GREAT FALLS — Great Falls Transit District said their fixed-route buses will be out of use indefinitely, as they have not received word as to when they can resume operation.
Jim Helgeson, Great Falls Transit District General Manager, said buses aren’t allowed to reopen under the Governor’s phase 1 plan because buses seat more than the allowed group gathering size.
“We are keeping a close track of the governor’s orders and CDC and as of right now the governor has a limit of 10 people meeting together. Our buses hold 35 to 57 people so we are kind of on hold there until that group gets a little larger,” Helgeson said.
While the transit system has been out of operation, Hegelson has received many concerned calls from the public. “The phone basically doesn’t stop ringing...For a lot of folks in town, we’re their only transportation so we keep that in mind when we make these decisions and since this is something we haven’t seen in over 100 years, we’re playing it cautiously,” Helgeson said.
Since COVID-19 is a concern unlike any he’s ever dealt with, he wants to make sure he makes the best decision for all passengers. “It’s just unknown and we do not want to bring the public into an unknown area. Therefore, we are looking to those in the realms of their occupations that know those things and explain them to us and then we act accordingly,” Helgeson said.
Helgeson isn’t certain when buses will be allowed to retake the streets but predicts they will be included in the state’s phase 2 reopening. “We look at this on a daily basis...It looks like we’re gonna run into Phase 2,” Helgeson said.
While they await a reopening date, staff are cleaning buses and gathering personal protection equipment to make sure vehicles are sanitary when transit does start up again.
