Pocatello-based transportation company acquires competitor Yellowstone Transportation
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POCATELLO – A business-owner based in the Gate City expects his acquisition of another transportation company to position him to meet regional needs even better than before.
On Tuesday, Southeast Idaho Transportation Company and Yellowstone Transportation finalized a deal for Southeast Idaho Transportation Company to acquire Yellowstone Transportation. This buyout combines Yellowstone Transportation’s experience and trust with Southeast Idaho Transportation’s expanded capacity and versatility, making it a stronger regional transportation provider.
“I was very fortunate to be able to purchase this company from them at this time,” said Michael Blakey, owner of Southeast Idaho Transportation Company. “(The acquisition has) really boosted a lot of things so far, and I can tell it’s going to be even bigger this year and next year and every (year).”
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For Blakey, a longtime resident of Pocatello, the idea to start a transportation company came about while he was on a trip in Utah. He was at an event where the organizers chartered a bus that took them to soak in a hot spring, then to get ice cream.
“And then that was our day. And I had so much fun, I was like, ‘Why can’t we have something like that here in Idaho?’” Blakey recounted.
Blakey started to talk to people in private transportation to research the idea. Once he felt he was ready, he traded some construction equipment he owned for his first private bus, without paying any out-of-pocket money.
In June, Blakey officially started the company. The first service he offered took people to Lava Hot Springs and returned them to Pocatello.
“I wanted to see how well people would receive a transportation service like that,” Blakey said.
Blakey found that the service was well-received. His fleet now boasts three buses, a party bus, a shuttle bus, and a charter bus, two cargo vans, and one black SUV.
Yellowstone Transportation was started two years ago by Rory and Jennifer Erchul, the owners of a popular downtown restaurant called The Yellowstone. Blakey said the owners approached him and asked, “If this is what I really wanted to do, and I said, ‘Yeah.’ So they offered me to buy them out of their business.”
Blakey said that Yellowstone Transportation mainly served “VIP clients,” such as artists, singers, and performers coming to Pocatello, and he was excited to take on business from them.
Blakey offers transportation services for a variety of needs, including birthday celebrations and bachelor/bachelorette parties, private and group shuttles to the Pocatello and Idaho Falls airports, custom shuttle trips and community event support.
People can learn more information about Southeast Idaho Transportation Company’s services on its website.
Blakey said his company is helping fill a transportation gap in southeastern Idaho by providing longtime locals, newcomers, and visitors with more transportation options to see what the region has to offer.
“I love Idaho,” Blakey said. “There’s so much … that you can see. You can go up to the mountains within 10 minutes. (That’s) what I really want to show people who come here and travel here.”