WILMINGTON — School might be out in Wilmington, but residents can expect to see at least one big yellow bus on the road — and it isn’t heading to summer school — it’s the Port City Party Bus.
The new business is the brainchild of friends Bryan Abrams and John Knutson.
The two friends came up with the concept of the party bus after renting limo buses for events they were attending, several of which required minimum rental’s of four to five hours, while charging hundreds of dollars per hour.
“We rented a limo bus for a garden party and we were both just mortified about how expensive it was. We joked around about it, said we should start our own limo bus and make it cheaper and a more fun concept,” Abrams said.
Abrams is a Wilmington local and Knutson has lived in the area for the past 10 years, but they did not always aspire to become party bus drivers. The two work in the tech industry during the day, and take turns driving the party bus by night.
The idea became a reality when the friends were sitting at Abrams’ backyard bar and started searching the Internet for used school buses. They managed to find an old school bus for sale in Richmond and sent the seller an email – to their surprise they got a response that night, and the next day they made their way to Virginia to check out their find. Eight hours later they were the proud owners of their very own school bus.
From the outside, the bus looks like a regular school bus. But on the inside, it is more reminiscent of a limousine than school bus.
The friends put their own knowledge of mechanics and carpentry to transform the stacked school bus seats to comfortable benches and an upgraded sound system.Passengers on the Party Bus are legally allowed to bring their own alcohol on board, the same rules as a limo apply, Abrams said.
The Port City Party Bus is available for rental but instead of a four-hour minimum
, the company only requires two. There is a flat rate fee of $200 for the first two hours, Abrams said.
The bus can hold a total of 14 passengers and a driver for a maximum occupancy of 15. For a group of riders wanting to rent the bus for the minimum two hours with the maximum 14 riders, the cost per person is still under $15.
For more information visit the company’s Facebook page.
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