An Anna Maria Island staple is taking some time off to work through insurance issues.
Sally Dirbas, who co-owns the Monkey Bus shuttle service with her son, Mitchell Gross, told The Islander Aug. 10 that they shut the service down a week earlier to allow their insurance with Nebraska-based National Indemnity Company to expire.
Dirbas and Gross, as M&S Ad Ventures LLC, purchased the bus service in June 2022 from its founder, Roque Pastorius.
The service includes a fleet of eight small buses operated by independent contractors who shuttle passengers on and around AMI from morning until late at night.
Historically, the Monkey Bus has operated on a tips-for-trips basis with no standard fare for shuttle services.
Advertisers fund the service’s repairs, maintenance and improvements.
When Dirbas and Gross purchased the company, they also obtained a commercial transportation policy from Ohio-based Progressive Insurance for $1,900 per month.
Dirbas said the business thrived but when she read the policy’s fine print, she learned it allowed transportation between businesses but not residential properties or hotels.
They canceled Progressive and signed with NICO in February for $2,195 per month.
However, NICO informed Dirbas two weeks later that it recategorized the policy, raising the monthly payment to about $20,000.
Despite their success with the shuttle service, the business struggled under the new policy and they resorted to charging a $5 standard fare for all trips.
Dirbas said they paid the policy out of pocket for months and learned they were obligated to pay the remainder regardless of the policy’s termination.
The NICO policy also includes an agreement that prevents them from contracting for other insurance until 15 days after the policy expires.
So the Monkey Bus owners must wait until Aug. 18 to obtain new insurance.
Dirbas was hopeful they would find a new insurer for a price similar to its original policy.
“I think we’ll get a quote on the 16th day, if not sooner,” she said. “I know we can find another quote and get insurance for what we need.”
In the meantime, Dirbas and Gross said they were using the downtime to complete maintenance and improvements to the fleet.
Improvements include painting the buses and adjusting seating to face inward instead of the standard forward-facing bus seating.
Moving forward, Dirbas said the fare for the shuttle service will be dependent on the company’s next insurance policy.
If insurance costs are low, the company will return to the tips-for-trips policy.
If not, the company will charge $5 fares for most passengers, while Monkey Bus sponsors provide for a handful of regular patrons.
“It all depends on what it costs for a quote,” Dirbas said. “We’ve been fighting to keep it tips-for-trips because that’s iconic.”
Dirbas launched a GoFundMe campaign Aug. 7 titled “Save the Monkey Bus” with a $22,500 goal to help with insurance costs.
The campaign had raised $7,195 from 151 donors as of Aug. 14.