New TLPA President, Victor Dizengoff, Focused on a Message of Recovery for the Industry, Promoting "The Three R's: Resilience, Recovery and Recreation."

TLPA President
Victor Dizengoff

Fast forward to today and the price of an individual medallion is selling for $585,000 and a corporate medallion (2) is selling for $1,550,000. The business has certainly changed. The business model for the industry has expanded to include other modes of for-hire ground transportation and the TLPA has changed from its original ITA to the ITLA to the current TLPA. Almost 26 years ago, I first opened Vital Transportation in New York. While business has changed and the business model has changed, the economy has changed as well. Even though the economy has slumped, the industry has remained solid and the price of the New York City medallion has increased and New York City franchised black cars have either remained the same or even increased in value depending on the company."

Victor then pledged his presidency to a central theme focused on the industry's recovery from an economic downturn. His theme calls members to remember the three R's, which stand for: Resilience, Recovery, and Recreation.

"Resilience is something our industry is currently showing and will continue to show by hanging in there and by hanging tough. Victor continued, "these are hard times, but TLPA members are tough business people who thrive on tough times because they bring out the best in us. Resilience is defined in Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus as-flexible, hardy, quick to recover, rolling with the punches and snapping back. All of these defining words and acts are the reason we are still here.

Recovery as defined in the same thesaurus speaks to just what lies ahead: getting back on our feet, making a comeback, pulling through, and forging ahead. All of the above are what keeps our entrepreneurial spirit alive. We are recovering and we will continue to recover.

I guess having been in this industry for the past fifty years I have been down this road before and lived through these circumstances before, in order to be able to see another and brighter day. There is no denying that this one is a tough one and that it will take us longer to recover than it has in the past, but that is what we are about-recovery.

That brings me to the final "R" which in this case stands for Recreation. Those of you who were fortunate enough to have been at the Spring Conference & Expo in New York this past March, witnessed first hand "Fun and games" courtesy of the New York operators. I don't know if I am going to be able to top it, but, I promise to give it my best shot to try and do just that," Victor promised.

A pioneer of New York City's transportation industry, Dizengoff helped start the first Black Car company in New York in 1976. The company was sold in 1983. In 1984, he opened Vital Transportation, Inc., which he sold to the drivers as a cooperative in 1990.

After spending some time in Chicago opening that city's first Black Car company, King Cars, he returned to New York in 1991, taking over ownership of Black Car News. Before transferring it's ownership, Victor built the monthly publication into one of the most respected newspapers in the industry.

Victor currently serves as Executive Director of New York's Black Car Assistance Corporation and also The Black Car Fund.

The Taxicab, Limousine, & Paratransit Association established in 1917, is an international organization representing owners and managers of taxicab, limousine, sedan, airport shuttle, paratransit, and non-emergency medical fleets. TLPA consists of more than 1,000 member companies operating more than 100,000 passenger vehicles, which transport over 2 million passengers each day, more than 900 million passengers annually. This for-hire vehicle industry is vital to a community's commerce and mobility, aiding in the relief of traffic congestion while promoting environmental improvements. The specialized paratransit services furnish more than half of the transportation needs of the physically challenged, while other facets of the industry provide feeder services to major transit stations and airports. The elderly and economically disadvantaged rely on the industry for fast, affordable transportation.