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BlackedOut 406 Taxi focuses on helping the Great Falls community

Posted at 11:48 AM, Apr 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-05 14:04:28-04

GREAT FALLS — BlackedOut 406 Taxi and Limousine is taking extra precautions to take care of those who need a ride.

They are social distancing the best way they can with drivers closing the front seat which just leaves the backseat open, as well as wearing masks and gloves and sanitizing every time a passenger enters or exits the vehicle.

Owner Ryan Perrin says he’s just doing his job to help out: “It just comes with the territory, it's what we do. We are the same as the medical field, you know, they are here to help people and get them feeling better, we are here to make sure they get to those appointments so they can get to feeling better. It's just the nature of the gig.”

Perrin explained many of the precautions being taken: “We have tried to do as much as we can considering social distancing is tough in a sedan car, but drivers have access to medical masks and they have access to rubber disposable gloves as well. The masks we have are n-95. We have reusable ones from the Bride's Shoppe as well. We ended up having to make our own hand sanitizer with ice and purple alcohol. We did that with aloe vera gel. It’s pretty potent stuff, keeping everything clean. We have disinfectant spray that drivers have in their vehicle too. We went and got electronic air purifiers that sit in the middle of the vehicle in the cup holder.”

He added, “They spray down the insides of door panels where passengers touch, the seat belts and the latches. We have our own restriction of blocking off the front seat of the vehicle next to the driver while all passengers are in the back seat. So we are down to a three passenger capacity in the back seat”.

Perrin also told MTN that as the owner of the company, every step of the way they have been focused on how they can help the community.

“Just from hearing the news right off the bat after the school closure, the next thing that came down was the city bus closure and knowing that so many people use the buses. When we heard that come down, we were trying to figure out what we could do on our volume to increase our staff to help those passengers. We were contacted pretty quickly by Opportunity Inc. by employees that were trying to use the services to and from work,” said Perrin.

BlackedOut is also now delivering food. Orders must be paid for and ready and our drivers will pick up and deliver! Their drivers have base access as well. If you wish to contact them for a ride or food delivery, call 406-781-5218 Option 1

They also posted this information on their Facebook Page, saying, "Keeping it local means a lot, help us keep going! #stayathomeandletusbringyourmealstoyou #socialdistancingforahealthygreatfalls

If you deal with the Opportunities Inc Community Resource Center already and you typically use City Transit buses to get to and from work, you MAY be eligible for assistance through opportunities for Taxi Fares. Call the community resource center to inquire!

More related:
Opportunities, Inc is offering free rides to anyone who needs to get to work
Great Falls Transit District indefinitely closes paratransit routes