staff, touring the inspection, administration and training offices, before visiting industry dispatch and radio facilities. The Law Commission is conducting a review of the licensing system for taxicabs across England and Wales, including London, and will be making recommendations for reform by the end of 2013, as well as producing draft legislation. Thought of in regulatory circles as the best cab system in the world, some clothes are being shed by this regulatory emperor as the system’s infrastructure and years of political issues, customs and resistance to change could lead to a disintegration of the system if not tended to appropriately. Believe it or not – London’s system may need some reforms to keep it on top of the heap.

To read the full article, please visit the TLC Magzine’s website at: http://www.tlc-mag.com/in_focus_jan13.html