Topic: Shuttle buses to the downtown bars

We have recently purchased a shuttle bus with the intent to offer free rides to and from our complex to the downtown bar area where the college kids hang out...there is limited parking down there and of course, police...so we want to offer a free, safe ride to our residents. Anyone tried this before? Problems? Opinions? Best practices?

I love that idea! Make sure you brand that bus well! And I would also clearly lay out the rules of the bus so the driver knows what options are available to him/her in what scenarios.

Call Walt at (281) 664-1690. Walt has been running Walt's shuttle service to help prevent drunk driving in Northwest Houston for years. He is a great guy and advocate of this sort of thing. I'm sure he would be happy to share some of his thoughts and experience with you about getting people to and from bars. walt-inc.com/

A couple of other items to consider:
1. In the age of Uber and Lyft, it is so easy and inexpensive to avoid driving your service will need to be competitive. Turning the evening into a resident event is a possibility, but you need to be very careful about liability.
2. Because of insurance costs and liability concerns, contracting to a third-party is something I would strongly consider.