Save the Monkey Bus

For almost 15 years, the Monkey Bus has provided reliable, safe, and most importantly, fun transportation to both locals and visitors of Anna Maria Island, Florida. Anna Maria Island (AMI) is a seven mile long barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico about an hour south of Tampa. AMI is famous for its small-town feel, friendly locals and world-famous beaches sinking into crystal clear water. No high-rise hotels, no nightclubs, just beach bars and laid-back beach stuff to do around every palm tree-lined corner.

As you explore AMI, one of the first things people notice are Monkey Busses. We are a fleet of small school busses that will transport groups of up to 15 to and from anywhere on AMI. From Coquina Beach South to Bean Point, you're never far from a Monkey Bus. The Monkey Bus is far more than just a ride, for many, it's the first thing they want to do when they get to the Island. We don't care if you take over the blue tooth and go crazy with the stereo. With the incredible artwork (much of it from our riders) and helpful information about many of our partner businesses on the Island, eyes tend to constantly wander while taking a ride.

Since its inception, we have been supported by our advertisers while the drivers have been taken care of by generous tips from their riders. The system worked, nobody was getting rich, but we have a great business that the Island can be proud of. People will visit local bars when they arrive here and think they are empty because there are only a couple of cars in the parking lot. The truth is, everybody took the Monkey Bus. Driving the bus feels like being a celebrity, people scream "we love you Monkey Bus" as we drive by. Everybody wants a family picture posing beside a bus, and the whole thing becomes a memory that may last a lifetime. Last year we had a couple here for their anniversary. The driver asked where they met, you guessed it, they fell in love after meeting on the Monkey Bus 10 years ago. We honestly love what we do and who we are lucky enough to meet.

So why do we need financial help?

We are the second owners of the business, purchasing from the original owner 14 months ago. As you might imagine, the largest expense from this kind of business is insurance premiums. Every passenger on every bus has to be covered, and that's expensive. We had a policy that was affordable for a while upon acquiring the business, but after giving it a closer look, saw it was not good coverage, and we needed to go elsewhere. To make a long story short, regular insurance in Florida is insanely expensive for a regular driver in a regular car, but for our business, it went up like a rocket.

We are currently in negotiations with a couple of brokers and hope to get it fixed soon. Until then, we have had to stop the wheels on our buses from going round-n-round. We simply don't have enough money to pay the mountain of expense this has turned into. A lot of the friends we've made on the buses messaged us when they heard we had to close, many asking for a gofundme page so they could help.

What will we do with funds raised?

100% of any money raised through this campaign will go directly to pay for extremely expensive up-front costs for the new insurance policy. Any remaining money will go to advance payments so we are ahead. It's hurricane season, and anything can happen.

If you have a few bucks to lend a hand to a small business that brings a lot of smiles and keeps impaired drivers off the road, know it is greatly appreciated. If you can't, that's cool too. We hope you make it down this way and take a ride!

Thank you,

The Monkey Bus Family