RSSLimo News | San Francisco Travel Blog - Part 6
Limousine Service Suspends Wedding Limo Service to Avoid Serving Same-Sex Couples
A limousine company in Annapolis, Maryland has stopped offering wedding limousine service altogether to avoid serving same-sex couples. Discover Annapolis Tours recently announced that they would discontinue this part of their business as of Jan. 1, 2013, when Maryland’s same-sex marriage law goes into effect. Matt Grubbs, owner of Discover Annapolis Tours, told reporters that he decided to stop offering wedding limousine services and would forego the $50,000 expected revenue from renting wedding limos. He told reporters that he preferred to stop renting wedding limos altogether instead of “compromising his Christian convictions when same-sex marriages become legal in Maryland in less than a week.”
From a legal standpoint, Grubbs is asking for larger problems than simply lost revenue. Limousine services in other markets that have refused wedding limo service to same-sex couples have been the targets of discrimination lawsuits and have lost. However, some legal experts say that Grubbs’ company will be somewhat shielded from discrimination suits, as they are avoiding providing limo services to all weddings.
Same-sex marriage is not yet legal in California, but it is very likely to become legal in the near future. Whether that day comes sooner or later, it won’t change our policy on providing San Francisco wedding limousines to happy couples. It is and always has been our great honor to help all couples celebrate this important milestone in their lives. Mr. Grubbs can elect to offer – or not offer – limousine services to weddings and other types of gatherings as he so chooses. It’s his company and his prerogative. However, we think that he will find that this decision will cost him a great deal more than $50,000 in lost revenue every year. After all, money is a pretty poor unit of measure for most things, particularly most of the things that have real value in life.
If you’re planning an upcoming wedding and you would like to reserve one or more of our San Francisco wedding limousines, party buses, classic cars, luxury coaches or other luxury vehicles, call us today at 800-339-8936. We offer the Bay Area’s best selection of luxury vehicles at the best rates and also offer special money-saving wedding packages! For more information about our wedding limo rental options, rates, availability and all other questions, please give us a call at NLS Limo today, and let one of our reservation specialists make this part of your wedding planning fast and simple!
State Regulators Issue Fines for Ride-Sharing Services in San Francisco
We have written extensively about legal and regulatory problems for Uber, a smartphone application that helps people arrange San Francisco limousine and taxicab rides, but they and other services that arrange ride-sharing are facing new troubles with state regulators. One ride-sharing service called Sidecar, along with new a new arrival called Lyft, have received $20,000 fines from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the agency that regulates all for-hire ground transportation services in our state.
Not surprisingly, the founders of the ride-share services are crying foul about the fines, saying that they are facilitating a valuable service for their clients and the Bay Area.
"This is about community members who have extra seats in their car, sharing those with people who need a ride," Lyft co-founder John Zimmer said. "It helps drivers cut the cost of owning an automobile."
Lyft and Sidecar help car owners earn a bit of money by arranging rides for people who need them. However, state regulators see this for-hire arrangement in a different way entirely.
"We regard these operators as essentially the same as limousine companies, drivers for hire," California Public Utilities Commission Counsel General Frank Lindh said. "We do believe they’re operating outside the law right now; they don’t have proper insurance, their drivers are not properly screened and so we do have concerns about public safety of these operations."
Admittedly, we have a biased opinion on this topic, but we agree with Mr. Lindh on this. Under state regulations, our Bay Area limousine service is a for-hire passenger carrier, and we must adhere to strict regulations about insurance coverage, proper licensing of our luxury vehicles and chauffeurs, safety equipment, regular maintenance for our vehicles and other rules. These are all in place to protect our guests, and, if you have rented a San Francisco limo, party bus or other luxury vehicle from us in the past, you know that we place the safety of our guests above all other considerations. If one of these ride-sharing vehicles is involved in an accident, the person receiving the ride could be put in a very difficult position.
We understand that someone needing a ride to the grocery store or doctor’s office doesn’t need one of our San Francisco limo rentals. However, as a locally owned and operated company and longtime residents of the Bay Area, we are very concerned about how ride-sharing services could have unintended consequences for riders. If you need a ride, call a friend, a cab or call us at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936 to rent one of our vehicles for as long as you need it. When you do business with a CPUC-compliant business like ours, you’re purchasing a lot more than just a limo ride.
