Some insurance kinks were straightened out and the Monkey Bus is back up and running.
Sally Dirbas, who co-owns the shuttle service with Mitchell Gross, her son, told The Islander Oct. 13 that the company fleet was in operation after they secured a “fair” insurance deal.
“We were so ready,” Dirbas said. “We didn’t want to stop to begin with but we had to get everything legal.… So, it took a little bit of time, but it’s all in order now.”
Dirbas and Gross, operating as M&S Ad Ventures, purchased the Monkey Bus service in June 2022 from Roque Pastorius, who operated as Island Beach Monkeys.
The service includes a fleet of eight small buses that shuttle passengers across the island daily from morning until late night.
When Dirbas and Gross purchased the company, they also obtained a commercial transportation insurance policy from Ohio-based Progressive Insurance for $1,900 per month.
However, the policy only allowed transportation between businesses, not residences, condominiums or hotels, so the policy was canceled.
The Monkey Bus obtained a new policy with Nebraska-based National Indemnity Company in February that cost $2,195 per month. Then NICO informed them after two weeks that it recategorized the policy and raised the monthly payment to about $20,000.
The NICO policy also included a nonsolicitation agreement preventing other companies from providing insurance to the shuttle service until 15 days after the policy expired.
After the policy expired in August, Dirbas went looking for estimates and eventually secured a deal for about $2,000 a month.
“Our drivers can really make a fair, living wage now,” she said, adding, “It’s very affordable for us.”
The policy covers four of the eight-bus fleet — while others undergo repairs — but Dirbas said its cost should remain affordable since the per-vehicle rate decreases as more vehicles are added to the coverage.
“I suspect that we can probably get all the eight buses on for around $3,300-$3,500 a month,” Dirbas said. “That will work.”
Nevertheless, Dirbas said the policy isn’t affordable enough for the shuttle service to return to providing rides on a tips-for-trips basis.
Historically, the Monkey Bus operated on driver tips, with no standard fare.
However, as the business struggled, it began charging a $5 standard fare for all trips in an attempt to stay afloat.
Dirbas said the service would continue to charge the $5 fare.
“I tried to keep the tips-for-trips … but you just can’t run a business like that with the rising prices of gas, insurance, parts and maintenance,” she said. “It was really the drivers who were getting raked over the coals with the people not paying when we left it up to them to make a donation.”