Expert Witness Testimony and Consulting in all Transit Sectors: Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, Ride-Hail, Ride-Sharing, TNC, Transportation Network Companies, Taxi, Taxicab, Non-Emergency Medical Transport, NEMT, Bus, City Bus, Public Transit, School Bus, Party Bus, Shuttle Van, Limousine and ADA Paratransit Services
Welcome to the home of J. M. Rubino Transit Consulting and Expert Witness Testimony, experts in all sectors of passenger transportation including:
Ride-sharing & ride-hail services such as Uber & Lyft (TNCs)
Non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) including wheelchair vans
ADA & Non-ADA Paratransit for the disabled & the elderly
Public bus, charter bus, school bus, hotel, parking, airport shuttle bus
Taxicabs, sedan services & all forms of for-hire livery
Limousine, executive car and all premium car services
Trolleys, party buses, & tour buses
Issues involving moving people in wheelchairs, sexual assaults by drivers, workplace issues, employment disputes, and industry regulations.
Delivery services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash, and other similar app-based delivery services
Company Principal
Joseph M. Rubino is one the nation’s premier transit experts, having worked on projects involving ground passenger transportation in 40+ states. Mr. Rubino's career has spanned some 50 years, 1st as an executive and now as an expert witness and industry consultant. He not only has great expertise in transit operations, business development, and regulatory issues, but he is also a renowned industry presenter and speaker.
Expert Witness
Mr. Rubino has served as an expert witness more than 350 times since 2008 and almost half of his cases have involved an elderly, disabled, or infirm passenger. In addition, his case portfolio is split virtually 50%-50% for Plaintiff/Defense work. Prior to opening his own firm in 2002, Mr. Rubino was identified by his former employer, Metro Transportation Services of Miami, Florida, more than 50 times in legal matters as the Person with the Most Knowledge. Combined with his work as the PMK for his own firm, he has opined on legal matters more than 400 times, has been deposed more than 100 times, and has testified in court some 30 times. He has opined on more than 100 cases involving wheelchair transportation and on more than 60 cases involving TNC/Ride Hail services like Uber and Lyft.
Author & Speaker
Since 2010, Mr. Rubino has been a featured columnist for The Transportation Alliance (TTA), formerly known as the Taxicab, Limousine, and Paratransit Association (TLPA), and he has spoken at every convention since 2000. He has published 600+ peer-reviewed industry articles/columns/studies/reports and has given 400+ industry speeches/presentations.
Quoted regularly in national media
His comments on the for-hire passenger transportation industry have appeared in a wide variety of media outlets such as The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, WFAA Dallas, WDSU New Orleans, Forbes Magazine, Bloomberg News, the Guardian, Scripps Howard News Service, Watchdog.org, the Miami Herald, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel, the Florida Times Union, the Saint Augustine Record, the Washington Times, the Huffington Post, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Denver Post, The Toledo Blade, the Transportation Leader, TLC Magazine, Long-Term Living Magazine, among others.
Experience re: Disabled Passengers
Mr. Rubino has been a pioneer in elderly and disabled transportation in the United States. He was the General Manager of the first ADA Paratransit Service in the country in 1976, and also managed the very first contracted NEMT transportation service for Medicaid recipients. He spent 26 years at Metro Transportation in Miami, Fla, managing a 750 vehicle fleet, including approximately 300 wheelchair accessible vehicles. Metro's fleet transported more than 10,000 wheelchair passengers per week for more than 20 years for a total of more than 10 MILLION wheelchair riders transported during that period of time.
Industry Pioneer
A pioneer in the fields of both paratransit and non-emergency medical transportation, Mr. Rubino and his team, in the 1970's and early 80's, created many of the industry protocols and procedures which are now utilized nationwide as best practices. Mr. Rubino has worked on national consulting projects for the Federal Transit Administration, the Transportation Research Board, the Veterans Administration, Easter Seals Project Action, and the TTA. He has also conducted training seminars for the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Florida Public Transit Association, the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, and has worked on transit issues with government regulators in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, New York, Connecticut, Mississippi, Tennessee, Indiana, South Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Washington State and Washington, DC. He has conducted government-sponsored transit seminars in New York City, Buffalo, NY, Washington, DC, Alexandria, VA, Richmond, VA, Charlotte, NC, Columbia, SC, Pittsburgh, PA, Philadelphia, PA, Providence, RI, Toledo, OH, Columbus, OH, Charleston, VA, Newark, Ohio, Chicago, IL, Bloomington, IL, Biloxi, MS, Jacksonville, FL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Tampa, FL, Ft. Myers, FL, Miami, FL, Seattle, WA, Las Vegas, NV, Denver, CO, Houston, TX, Dallas, TX, and Kansas City, MO.
Mr. Rubino uses an Eight Step Expert Witness Methodology in which he analyzes the facts of the case as they related to national industry standards. In addition, he refers to national industry organizations which would be considered representative of commonly-accepted standards in their particular sub-sector. He then considers state and local regulations that apply, as well as contractual obligations that are germane to the case. He also refers to peer-reviewed support material that has been written on the issues involved.
This methodology allows him to opine on standard of care, company management policies, driver behavior, passenger care, and what transportation providers are required to do or not do, especially in cases involving personal injury. Mr. Rubino also can provide expert opinions on regulatory issues, and can analyze company business plans to determine the probability of a proposed company succeeding or failing, and whether or not the company will actually serve its targeted population.
Mr. Rubino's CV contains 150 references, 50 from national transit industry leaders, 50 from defense attorneys and 50 from plaintiff attorneys. New clients are encouraged to call any of the 150 references at random. For what some of those references have said about Mr. Rubino please see the Testimonials Page on this website.
J.M. Rubino Transit Consulting and Expert Witness Testimony jmrubino@aol.com 954.604.2424