Bert The Party Bus In Great Demand
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They say Southerners really know how to party, but a local father has taken it one step further and introduced the ultimate taxi.
Truck driver Steve Acker first set up his party bus last year as a one-off fundraiser for his daughter’s ‘Empire Aerobics’ team, to attend the World Champs in Belgium.
Brooke (17) was selected for the New Zealand team and Steve had three months to fundraise, so Bert the bus was born.
The old Isuzu 17-seater was decked out and it soon hit the road, with Steve as the sober driver - and the bookings started coming.
The side hustle was so successful he decided to do it properly, so now after three months off the road, the party bus has been given a complete makeover and has all the bells and whistles.
Complete with party lights on the ceiling, karaoke and a big screen television connected to bluetooth to play all the latest music, Bert the bus is booked out right up until Christmas.
Steve said he’s learned from a few incidents such as someone putting their fist through the television screen, but that’s all now secure and he’s making sure to ‘screen’ everyone before they enter.
“It’s all just part of it. And as long as people are having a good time and not destroying anything, it’s good as gold,” he said.
Obviously any damages occurred on the trip were the responsibility of the person who made the booking, and Steve said he wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense - reserving the right to cancel the trip early if any shenanigans went too far.
“Where else can you drive around 17 of your best friends in one bus?”
The party bus was also a great way for friends to cruise around and watch live sport on the big screen together, while stopping off at local pubs and establishments.
The bus was strictly smoke-free but vaping was allowed, and alcohol was obviously okay, provided people didn’t bring glass.
“And there’s no food on the bus. I’m still finding snap peas from last year,” he joked.