UND: The downtown-to-campus express

December 6, 2007

A test run of a bus route connecting UND and the downtown bar scene begins tonight, aiming to offer a cheap and safe alternative for bar-hopping students.

The route, partially subsidized by downtown bar owners, will run from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, starting today.

The bus will go back and forth between campus and downtown all night with pickups every half an hour at each stop. Riders also can flag down the bus by waving. An all-night pass on the bus is $5 and a one-way trip costs $3.

"I know parking is a huge issue downtown," said Michael Rocks-Macqueen, president of Club Express, the company operating the shuttle service. "There are a lot of people that do drive back. I hope they are responsible. This is a convenient and affordable way for people to make informed choices."

The bus will run from the downtown bars down University Avenue with stops at the Memorial Union and at apartments on 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue. The bus will stop downtown at Joe Black's Bar & Grill, Gilly's, O'Really's Irish Pub, Sledster's Food & Brew, Bonzer's and Level 10 the bars helping to fund the service.

"We thought, how could it not be good? It brings kids down here but it also brings them home safe," said Joe Black's co-owner Dennis Blackmun. "The kids are coming down here anyway. At the end of the night they are waiting outside for cabs and some of them are driving home."

UND student Rocks-Macqueen's business, Club Express, started in September. It offers private rentals for occasions ranging from 21st birthday parties, Greek, social and sporting events.

Rental rates for the party bus, which features a 5,000-watt sound system, vertical safety poles and LED lighting meant to simulate the experience of being in a club, range from $100 an hour to $435 for a five-hour block of time.

"It's been good," Rocks-Macqueen said of business. "I'm pretty much running every weekend."

Rocks-Macqueen, who employs four students as bus drivers, said he may add a second bus if the business continues to grow. He said adding another bus to his business could eventually lead to two buses running at the same time on the downtown-to-college bus routes or one available for the bus route and another one available for rentals.

The downtown-to-campus bus route will run this week and next week before taking off a month for the holidays and returning for the third and fourth weeks of January. After that, it will be evaluated by bar owners to see if it is deemed worthwhile to continue subsidizing it for the remainder of the school year.

"It's kind of a test run," Rocks-Macqueen said.

Blackmun of Joe Black's said he thinks the bus route will be successful.

Bar owners say the service will make drinking downtown safer for college students.

"Nobody wants somebody on the road who's had too much to drink," Blackmun said.

Jon Bonzer, the owner of Bonzer's, echoed Blackmun's sentiments.

"We always hear about how we need to cut down on drinking and driving," Bonzer said. "From our standpoint, this is being proactive and providing safe transportation for people who might have otherwise chose to make the wrong decision."

Nodak Radio Cab Co. offers a $1 per-ride taxi service after 5 p.m. for UND students who show a valid student ID card and obtain a free cab crawler card from the student union.

But Blackmun said students sometimes wait as long as 45 minutes to an hour outside for a cab ride around closing time.

"It's not so bad in the summertime, but now when it's 15 and 20 below, that's not as nice to be waiting outside," Blackmun said.

Rocks-Macqueen said he doesn't feel the shuttle service encourages binge drinking. He said students already are going downtown to drink and the service aims to make their commute easier and safer.

"There's a need for it," Rocks-Macqueen said. "I think it's encouraging people to be safe. It's encouraging people to be responsible."

Rocks-Macqueen said Club Express carries liability insurance in the event a mishap happens on the bus.

He also said a bouncer will be on the bus, taking tickets, ensuring the safety of riders and the driver and making sure no one is drinking alcohol or "doing stupid things."

Reach Schuster by phone at (701) 780-1107 or (800) 477-6572, ext. 107; by e-mail at rschuster@gfherald.com or view his business blog at www.areavoices.com/bizbuzz.

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