Concertgoers Stranded When Party Bus Fails to Appear After Concert
A party bus is perhaps the ultimate vehicle for concert transportation. With plenty of room, wet bars, mood lighting, stripper poles and many other amenities, there is no better way to get to and from a concert with friends and family. At least that’s what 38 Californians thought when they rented a party bus for a recent Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias concert at the Staples Center. They reserved The Super Sexy Party Bus from a local party bus provider to transport them from Thousand Oaks to downtown Los Angeles and home again so they could all concentrate on having a good time.
"They had what looked like the best party bus on the market," said passenger Bruce Barrios. "It looked like a night club on wheels."
"It had four great neon light-up stripper poles and a disco ball," said passenger Suzie Hayden.
The evening of fun, music and merriment got off to an inauspicious beginning, however, when the party bus arrived two hours late. Making matters worse, the air conditioning on the party bus was not working, and it wasn’t long before the guests were quite uncomfortable in the sweltering heat.
"I thought I was going to die," said passenger Marco Jimenez.
The lateness of the arrival of their party bus also caused the guests to miss a big chunk of the concert, which was already well underway when they arrived at the Staples Center. After the concert, the guests were outraged when they gathered at the predetermined pickup point only to find that their party bus was gone, along with the belongings they had left on board. Their calls to the party bus provider went unanswered, and the group ended up having to take cabs to get back home.
The guests complained to the Public Utilities Commission, which oversees all for-hire ground transportation companies in California and learned that, while the bus and the limousine service that owns the party bus are in compliance with CPUC regulations, the limo service has an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau. That’s not very sexy.
If you’re looking for an ethical, affordable and professional San Francisco party bus provider that is also in full compliance with CPUC regulations but takes much better care of its guests, call us at NLS Limo today at 800-339-8936. We have become the Bay Area’s premier limousine and party bus provider by providing super-clean and comfortable luxury vehicles for our guests at the best rates in the area. Add in our superb customer service, and you and your guests are guaranteed to have a wonderful time! Our party buses are perfect for concerts, sporting events, pub crawls, birthday parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties and many other special occasions. Call us today!
Centenarian Celebrates Birthday on Party Bus With 26 Friends
Harriet Bump of Eldridge, Iowa, celebrated a very special milestone recently and did so in grand style. Twenty-six of her closest friends celebrated her 100th birthday by renting a party bus for a tour of holiday lights and a stop at a local ice cream parlor and confectionary. The resident of Grand Haven Retirement Village did not know about the special excursion or its destination until friends told her to dress extra warmly for her birthday party. When the appointed time arrived, she was escorted out to her waiting party bus for an hour-long tour of the Quad Cities, which straddles the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois.
When the tour was complete, she and her friends enjoyed ice cream treats at Lagomarcino’s, a local ice cream parlor and confectionary that has been owned and operated by the Lagomarcino family since 1908. When they arrived, the birthday girl and her guests were greeted by “Happy 100th Harriet” on the parlor’s marquee. Harriet wasted no time on deciding what type of ice cream treat she would enjoy on this momentous occasion.
“I know just what I want,” she said. “I want a strawberry sundae!”
“She didn’t say it, she exclaimed it,” says Tom Lagomarcino, one of the owners.
After ordering her sundae and settling into one of the parlor’s wooden booths, she sat with a wide smile on her face while the staff and her friends sang “Happy Birthday.”
Self-effacing and modest even on this extraordinary occasion, Harriet coyly mentioned that she wasn’t sure what all the hoopla was all about.
“Such a fuss,” she said. “I’m only 100.”
Birthdays are some of the most popular reasons why our guests rent our San Francisco party buses, which can comfortably and affordably accommodate groups of 26 family and friends and many more! If you know someone who is celebrating an important milestone and you would like to make it extra special, rent a Bay Area party bus from us, and let us take care of all the details! They are roomy, comfortable, loaded with luxury amenities and more affordable than you may think! For more information about rates, availability and the wide range of different party bus options available, call us today at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936. Cheers, Harriet!
