Cars are often essential for getting from place to place, but people are often unable to drive themselves for a variety of reasons. Blue Skies Car and Courier Service is available as your personal chauffeur. The service, based in Bergen County and started by Les Weiss three years ago, offers 24/7 service to area airports, bus and train stations, cruise lines, and more.
There’s more to the service than just driving. When clients are picked up for a trip to the airport, Les goes over a checklist to make sure his passengers have all the essentials packed.
Once someone is in the car, Les and the other Blue Skies drivers are happy to talk to their passengers and give them advice. Customer service continues as Les, who stays informed about all flights, will call out-of-town customers to let them know about problems they may have getting back to the New York- Metropolitan area on schedule because of weather-related problems.
Blue Skies is not limited solely to travel driving. It takes people to doctors and hospitals for medical-related checkups and procedures. It also drives people who aren’t comfortable driving at night or in bad weather to wherever they need to go; drives students to schools like SAR, Stern, and the Windward school; takes people to weddings, and more. Sometimes people get off the bus at the wrong stop and Blue Skies picks them up.
All Blue Skies cars—Les drives a seven-passenger Honda Odyssey—are smoke free and are less than five years old. Trips can be paid for by cash, check, or credit card—and rates, according to Les—are cheaper than Teaneck Taxi and most competitors. There is a $10 surcharge for all rides between 12 midnight and 6 a.m.
Rides are not limited to Bergen County or even the immediate area; Blue Skies can take passengers to Lake Placid, throughout Long Island, and Philadelphia. Drivers also take people into Manhattan to see shows. Les recently drove parents to Columbia University to watch their daughter graduate. Graduation isn’t the only family affair Blue Skies has been involved in; Les noted taking grandparents to see their grandson for the first time ever as one of his favorite drives.
Les says communication and customer service are the keys to success: “We want to be like their neighbor, the neighbor they like,” he said about his relationship with his clients. “We think of them as family.”
All Blue Skies drivers are accident free. To call for a ride or find out more information about Blue Skies Car and Courier Service, call 201-835-2352 or email at les165@optonline.net.
By Aliza Chasan
