To the Bottom and Back, the free shuttle brainchild of Jim Porter and Sandy Appelman, is set to make its first route expansion. Porter and Appelman are in talks with the University of Richmond over possibly creating a route connecting Richmond’s downtown with the UR campus, according to a story in the student newspaper, The Collegian.
The discussions are still in an early stage, but if an agreement is reached, the black and green buses should start running to UR by next fall.
Steve Bisese, UR’s vp of student development, spoke of possible apprehensions of the plan to The Collegian:
“If you contribute to it, and you pay for that service in some way, then the question has to be asked, ‘Are you assuming liability of it?’ and those kinds of things,” he said.
Currently two buses run in continuous loops from Carytown to Shockoe Bottom on Thursday through Saturday, from 6 pm to 3 am.
When BizSense first covered 2BNB, the organization spoke of other potential route expansions to include Boulevard and Broad Street. Porter and Appelman plan to add two more buses to their fleet.
A fantastic business that really adds value to living in the city. Congrats on a great concept and to further success and expansion. I’m sure other colleges and military towns could use this type of thing too!
That’s what we need — another way to give under-21 college students easy access to alcohol. I knew we were missing something around here. Do they card people at the UR stop before they get on the bus?
The city has needed a system like this for a long time. Bravo to these two entrepreneurs for taking the bull by the horns. The service already facilitates moving around downtown and it makes sense for U of R to embrace an expansion route.
Between sustainability, safety, and drinking and driving multiple positive messages should come out of this. Good luck in further expansion, both here and beyond the borders.
We faced a challenge similar to this at my undergrad, where liability became an issue. We wanted to offer something like this as a student service. The greater good is a big factor here.
Personal responsibility is key. If people are getting themselves hurt with alcohol, it shouldn’t be the responsibility of the bus driver, its parent company, or any of its clients. And in the greater good, isn’t it better to keep people out of their cars after a party?
We studied both sides of the issue carefully, and I’ve been a proponent of both, in different times of my life. Ultimately, I think the benefits FAR outweigh the apprehensions. Good luck To The Bottom and Back!
James- What a stupid statement. What does safe transportation to and from downtown have to do with “easy access to alcohol”? I can assure you the “easy access” is on campus. This just allows students who want to get off campus for a change not to have to get behind the wheel after having a few drinks.