Mercedes Announces Self-Driving Limousine
The next version of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class limousine will offer a most unusual feature, according to a recent press release from the luxury automaker. The new S-Class limo will reportedly have a self-driving feature that will allow the chauffeur to put the vehicle on a kind of autopilot, using a network of 26 cameras, radars and sensors to maintain speed, direction, distance from other vehicles and other controls. However, Mercedes was quick to point out that the self-driving feature will not be able to operate the vehicle safely without being monitored by an actual driver. Like the autopilots used on aircraft, the driver will still have to observe and control the safe operation of the limo, but the self-driving feature will help to reduce driver fatigue and help avoid collisions.
Mercedes says that limousines equipped with Distronic Plus, the radar-based cruise control system, will not be available until late 2013, and prices will begin around $200,000. The system works by matching the speed and movements of a lead vehicle and maintaining a predetermined distance between the limo and the lead vehicle. While the system can take control of the steering, the driver will need to keep his hands on the wheel at all times. A torque sensor located in the steering column monitors pressure on the steering wheel, and, if it is unable to detect the pressure of at least one hand on the wheel, an array of buzzers and lights on the dashboard will alert the driver and disable the steering function of the system.
Mercedes claims that the Distronic Plus system will help “relieve motorists when driving is more of a burden than a pleasure – on the monotonous daily commute, for example, or in stop-and-go traffic”. Calling the system a “gradual introduction to autonomous driving,” Mercedes says that it is merely the first stage of a long developmental process to the driverless cars seen in science fiction movies and the next generation of accident-avoidance systems.
The system includes several important safety features, including vehicle and obstacle avoidance and a pedestrian detection system that Mercedes claims can completely prevent vehicle-pedestrian collisions at speeds up to 30 mph.
There may come a day when truly driverless cars are safe, reliable and a common sight on Bay Area roadways, but there will never be a day when we offer chauffeur-less San Francisco limousines to our guests. Without a nicely dressed, polite and professional chauffeur to greet our guests warmly, open their doors, answer their questions and transport them safely, a big part of the San Francisco limo experience would be missing. We are always on the lookout for new ways to enhance our guests’ limousine experiences, but we’re certain that automation is not the way to go. So, if you’re thinking about renting a San Francisco limo, party van or other luxury vehicle for a special event, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936. No extra charge for the chauffeur. We promise!
Thief Hires Limousine for Getaway Vehicle
A New Hampshire man was recently indicted on charges of burglary and grand larceny after he allegedly stole cash from the motel where he was living and hired a limousine as a getaway car. The 27-year-old Concord, N.H. man was apprehended in a nearby town after allegedly taking a lockbox containing between $2,000 and $3,000 from the office of the Shore Lodge in Onley on Oct. 7. Arresting officers also found that he was in possession of a six-pack of Corona beer with one of the bottles mostly empty. The allegedly stolen cash was stuffed in the six-pack carton along with the remaining bottles of beer.
The Onley Police Department was alerted after the motel manager discovered that someone had broken into the office and taken the lockbox. The manager and motel employees told police that they thought the suspect’s room would be a good place to begin their investigation. When police entered the suspect’s motel room, they found the empty lockbox but few other clues as to where he might have fled with the money. Later that evening, police received a tip that the suspect had been seen near a local convenience store. Shortly thereafter, they received another call saying that the suspect had been seen getting into a white limousine that stopped briefly at the convenience store before heading south on U.S. Route 13.
Olney police alerted other police departments along the suspect’s likely escape route. The limo was stopped, and the suspect apprehended in a short period of time. The suspect tried to use an alias during his arrest but provided his real name during the arrest interview. Police found that the suspect has quite a criminal record, including convictions for being a habitual offender, credit card fraud, a protective order violation, reckless conduct, driving after license revocation, unauthorized use of rented property, resisting arrest, breach of bail and other charges.
This thief may be a thoroughly unsavory character and a criminal, but he does have a sense of style. If you and your family and friends are planning an adventure and need a Bay Area limousine for your own limo getaway vehicle, we can definitely help, provided you’re getting away from everyday responsibilities and your sense of style does not include larceny, of course! All of our San Francisco limousines, party buses and other luxury vehicles are available at very affordable rates and can be stocked with your choice of beer and other refreshing beverages. If you’re thinking about making your own getaway with a group of friends or perhaps an intimate group of two, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936.
