The Recipients: Cortez Transportation

Photos by Emma Highfill, Rose Wheat Photography

Even before Gov. Laura Kelly instituted a stay-at-home order for the state of Kansas this spring, Carlos Cortez, owner of Cortez Transportation, realized something unusual was taking place. In February, international clients the company’s drivers were supposed to pick up at the Kansas City International Airport and take to Payless ShoeSource began cancelling their travel plans, prompting Cortez to contact his bank to make them aware of his concerns.

Soon after the order’s implementation, weddings got postponed or cancelled along with high school proms and other events the company typically provides services for.

BUSINESS PLUMMETED

Cortez saw his business plummet even though his company was deemed essential during the COVID-19 crisis with capacity to carry anywhere from 1 to 56 passengers.

“We went from a nearly 20 percent increase year-over-year in 2019 to being down 64 percent year-to-date this year,” said Cortez. 

Transportation services have been curtailed in Shawnee County, but neighboring counties have continued to host events requiring group transportation. The company was hired to transfer private airline crew members between Whiteman Air Force Base and Kansas City International Airport. They continue to drive medical professionals and donated organs to medical facilities for a regional transplant coordinator.

“We see people on the best days and the worst days of their lives in this business,” he said. “We work a lot of weddings and fun events but we recently drove an individual home who’d just lost their job.”

With activity suddenly sporadic this spring and summer, Cortez realized that his business model would need to evolve to withstand the pandemic’s economic fallout.

HOST GRANT RESCUE

A $5,000 HOST 2 (Helping Others Support Topeka) relief grant enabled him to buy plastic car shields to protect drivers and passengers; materials for individual kits containing hand sanitizer, a mask and Kleenex along with a card identifying protocols the company follows to provide clients with peace of mind; and a hospital grade vitaoxide disinfectant system approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to sanitize interior surfaces.

“The vital oxide kills about 99.9% of germs and is used in day cares and office buildings,” said Cortez. “After we detail our cars, we put the solution in a spray gun and cover everything.”

Since the company details all of its sedans, buses and limousines, Cortez said he and his employees (one full-time and 10 part-time) are considering opportunities that could leverage their expertise in vehicle cleaning and vital oxide capabilities for customer vehicles too. A delivery service that would compete with Grubhub and DoorDash while keeping economic benefits local is another option he’s vetting.

To help mitigate the pandemic’s financial effects, Cortez was able to work with his insurance company to temporarily suspend payments of $4,000 a month on 11 vehicles through June 2020 and implement measures with his bank regarding loan payments on his fleet.

GETTING PAST THE PANDEMIC

“We’re not giving up without a fight,” he said. “As long as someone will work with us on our debt load, I believe we can make everything up when the pandemic is past us, just like we did after the 2008-2009 recession.” 

“It’s always satisfying to help someone else out, and you never know when you’re going to be the next one who needs assistance,” he said. “We never imagined this pandemic would happen and we really appreciate the efforts of people in the community willing to help us out.”

Cortez said the company’s beginning to book weddings and corporate events again. His own wedding, originally set for May 2020, has been rolled to May 2021.

One of 13 kids, the Shawnee Heights High School graduate became enamored with chauffeured services after working for a local limousine service as a part-time driver more than 20 years ago.

“I really enjoy driving people,” he said. “Sometimes we see people once and sometimes we develop relationships with repeat customers. We all want this business to keep going so we’re constantly asking ourselves what we can do now to make it through next week, next month, next year.”