"Airport shuttle to cut costs with independent drivers"

Friday, August 1, 2003

Airport shuttle to cut costs with independent drivers
SuperShuttle driver praises change
By Jonathan Osborne
THE AUSTIN (TX) AMERICAN-STATESMAN


The Austin City Council gave the franchise owner of SuperShuttle permission
Thursday to reorganize his business structure, saving the company from
financial doom.

The council's decision allows the private airport shuttle company to hire
drivers as independent contractors -- similar to how the taxicab industry
operates -- instead of as full-time employees.

Billy Carter, president and general manager of SuperShuttle of Austin, said
the council's decision would allow his drivers to set their own hours and
keep the company from having to pay salaries even when the vans are empty.

Passenger traffic at the airport for the first half of this year is down
almost 15 percent from two years ago.

"Our business is airport business," Carter said. "There's a lot of
downtime."

Because many of the drivers will own their own vans, the move also cuts down
on maintenance costs, he said.

"When a driver owns a van, he takes a lot better care of it," Carter said.

Carter, who started as a SuperShuttle driver 15 years ago in Dallas, said he
already had taken out a Small Business Admini- stration.

The shuttle service -- for which passengers must make reservations -- runs
24 vans to and from the airport.

Some representatives from the taxi industry expressed concern Thursday that
if SuperShuttle began using independent contractors, those drivers would cut
into the taxicab business by picking up fares who did not make reservations.

Doing so would violate the law and the company's contract with the city.
Carter assured the council that his drivers would comply with the rules.
Drivers, who now will be charged a fee plus a percentage of their revenue,
essentially are buying SuperShuttle's dispatch service, Carter said.

"There really is no value in them driving around, trying to pick someone
up," he said.

Council Member Raul Alvarez said he was still concerned that there are no
limits on the number of shuttles the company can operate, even though the
council placed what amounted to a moratorium on taxicabs earlier this
summer.

"This is a complicated issue," Alvarez said. "I do have some outstanding
questions."

Morris Poe, who oversees the city's taxicab and limousine franchise office,
said he would work with the council to address any concerns that may arise
over the 10-month duration of SuperShuttle's contract with the city.

In at least 18 other cities, SuperShuttle franchises have switched from
full-time employees to independent contractors successfully, Carter and
several drivers argued.

Samuel Williams, one of the drivers, said this way of doing business will
actually allow drivers to make more money and work other jobs.

Some, he said, now can purchase health insurance, something that was
difficult to afford before.

"It really looks good for us," Williams said. "It would enable me to afford
medical and dental."

 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dc/dcboard.php

*****************************************