Hello Everyone:

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH:

It’s time for all of us to get together and stop Avis once and for all otherwise we can all say goodbye. Art Basel is currently in full swing in Miami Beach and every year 85% of our fleet is booked. This year our numbers are way down. Miami Beach has multiple unlicensed vehicles doing chauffeur transportation. The vehicles are not permitted to do for hire work. The drivers do not need any drivers certifications. They go in and out of the airport without any AVIs (transponders). There are other noncompliance issues but I only mentioned 3. Two weeks ago I forwarded an ad from Avis WeDriveU to Allan Shanedling and Jonna Sabroff, the President and VP of the California Limousine Association. Avis was asking for drivers in LA because they had an event in LA and needed additional drivers. My good friend Joe Jordon, President of the Houston Limousine Association also keeps me posted on current Avis issues. The Florida Limousine Association has met with county regulators but somehow Avis is still operating. My company and my colleagues are loosing our drivers to Avis. The county will not license certain drivers and as a result they now driver for Avis. What does that tell you. As President of the Florida Ground Transportation Association, I can assure you that we in the State of Florida will take action. Please keep me posted on what you all want to do and I will certainly keep you posted on what we will do. Remember the old saying “strength in unity”.

Carla Boroday
Associated Limousine Services
Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beach Florida
Telephone: 954-771-5466
Fax: 954-492-5556
cboroday@associatedlimo.com

Subject: Avis WeDriveU Targets 28 cities for takeover from Limo companies

A scourge of illegal limousine activity is sweeping the nation. AVIS rent a Car system has what they think
is a loophole in the laws and is renting luxury sedans and then “Renting” on the same contract a driver through a shill company whose only client is Avis. Avis is doing this with criminal intent to knowingly and willfully evade and violate Federal, State and Local laws and ordinances that govern for-hire vehicle activity. In most jurisdictions, transporting the public for hire requires a taxicab or limousine permit for the company, the vehicle and the driver. Avis has met none of those requirements. Avis is a large and wealthy multinational corporation. They could easily form licensed limousine services anywhere they wanted to and get the necessary permits, CDL drivers and commercial livery insurance. Avis, however, is not interested in playing by the rules. In fact they own 45% of Carey International Limos and had an option to increase that stake to 85%, but they declined it when they saw how it easy it was to operate limo services illegally. They are more interested in coming in like a thief in the night, seeing what all they can get away with before they get caught. They are reprobates and lawbreakers in the same category as drug dealers, identity thieves and child pornographers. They are the largest gypsy limo operation in America today. I wonder if someone has bothered to enlighten Avis stockholders as to the extent of Avis’ willful violation of laws and ordinances across the nation? Contrary to what they claim, the vast majority of Avis WeDriveU drivers do not have CDL’s, are not fingerprinted, FBI checked or drug tested. When WeDriveU needs extra drivers on short notice, they simply post it on Craigslist and hire whoever walks in. If you go to Avis’ own website and enter WeDriveU, you will see that they have targeted 28 cities for takeover from legitimate limousine and black car services. They are so brazen as to even put pictures of black towncars and chauffeurs with caps on their website. As has happened many times in the past, one industry attempts to take over another, comes in with low predatory pricing and then once they have put all the other players out of business, they jack up their rates. Avis is in the same boat with Worldcom, Enron and Lehman Brothers, breaking all the rules and thumbing their nose at the law. It is incumbent on all legitimate transportation providers to stringently oppose the Avis WeDriveU system whenever they appear in your area and make local regulators aware of all the rules and laws they are breaking. Schoolyard bullies will continue to run amok until someone stands up to them. That person needs to be you and the time is now.

Don’t you think that maybe the people running this two rather big companies might have some clue what they are doing? WeDriveU has been around for almost 20 years and Avis has a pretty decent reputation in the rental car industry.

