Shuttle it up.

Sandusky area pubs and bars are celebrating the May trifecta - Cinco de Mayo, the Kentucky Derby and a Saturday - in grand fashion with a special bus system designed to make the day special, fun and safe.

Similar to a bar crawl, this bar shuttle event is only $5 and allows people to frequent one of 10 local bars - Shifters Bar & Grill, Sands of South Beach, The Pump, Sail In, Cheers Sports Bar & Grill, Excuses, Old Dutch Tavern, Pub n Grub, The Brass Pelican Varsity Club and Lake Wilmer Inn - via a shuttle that runs from 4 p.m. -1 a.m. May 5.

"It's something that a few of the bars getting together on drinking day do to try to make sure that everybody stays safe," said Sands of South Beach owner Carolyn Thomsen. "Everybody realizes the same thing that we do - that DUIs are expensive and dangerous. A lot of people stopped going to the bars because of the liability issues and, as bar owners, we have to be responsible and address the issue."

Added Cheers owner Chris Biechele, "It's growing just because of the DUI laws. It's keeping everybody safe. They can go bounce around and get from place to place and nobody has to drive. That's basically the biggest success."Started roughly two years ago by Thomsen, the special event-based shuttle bus has proved successful with both St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve.

"We've been expanding it slowly but surely," Thomsen said. "When we first started out, we only had three bars that were into it, and now we're up to 10 bars. And we've had a bunch more that probably want to be into it but because of the shuttle and the time constraints, and the cost of it, we kind of have to limit it to a certain amount of bars."

The logistics behind the shuttle route belong to Biechele, who said he expects all three buses - which will revolve around a set schedule aimed at making stops at each location every 30 to 45 minutes - to provide over 1,000 rides.

It's Biechele's hope that eventually a weekend-run entertainment bus schedule, frequenting bars, bowling alleys, movie theaters, marinas and more, is established for the Sandusky area.

While there is talk of expanding the shuttle service for more holiday weekends coming up this year, Thomsen is concentrating on Cinco de Mayo.

"Just come out, be responsible, have a good time and enjoy Cinco de Mayo," Thomsen said.

 

Shuttle list

The shuttle will stop at 10 area bars on May 5:ï Shifter's Bar & Grillï Sands of South Beachï The Pumpï Sail Inï Cheers Sports Bar & Grillï Excusesï Old Dutchï Pub n Grubï The Brass Pelicanï Lake Wilmer Inn

Much like chili peppers, John Benson is hot and spicy. And he goes well with grilled chicken. E-mail him at jbenson@funcoast.com.