Help with Dollar bus

[Kaytroy97]

Help!! After reading so many different posts and trying to compile them into trying to answer my own questions!!! I am confused about these dollar buses!!:confused:

 

1) How do you find them, once you have stepped off the ship?

 

2) Do they go to Magen's beach or not? If not how far will it take you? Close enough to walk the rest of the way?

 

3) How can you catch one going from Magen's to Charlotte A. for shopping? Or do you need to catch a taxi? If so how much do taxi's cost to get back to CA?

 

4) How do you get back from shopping in CA to the pier to catch your ship?

 

5) How safe are they if you have young kids 3 & 7? I'm not too worry about carseats and such. I don't want to drag them all over the place!!

 

6) Is the island time the same as ship's time? In case some reason we don't have a watch!! :)

 

Thanks for the help!!

[Betsy's Mom]

The dollar buses, which are pick up trucks with the back fitted with bench seats and sometimes cost more than a dollar depending on the route do not go to Magens Bay or any where near Magens. They follow a route around the center and East end of the Island following main roads and are used by school children and workers to go from home to work and back. You will find them when you get off the ship and they will take you to town and pick you up in town and return you to the port area.I do not know how much they charge for this route. As far as safety, we all ride them. They are not the safest, but they are what we have. No one drives very fast anyway and the traffic around town and the ports is pretty heavy so you really can not go fast. There is no way to afix any sort of car seat on the bench seats. If Magens is your choice of Beach you will have to take a cab. It is a lovely beach and very safe swimming for small children.

Enjoy your cruise:)

B.

[Kaytroy97]

So how much does it cost to take a taxi to Magen beach for 4 people? Then the cost from Magen beach to CA?

 

I can catch a dollar bus from CA to the pier correct?

 

Thanks!!!

[Ms411]

The "dollar" busses do not stop at the cruise ship docks - the closest stop is approximately 1/4 mile walk. They also do not stop directly at any beach - again approximately 1/4 walk from drop off point to the beach.

 

The fare is also only a dollar if you get on and off in certain locations (from the University to Price Smart including the town of Charlotte Amalie). If you stay on any further than that (to Coki, Sapphire, or Red Hook), the fare is $2 each person each way.

[Kaytroy97]

Sorry I am still confused about these dollar buses...:o

 

Where do they go??? To and from???

 

If it is only 1/4 of mile away that is not that far away.

 

Also my question about ship time and island time...is it the same or different?

 

Thanks

[Ms411]

It's hard to tell you where they go if you don't know the island, but this is the route:

 

1. The route starts on the west side of the island at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI).

 

2. They head east passing the airport, passing the vicinity of the Crown Bay dock, coming through the town of Charlotte Amalie, coming through the area that's about 1/4 mile from Havensight dock, past KMart, past the hospital, through a small residential area, past the movie theater, passing through Tutu Park Mall, still going east where it eventually passes within 1/4 mile of Coki Beach and 1/8 mile from Sapphire Beach and other resorts along the road, stopping at the Red Hook ferry dock that takes people to St John, continuing in the same direction but heading back to town passing the National Park (St Thomas - not St John!), passing several marinas, passing the Eco Tour, coming back through Tutu Park Mall, and then headed back to the University.

 

Now that I've written all that, I can't remember what your other question was, but I don't think I know the answer anyway!

[Betsy's Mom]

Since both of us answering you are land based we can not give you any information on ship time. You will have to wait until you are on the ship and they will tell you I presume. US Virgin Islands are on Atlantic Standard time which is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard time. It does not change for Day Light Saving.

B.

[momofslg]

Not to take over this thread but...

could someone let me know how to catch the $$ bus to Red Hook. We have a daysail that we meet up with at Red Hookat 9:30am. I will be on The Adventure docking October 14 and would like to have everything planned. It would also be nice to save some money.

Thanks

Lisa

[cruzluvers]

They follow a route around the center and East end of the Island following main roads and are used by school children and workers to go from home to work and back.

B.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge of your beautiful islands and its equally beautiful inhabitants.

 

Do the dollar buses operate on Saturday? If so, about how often (during the hours 8 AM through 5 PM) do they run, e.g. once an hour, every 20 minutes, etc? Is there a set schedule? Roughly how long does a trip to/from the point closest to the cruise ship pier in Charlotte Amelia to Red Hook take?

 

Thanks again.

 

John F.:)

[Betsy's Mom]

The $ buses, safari buses, do run on Saturday. There is no schedule at all that I am aware of. They are licensed by the local government, but that is it. It is pure luck on catching one or hailing one down. The trip to Red Hook from Havensight is about a half hour, depending how long they stop at TuTu Mall to pick up passengers. It is far from an exact science! If you wish to use them I would recommend you take them from Red Hook back to the pier area. Tell the driver you want to "go back to the ship" and be sure you know exactly where you are docked. There are 2 docking ports and a tender station on the Island and they need to know exactly where to let you off. You will have a walk as they do not go right to any pier area. Leave plenty of time, just in case their Grandmother gets on and needs a ride to her house! No kidding!:D

B

[Ms411]

Please. Even if there were a schedule, I wouldn't trust them to ever adhere to it. Remember, this is not Japan!

 

The frequency depends on a number of factors. Since these are licensed taxi drivers, usually if there are a lot of ships in town, some of them will take tourists out instead of doing dollar runs, so you might end up waiting longer (but then you'll probably wait longer for everything else, too!) If you're the only ship in town, they'll probably run more frequently, because it's easier for them to make money picking up lots of locals rather than a few tourists. Usually, though, you won't have to wait longer than 10 minutes.