If you happened to notice they don’t offer the service in New Jersey so any info you might have on that states laws really don’t mean a whole lot in this situation. Rental cars companies can prohibit their car from leaving the state in their contract. Therefore if the service is in anyway illegal in Jersey then I’m sure they would just not allow cars from N.Y. to cross into Jersey.

I doubt it’s an issue because the types of people who would use this service most likely have little use for Jersey.

And I’m not really sure if you have a reading problem of just a comprehension problem, but the DRIVER is “For Hire” the CAR is “For Rent”. If someone opts to use this service they are billed by Avis for the Car and then WeDriveU for the Driver.

If this is somehow illegal than paying your buddy ten bucks to drive your car to the airport and pick you up is also illegal.

When it comes to insurance WeDriveU Drivers are all covered by something like 2 million dollars worth of insurance…. So I think that settles that whole issue.

It’s a little arrogant to think you know so much more than these people that clearly put some money into R&D on this Idea. Companies like these don’t open a program in 10 huge markets across the U.S. without putting at least a little thought into the idea.

It is irresponsible to come on a website designed for sharing information without knowing what you are saying is the truth.

I have used this service and it was amazing. I had a day full of meetings and the first one was only 45 minutes after my flight landed. My Driver was waiting at the curb standing next to my Car with the trunk open. He asked if he could take my bags and then opened the door for me. I told him he could relax a bit and he said he was totally relaxed he was just making sure that everything was perfect for my trip.

On the way out of the airport he knew about construction on the main highway and asked if I minded taking service streets into downtown. After about twenty minutes asked if I minded being early. I responded no and he put the car in park, got out, and opened my door. He got me from the airport to the meeting in less than twenty minutes I had time to get a coffee, go to the bathroom, and I was still the first one in the boardroom.

He drove me for the rest of the day and was perfect. We chatted baseball and he told me some great stories about the city but he only spoke when spoken to. It was great. Way better than a cab. Faster, easier, better smelling, nicer, classier, more fun, and not a whole lot more expensive when you think about the fact that I took 13 trips around the city in 6 hours and paid about $180 buck. the airport ride alone would have cost me $35 and I never would have made it to the meeting in time. If the other 12 rides would have had fares of even ten bucks apiece the cost would be very similar. As is a never had to look for ride. I called my driver as I walked out of each meeting and he was sitting in front of the door by the time I got off the elevators. I was in busy downtown and parking is nowhere, I never could have driven myself. He did a great job providing this service.

The next day was my free day and I had planned to spend it at the hotel doing some work. Two college buddies called and asked if I wanted to go out to watch a football game and then hit a couple bars. As I agreed the Idea hit me. Rather than taking a cab out to the game and then to the bars I could have my driver drive me. I have one DUI and another could easily ruin my career.

I called WeDriveU and even though they only guarantee a driver on 24 hours notice they said they would see what they could do and I had a call back within ten minutes saying a driver would be waiting in the lobby by 1PM. Pretty quick considering is was 10:45 and I wasn’t scheduled to have a driver that day. My driver called me at 12:50 saying that he was in the lobby and I should take my time but just know he was there and ready.

I drank about a barrel of beer with my buddies that night. We traveled a total of 230 miles and we were hammered for the majority of the rides. I think the 45 mile ride out to the game was the only time I could have driven.

The service was great. But the feeling of freedom was even better.

By opening your mouth on a subject you don’t know about you risk keeping others from something they might be able to use. Don’t hurt others by opening you mouth without thinking first, it’s bad for the whole world.

I can see some creative use of the product by consumers… Renting your car at a off-airport (city) location of Avis (to save airport charges, which can be considerable), having your driver pick you up curbside at the airport, drive your jet-lagged self to your hotel, take care of parking the thing in the hotel’s lot, then hand off the keys to the concierge. You’ve saved time taking shuttle busses to the airport’s rental car center. The car is there when you need it, and you’ve paid only $90 (less the savings from getting the car off-airport) for a hassle-free beginning to a trip.