“The world of transportation is changing dramatically and we really wanted to be open to all types of transportation providers,” Jeb says, “so we changed [the name] to Transportation Alliance about four or five years ago. It dates back about 105 years. To my knowledge, it’s the nation’s oldest for-hire trade association.”
According to Jeb, companies are “changing their mindset to be more of a strong partner with transportation providers, really trying to help them grow their business … Companies are realizing it, associations are realizing it, brokers are realizing it. It’s better to work on this stuff with each other and partners moving forward, than having everybody doing it in their own silo.”
“The time is right for all parties to communicate a lot more and work together,” he says.
How the Association Helps
What’s one way the Association helps small businesses? “When we first started [41 years ago],” says Jeb, “we had no idea what we were doing and we’d never been in transportation before. We were a two- to three-car company. We joined what is now the Transportation Alliance, and that allows you to network with transportation operators all over the country, if not all over the world. We have members in Canada, Australia, and Europe. You can get a global understanding of transportation as well as a very local understanding here in the U.S.”
Every month, “we’ve got advisory boards going on and there’s one focused on NEMT. So once a month, our Non-emergency Medical Transportation Advisory Council meets through a Zoom call, and they talk about the state of the industry for NEMT. We talk about what’s happening at the federal level.”
Which loops back to Modivcare. “A lot of work that Modivcare does ties back to federal funding with Medicaid and Medicare,” Jeb says. “And there’s a lot of federal legislation that’s going to happen in the future that everybody needs to be aligned with. The Transportation Alliance has a huge interest in it and individual companies have a huge interest in it. So as we all work together towards a common goal, the more likely we are to make some ground there.”
In 2023...
What are the Transportation Alliance’s goals for next year?
“One of the things I would like to do in 2023, as we go through this transition with our Transportation Alliance,” he says, “is really offer more value to members. So we look at programs, fuel card systems, dispatching systems—all the services and products our industry uses. And we’re trying to gear up some dedicated, exclusive discounts with those types of products and services so that, again, you gain more value for being a member.”
Which means you get the value of information and, potentially, discounts. “Because we’ve got a network of companies all over the country and the world that are communicating with advisory boards on a monthly basis—our members can take part in those advisory committees—it sets us up for sharing more information. And information is probably one of the most valuable assets there is; sharing it can help save people a lot of time and effort, and we’re also going to give you more value as far as the products that an individual company may use.”
“Again, the whole transportation industry is rapidly changing and we all have very similar goals. I think the ones that really get it—Modivcare, the Transportation Alliance, the individual transportation partners that are working with all these groups—we should all keep working together to improve the industry. I’ve seen lots of industries where you’ve got small groups and they’re all trying to accomplish the same thing, but they’re not really aware of it. I think you’re fighting yourself there.”
Sponsorships
Are there sponsorship programs in the TTA?
“Oh yes,” says Jeb. “You become a member, and we have all kinds of marketing material that you can put your logo on and sponsor. We have our annual conventions. You can set up a booth at them and exhibit.”
How much is it to join the Alliance? “Depends on what kind of membership value you want and the quantity of cars. For smaller fleets, the cost is relatively small and then it builds up depending on the size of your fleet.”
And there are other practical reasons why people speak up on the Council, besides talking about their current issues. “Somebody might ask ‘Hey, does anybody have a good lead on good tires?’ or something like that. So you’re sharing information right off the bat that can help you immediately. And then we’re discussing huge problems that need to be solved, again, on a national level. I think there’s probably at least two, if not three times in 2022 that we were speaking directly to congressmen and women about our industry. And we do a fly-in in D.C. in the spring, so people can join that.”
The Ultimate Goal
“The Transportation Alliance wants to build strong partnerships with good companies,” Jeb says, “whether they’re brokers and transportation providers or software vendors or whatever it may be. That’s what moves the industry forward.”
Building and moving forward; sounds like a worthwhile agenda—and a great reason to get involved. What do you think?
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