[Nfbmt] proposed new bus line

Sat Feb 1 19:25:40 UTC 2014

From: Bruce&Joy Breslauer 
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2014 2:02 PM
To: Sanders, Patrick
Subject: proposed new bus line 1.25.14

Hi Patrick:

A gentleman named Jerry Clark is proposing a van service between Missoula,
Helena, and Great Falls.  His phone number is 529-6825.  Could you check
this new service out and find whether it is legitimate and, among other
questions, how safe his van is?  Also he seems to have some difficulty in
getting permission to park at the Great Falls transfer center.  A previous
Email I sent to you has his proposed starting schedule.  If you could let me
know what you can do about this new startup venture and checking the venture
out, I and other blind people in Montana would very much appreciate your
help.  Thanks.

B. Breslauer       

From: Sanders, Patrick  
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2014 9:12 AM
Subject: RE: proposed new bus line 1.25.14

Bruce,

Good morning.   Here is what I know so far about the new service Big Bear
Transit.    First you gave me something that I have never seen before but
have asked many time the proposed schedule.  Thanks for that information.   

The next item is that he has not applied for Public Service Commission (PSC)
approval.   This company has not applied for any Federal funds.   So if he
is going to start up and run, that means currently he is doing it illegally
and not following the law.   I know that through the PSC if he applied right
now it would be the first of March before they could give him approval
because of the public comment period.  

The permission to use the Great Falls Transfer center I knew was an issue
because I had spoken to the General Manager from Great Falls Transit, and he
basically told me he has shut down that side of the building because no one
has approached him about renting it.   So I took it to the next step because
I saw that Town Pump was a pick up and drop off location in Helena.  So my
wife is a district manager so I asked her to check with her co-workers in
Helena and see if he has gotten permission yet.  Just received information
that he has not spoken to anyone with Town Pump corporation.  

The vehicle that he will be using is a standard 15 passenger van.   The
vehicle is not accessible.  He stated in a conference call with the
Independent Living Center Transportation Taskforce that at the current time
and funds coming out of his pocket to get this system up and going he will
be getting a vehicle that is not accessible.   So even a standard van is not
very accessible for ambulatory people because of the placement of the seats.
The van to my knowledge is roughly a 2005 to a  2007 which makes it roughly
5 years old with possible 75,000 miles on it.   That means he will need to
replace the vehicle in a minimum of 6 months because of the amount of miles
he will be putting on the vehicle.   So basically it is 205 miles one way
which makes it 410 round trip and 5 days a week would be 2050 miles, and 4
weeks a month makes it 8200 miles so in 6 months it will be 49,200 miles so
that is a lot of wear and tear on a vehicle.

I will keep you informed and if you want please share this information.

Have a good day.

Patrick Sanders

Transportation Coordinator

Disability Employment and Transitions

Department of Public Health and Human Services

406-782-4046

Monday, Wednesday-Friday- Butte Office

Tuesday- Helena Office no phone

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