Kalispell Taxi service ends after six months

Nearly six months after he responded to the public’s call for taxi service in Whitefish, Lee Sturdevant of Kalispell has shut down his business.

“Our last day was Friday,” he said. “There’s just not enough business.”

Sturdevant leased the Kalispell Taxi permit from the estate of former operator James Michaels and got the required state permit on Jan. 22 this year. His 50-mile service area centered on Kalispell’s downtown post office.

There are two other state-issued taxi permits in the valley — one actively used by Randy Johnson’s Flathead-Glacier Transportation and one held by Winter Sports Inc. Jeanne Herron had expressed interest in using the Winter Sports permit.

Sturdevant explained that the taxi business is tough anyway, but factors here in the Flathead made it even more difficult.

A taxi business needs at least $1 million in liability insurance, which cost him $500 per month per vehicle if the driver was over-30, had a good record and passed random drug tests. Otherwise, the insurance could go up by $500 per month per driver.

To succeed, a taxi service needs a population of at least 25,000 people in a 10-mile radius, and the business needs to collect at least $2 per mile, loaded or unloaded.

“There’s too much distance and not enough people here,” Sturdevant said.

Sturdevant said he met a lot of great people while working long days that sometimes added up to 20 hours.

Public concern over taxi service in Whitefish arose after Josh and Peggy Hertlein shut down Whitefish Taxi last summer for economic reasons.

As groups gathered to brainstorm ways to fill the vacuum left by the Hertleins, a need was identified for tourists without cars, disabled and elderly people who cannot drive, and late-night bar patrons who are too drunk to drive.

A “free” taxi service to serve bar patrons appeared about the same time the Hertleins left. Brian Murchie’s taxi service operates under the name The Ride Guy.

According to state regulations,  and other Ride Guy drivers who use their own vehicles and wear uniforms featuring a fluorescent red stripe cannot take money from downtown businesses or customers for providing taxi service without first obtaining a permit from the Public Service Commission and following applicable state regulations — including carrying liability insurance.