Bottom and Back - Free bus rides to Richmond bars

[mlmpetert]

Ive meant to start a thread about this a while ago, because its such a positive thing this guy is doing. In a effort to curb drunk driving this guy started a completely free bottom and back bus, i believe last summer. Its expanded now and has worked really well. So this guy did it just because he recognized it would benefit the community. Not to try and make money or for any other reason. m pretty sure hes loosing money.

In Richmond the Fan and Shockoe Bottom are the big bar areas with vcu in between. Both areas are also close enough that a lot of times youll start in one area and end up in the other for the second half of the night. Also most VCU kids live in the Fan. So this is just a great service for Richmond to have. And now you can even track the buses on your phone.

A practical approach to eliminate drinking and driving. | To The Bottom And Back

[tryfuhl]

drunk bus ftw

hope he gets some good donations/sponsorships

really thought that I'd see some more bars/venues on the sponsor list

[mredskins]

If the bus is not take them home then it seems like it is just shuttle bus between bars. What happens at 3am when they need to get home?

[firstdown]

Looks like it just links to drinking areas together and if you happen to live along its rout they will stop to pick you up. This service is not new the pictures have dates from 2007.

[mlmpetert]

Tryful - ive never riden the bus before but ive heard they accept donations on the bus, but they really dont expect you to donate if that makes sense. The donation box is more there to facilitate a way for riders to donate, not to encourage them to do so. There are not many sponsors yet, hopefully that will change in time.

mredskins - So most people who go to VCU, that are not commuters, live in the Fan. Most of the dorms on campus are also in the Fan. The most popular places to live as a under 30 year old is in the fan or downtown. You can pretty much walk to any downtown bar if you live downtown. But its too far to walk downtown from the fan or vice versa. The fan is a little more spread out so most people tend to drive to one end of the fan from the other. Also most bars in both the fan and the bottom are on either on Main or Cary or immediately off one of those streets. Main and Cary are predominantly one way streets that run parallel to each other. Plus MCV is downtown so there is a decent amount of those kids trying to make their way up to the fan and then back home.

So this bus is perfect for keeping people from driving when they want to go from downtown to the fan or vice versa, or want to go from one side of the fan to the other. Since most people who are out getting drunk in those areas also live in one of those areas it keeps them from driving. I would think 90% of the people who take the bus do not end up driving afterwards, just based on how Richmond is set up. Now fancy UR kids might drive to the fan get on the bus, go bar hoping, then get dropped off and then drive back home (the West End, not all the way back to New Jersey or Connecticut).

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by mredskins

If the bus is not take them home then it seems like it is just shuttle bus between bars. What happens at 3am when they need to get home?

you walk

[MTK]

Originally Posted by tryfuhl

you walk

or crawl

[over the mountain]

not to relate every little thing back to baltimore but they started this free bus circulator which pretty much makes a circle of all the inner harbor and immeditaley surrounding attractions. pretty damn cool. you can hop on in fed hill and ride it down to lil italy or lexington market.

of course, the second someone shoots someone in the inner harbor and uses the free city circulator as the escape vehicle, people want to shut it down. but i hope not.

the buses look nice, i mean real nice, there hybrids and the circular route they run is a very important area for tourists and others alike who want to spend money.

honestly its about the only new thing to happen to baltimore in teh past year or so that i have actually seen as a positive change. when it first started, noone was using it (but they may have been winter = less tourists, etc) but now its pretty popular.

idk, these free buses are nice additions to any city and imo its really designed to take people from shopping point A to shopping point B so the cities and the shops receive a boost as well. win win.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I love this idea. I wish more of these were sponsored by cities and local government. Where I work they sponsor a drunk bus for students who go way out into the country to drink. Basically people aren't willing to pay/wait for a taxi and people are going to drunk drive no matter what the options are unless they make it very easy.

I know this sucks, but it's the reality of college and I love the idea.

[Miller101]

This is an awesome idea! Can you drink on the bus too? You should be able to. That way you wouldn't lose your buzz if you're going to another bar.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I love this idea. I wish more of these were sponsored by cities and local government. Where I work they sponsor a drunk bus for students who go way out into the country to drink. Basically people aren't willing to pay/wait for a taxi and people are going to drunk drive no matter what the options are unless they make it very easy.

I know this sucks, but it's the reality of college and I love the idea.

Well said...its just a sad fact that college kids will drink and drive, and I love this approach.

[mlmpetert]

Ive heard that the bus can get a little crazy sometimes, and youre not supposed to but apparently people drink on the bus. VCU already has a van that will come pick you up if you need a ride but the wait times are ridiculous, plus obviously its only for VCU students and you have to be coming or going to a VCU property.

Its definitely a great idea and it seems to work really well, i just dont know how long its gonna stay in business. Its a 501 c 3 so you can get a tax deduction when you donate to it.

[mlmpetert]

Also i was at Baja about a month or 2 ago which is located right before one of the stops. At the stop light at Lombardy and Main a drunk driver hit the bus. It turned out to be decent press for the bus and no one died.

Baja has one of the biggest patios in Richmond and is right on Main. So i walk inside and then come back out and its just dead quite and everyone is looking towards Main street. The car ran into the back of the bus and i guess the driver tried to swerve right before hitting the bus but it rear ended the bus and the passenger side of the car was completely gone all the way back to the rear passenger door and up to door level height. Everyone thought the passenger was dead for like 30 minutes, until you heard her start screaming im alive/get me out of here. I think she was just knocked out because she lived and they said she only had minor injuries.

It was a really young married couple like maybe 25 at the most. They had to use the jaws of life to cut the car open to get the girl out and the guy was so drunk he was flipping out that they were ruining his car. This was all going on in front of a huge crowd of drunk people. It was pretty intense and Baja quickly controlled things and made everyone close their tabs.

[Miller101]

Originally Posted by mlmpetert

Also i was at Baja about a month or 2 ago which is located right before one of the stops. At the stop light at Lombardy and Main a drunk driver hit the bus. It turned out to be decent press for the bus and no one died.

Baja has one of the biggest patios in Richmond and is right on Main. So i walk inside and then come back out and its just dead quite and everyone is looking towards Main street. The car ran into the back of the bus and i guess the driver tried to swerve right before hitting the bus but it rear ended the bus and the passenger side of the car was completely gone all the way back to the rear passenger door and up to door level height. Everyone thought the passenger was dead for like 30 minutes, until you heard her start screaming im alive/get me out of here. I think she was just knocked out because she lived and they said she only had minor injuries.

It was a really young married couple like maybe 25 at the most. They had to use the jaws of life to cut the car open to get the girl out and the guy was so drunk he was flipping out that they were ruining his car. This was all going on in front of a huge crowd of drunk people. It was pretty intense and Baja quickly controlled things and made everyone close their tabs.

Dang! Thats pretty intense! I guess as a young guy drinking a beer it would be kind of kewl to watch, but dang!

I'm glad noone died, but it seems to me that VCU should take that totaled car and place it in the center of campus. Or somewhere where ALOT of students spend alot of time at. And put a sign on it saying, "Don't let this be you." Those that saw that accident happen while kicking back some cold ones at the bar would have a good drinking story to share with those that look at that car. And Hopefully, that would help discourage drunk driving to at least a couple of people.

[mlmpetert]

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