Dutch Company Announces Submersible Limousine for Ultra-Wealthy Clientele
Because it is our mission to bring our readers all sorts of limousine news from the sublime to the ridiculous, we thought we’d share this limo news item out of the Netherlands. A Dutch company called U-Boat Worx, which manufactures custom submarines, has announced that they have created the world’s first “subsea limousine,” the C-Explorer 5. This underwater limo was unveiled at the Monaco Yacht Show this past September and seats up to four guests, including the chauffeur.
Aimed squarely at customers at the higher end of the income bracket, the C-Explorer 5 retails for around $2.4 million and is designed for intrepid owners who want to explore depths down to 1,000 feet below sea level. It is capable of reaching speeds up to 3 knots, or 3.5 miles per hour and is equipped with high-capacity lithium-ion batteries that can power the limo up to eight hours. This limousine closely resembles the remotely operated vessels (ROVs) that researchers use to explore the ocean’s depths but on a larger scale. A pressurized steel and acrylic sphere protects the occupants, and the sphere is framed by a steel cage and outboard pontoon-like structures, which house the thrusters and stabilizers.
If the occupants happen to get a bit more adventurous than they planned, the vessel is capable of supporting the crew for up to 96 hours or even longer with the optional 16-hour batteries. The chauffeur controls the underwater limo through dual-2kWh thrusters and optional dual-1.2kWh thrusters for controlling side-to-side movement. Moving inside, the amenities are more practical than luxurious by necessity. The CE5 features LED lighting, air conditioning, bucket seats and underwater instrumentation. However, the CE5 does offer some cool amenities not found on most limousines: there is a smaller tethered ROV for exploring tighter spaces, an external arm, a high-definition camcorder and sonar equipment.
There is no doubt that this limousine is one of the coolest limos that we have seen, but it isn’t very practical. After all, where is the wet bar, moon roof, flat-screen TV, audio system, privacy screen and other luxurious amenities found in all of our San Francisco limousines? While this limo may be great for a specific kind of sightseeing, and a spectacular one at that, it would have limited range and appeal for most of our guests. If you want a San Francisco limo, party bus or other type of luxury transportation for an upcoming wedding, concert or other special occasion held above sea level, call us at NLS Limo today at 800-339-8936. Our Bay Area limousines might not be able to take you and your guests on an underwater adventure, but we’d be glad to transport you to the Aquarium of the Bay, Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences, Monterey Bay Aquarium or any other destination you’d like!
D.C. Commission Reduces Cost of Limousine Permits for Obama Inauguration
After receiving sharp criticism from area limousine services with reservations for the upcoming Obama inauguration, the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission has backed down from plans to require out-of-town limos to obtain a $500 permit. The commission lowered the permit price to a much more affordable $150 recently after the price hike outraged limo companies that had already signed contracts with clients that included the $125 limo permit required for the last inauguration. The limousine services only learned of the price hike in mid-November, well after many clients had made reservations. They howled that the commission was implementing the price hike much too late to plan accordingly and that passing along the additional $350 to clients would outrage their clients.
"I’m speechless," said the manager of one limo service in suburban Washington. "That’s over the top. That’s stiff. That’s very stiff."
"I’m not shocked by anything that they will do," said the owner of another limousine service. "They… have no idea what they are doing."
The commission says that the $150 limo permit will be in effect for a four-day period around the January 21 inauguration, a much smaller time frame than the 30 to 45 days the $500 permit allowed. Limo companies claimed that the additional time did them or their clients little good since the inauguration only occurs on one day. As you might guess, a presidential inauguration is a very big event for limousine companies. Around 10,000 limos and other for-hire vehicles obtained permits from the commission for the last inauguration, netting the district around $1.2 million in revenue.
Commission spokesman Neville Waters told reporters that the commission reconsidered the price hike after receiving "input from the marketplace," calling their change in policy “a dynamic process.”
Since we own and operate our own limousine service here in the Bay Area, we can only assume that the dynamics to which Mr. Waters refers involved unpleasant phone calls from limo companies and tersely worded correspondence from their attorneys. The price hike that the commission tried to implement was not only ill-timed; it was also very ill-advised and would have been very damaging to these businesses if it had not been rescinded. They would have had to choose between absorbing the $350 cost or passing it along to their clients, neither of which is an attractive option.
