Presents..

2. Presents..

3. The Miami Dade County Consumer Services Department Passenger Transportation Regulatory Division Enforcement Presentation

4. The Passenger Transportation Regulatory Division (PTRD) is located within the Miami Dade Consumer Services Department. PTRD’S Enforcement unit consists of 24 Officers covering more than 2000 square miles of Miami Dade County. The function of PTRD is to regulate for-hire transportation within Miami Dade County. Several industries are regulated such as.. • Taxicab • Limousine • Passenger Motor Carrier • Jitney • School Bus • Non-Emergency • Ambulance • Special Transportation Services

5. Miami Dade is a very dynamic and diversified Municipality, where there is fierce competition in the for-hire transportation industry. An underground unlicensed transportation system exists due to the competition between transportation providers. One of the missions of PTRD is to protect the licensed companies from the unfair competition of the unlicensed providers. Another important aspect is to protect the consumer themselves from the unlicensed drivers or companies.

6. One of the ways of dealing with the unlicensed drivers and companies is to set up undercover operations to catch them in the act of providing transportation. Compensation is the key to prosecuting the violators, and it plays a vital role in the operations. The PTRD Undercover operations are an integral part of our overall commitment to service and to protect the for-hire industry and visitors who come to Miami Dade County. The next preceding slides will show the process from beginning to end on how Undercover Operations are done…

7. Passenger Transportation Regulatory Division UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS

8. Undercover Operations usually start with a complaint originating from various sources such as telephone contacts from transportation providers and the general public, thru surveillance done in the field by Enforcement Officers,

9. contacts in the field with for-hire transportation providers, or thru sources of illegal advertisements that are found by Enforcement Officers.

10. Additional field surveillance is required to verify the complaint and to gather the necessary intelligence to formulate undercover plans. Various items such as dates, times, locations, building layouts and shopper profiles are then factored into the plans.

11. On a pre-arranged date and time, the Enforcement Officers meet with the Police Officer for a briefing on the projected plans. An undercover Enforcement Officer posing as an shopper is also briefed, and then is transported to the target location.

12. The shopper attempts to arrange the transportation with the target thru either pre-arranged reservations, personal contact, or thru secondary contact as with a hotel employee making the call instead of the shopper.

13. If all goes as planned, the shopper is picked up and is transported to a pre-determined drop off location where the Police and an Enforcement Officer are waiting out of sight. The shopper is then followed by another Officer to the drop off location for safety reasons and to relay vehicle traveling information.

14. Upon arrival at the location, the shopper then pays the driver the agreed fare “compensation” needed to complete the transaction. The amount of the compensation is then relayed to the Enforcement Officer who then instructs the Police to initiate a traffic stop of the alleged violator.

15. After it has been determined that the vehicle is unlicensed operating Miami Dade County, the alleged violator is fully briefed on what violations have occurred and what will happen to his vehicle. A civil citation is then issued to the driver for $1000.00 for operating without a for-hire license. When the tow truck arrives, the alleged violator is given all his paperwork and is explained how to retrieve the vehicle from impoundment. The vehicle is towed away and placed on “hold” which means the violator cannot get the vehicle back until he pays the fine or posts bond and presents a signed Clerk of Courts vehicle release form to the towing company.

16. Passenger Transportation Regulatory Division Buying of the Doors Violation

17. The violation termed “Buying of the Doors”, (BOD) which is prohibited in Miami Dade County may be more commonly known as “turkey money” in other parts of the Country. There are actually 2 types of BOD, the first one being when a for-hire driver initiates contact with the hotel or establishment and introduces himself as providing transportation. He then informs the employee that for every job he is called for, he will pay a “commission” in return for the job. He then essentially locks out other drivers from obtaining work from that hotel/establishment in the future. The second BOD scenario tends to be more serious as the driver is required to pay to receive a job. When the employee calls a taxi from a stand or from off the street for a job, he then tells the driver “it will cost you $10.00 for the job.” At that point the driver will either pay or the employee will call for another taxi until someone pays.

18. Buying of the Doors, can be as simple as a one person operation, or as complicated as a whole network of drivers who are dispatched by a single individual. For an Enforcement Officer to take action, it is required that he or she observes the exchange of money between the driver and the hotel employee to have a solid case in court.

19. We hope you enjoyed the Miami Dade County Passenger Transportation Regulatory Division Enforcement Presentation