Student starts his own business: Mike Rocks-Macqueen operates Club Express, a shuttle bus service

December 4, 2007

Students at UND will no longer have to worry about how they are going to get home after a night of bar hopping downtown.

Club Express, a business started by Helicopter Commercial Aviation student Mike Rocks-Macqueen, is now offering a shuttle bus service on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The bus will run every 30 minutes from the downtown bars down University Avenue and to apartment buildings on 6th Avenue and 42nd Street. The service will start this Thursday and will last from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

"We might continue the route later than 2:30," said Rocks-Macqueen. "I want to accommodate as many people as possible."

Students can pay $5 to ride the bus all night or $3 for a one-way trip, if they just need a ride to or home from the bars.


How it began

Although this is a new service from Club Express, the business actually opened in September.

"I got the idea for the business during finals week last spring," said Rocks-Macqueen. "A friend of mine and I were looking at a party bus on Ebay that someone had renovated. I started researching companies that did similar things and thought that it would be a really cool thing to do."

"I've always wanted to start a business, so I thought why not," he said.

Another reason he decided to start the business was because one of his friends had recently been charged with a DUI. "I thought a party bus would provide safe, reliable transportation, but still have a fun atmosphere."

He then bought a bus and drove it up here from New Mexico.

He said he was able to start his own business through a low interest rate business loan and an internship through the Center for Innovation and the Entrepreneurship Program.

"The Center for Innovation provides me with my own office, and it's a lot easier to run a business out of there than out of an apartment," he said.

"Starting a business takes a lot of work," Rocks-Macqueen said. "But it has definitely been a great learning experience."

He runs the business by himself, but has had a lot of help from his friends with renovating the bus and building his website.
Club Express currently has four bus drivers, who are all students.


Services

The Club Express bus offers a 5,000-watt sound system, vertical safety poles and LED lighting, and can hold 35 people. Students can rent the bus on any day for $100 an hour or $435 a night.

"The kinds of events that we usually do are Greek formals, 21st birthday parties and bar hopping," Rocks-Macqueen said. "I also just did a charity event."

He said that if riders are going to have alcohol on the bus, the renter has to be 21 or older. "The renter is then responsible for the rental space," he said.

He said that he is looking into buying another bus to accommodate both regular customers and the new downtown route that he added.

"We have been having good ridership, and I think it will get even better now that it's cold out," he said. "If business keeps going well, I'm thinking about reducing the prices."


A rewarding business

"This has really taken up more of my time than I expected, but I'm adapting," Rocks-Macqueen said. "The experience has been very rewarding, and I always feel good about what I'm doing. I think my new route will not only alleviate a lot of parking issues downtown, but also give people a safer alternative than driving themselves home after a night of drinking."

"There were a couple of times when I didn't think this business was going to happen, but I just kept on pushing and never gave up," he added.

To rent the Club Express bus for a night, call (701) 777-6548 or email mike@clubexpressbus.com.

Club Express is also having a contest to name the bus. Students can submit their ideas at www.clubexpressbus.com. The winner will receive 50 percent off a five-hour rental.

This origional article can be found at http://media.www.dakotastudent.com/media/storage/
paper970/news/2007/12/04/News/Student.Starts.His.Own.Business- 3130818.shtml?reffeature=textemailedition.