If you’re looking for attractive San Francisco limousine options for an upcoming special event, you have definitely come to the right place! We simply offer the best Bay Area limo experience for the best rates in the area and go above and beyond to ensure that each of our guests has a wonderful time. If you need a San Francisco limousine, party bus, SUV limo or other luxury transportation for a special occasion, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936 today to receive the presidential treatment!
Ford Plans Fiery Makeover of Lincoln Brand
Sales of Ford Motor Company’s luxury Lincoln brand have declined 63 percent since sales peaked in 1990. The Lincoln Town Car, the brand’s flagship sedan and a staple of airport and business transportation for many years, has been crowded out by competition from Lexus, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other luxury automakers. Tired of losing sales and market share, Lincoln’s brand managers are about to unveil a new marketing campaign that involves a most unusual angle – setting a Lincoln Town Car on fire. The new campaign is slated to begin in late December with a television commercial that opens with a Town Car being engulfed in flames and the new MKZ sedan emerging from the flames.
You don’t have to be a film director to see the symbolism at work here. Lincoln’s marketing department is looking to distance the sleek new MKZ and MKX models from the past, and they are doing so in unmistakable fashion. An earlier version of the ad involving a voiceover by Leonardo DiCaprio with him at the wheel of a MKZ was greeted enthusiastically by Ford staffers but flatly rejected by Lincoln chief Jim Farley.
“It’s not going to break through,” Farley said. “Find me something that’s going to break through. The tricky part is getting noticed. You don’t have much time because you haven’t earned the right to be in people’s minds.”
Sales demographics indicated that over one in three Lincoln owners is 65 years of age or older. Farley and his staff are clearly going after younger buyers in the highly desirable 40- to 60-year-old age group. Lincoln also plans to air their first Super Bowl ad next year, as well as other ads including an actor posing as Abraham Lincoln, footage of Dean Martin and Clark Gable leaning against the fenders of an MKZ and other commercials to increase brand awareness and attract new buyers.
From our perspective, this is great news. While we love the Lincoln Town Cars in our fleet of luxury vehicles, particularly for our San Francisco airport transportation and business clients, we are excited to see what Lincoln’s designers and brand managers have up their sleeves for the new models. Like all of our other luxury vehicles, our Lincolns are immaculately clean, roomy, comfortable and very affordable. So, the next time you need clean, comfortable San Francisco airport transportation, business transportation or any of our Bay Area limousine rentals, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936.
Makers of Taxi and Limousine Application Uber Sued in San Francisco
It looks like Uber’s legal troubles are continuing, this time in San Francisco. The maker of the smartphone application intended to help passengers find taxicabs and limousines in large U.S. cities is the target of a new lawsuit filed on behalf of San Francisco taxi drivers. You may recall that we have posted blogs in recent months about similar lawsuits filed against the request-a-ride service in New York City and Chicago. The suits claim that the application creates an unfair competitive environment by steering customers toward companies that don’t adhere to state and local regulations that govern taxi and limousine services.
Attorney Gary Oswald recently filed the suit in a San Francisco court and issued a press release in which he had less than flattering things to say about the smartphone app.
“Uber is brazenly violating this statutory scheme without even bothering to offer a pretext for their overtly illegal actions just as they have in New York City, Chicago and elsewhere,” Mr. Oswald said in the release. “By ignoring the law, Uber is putting at risk the livelihoods of hardworking men and women who drive safely and follow the rules.”
Mr. Oswald claims that Uber attempts to cover up its true nature in order to avoid all regulations governing limousine and taxicab companies and that these illegal acts also interfere with chauffeurs’ and taxi drivers’ relationships with their clients. He also claims that Uber uses illegal metering devices and charges unauthorized rates for its services. He closes the press release with a strong statement that suggests that Uber forces chauffeurs and taxi drivers to break the law, saying that “by written contraction between Uber and its ‘partnered’ Black Car drivers, such drivers are required to operate in violation of the San Francisco code.”
As we’ve stated before, we don’t mind competition, it inspires us to continue striving to offer the best San Francisco limousine experience for our guests for the best rates. However, we don’t care for any measures, digital or otherwise, that compel Bay Area limo services, chauffeurs, taxi drivers or anyone else to operate outside rules and regulations put in place to protect the safety of all Californians. Bay Area residents who want to reserve one of our limousines or other luxury vehicles can use their smartphones, but they don’t need to download an application to make it easier. They can simply give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936 to speak with one of our reservation specialists!
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