Fans wanting to attend football games without the hassle of traffic, finding a parking spot and not having enough time to tailgate no longer have to worry.
Auburn Bus Trips, created by Jonathan Davis, provides tailgating transportation.
Last year people asked Davis about going to the Ole Miss game in Oxford, Mississippi, and the Georgia game in Athens, Georgia.
Dwayne Brown, assistant vice president of alumni affairs and representative of athletic travel, said he learned about Auburn Bus Trips from an advertisement in Byron’s Smokehouse.
“When I saw that, I knew I needed a new company this year, so I gave them a call,” Brown said.
This year, mainly for the alumni market, Auburn Bus Trips transports people from Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery to Auburn for home games.
It also transports people to bigger away games such as the kickoff game in Atlanta against Louisville, the LSU game and the University of Kentucky game.
Brown said Auburn Bus Trips is a cheaper option for travel.
“You can do these bus trips for around $55-$80 … it gives everybody a lesser amount to spend and still make it to the games,” Brown said.
Davis said the charter buses fit about 55 passengers, but the number of passengers depends on how big of a game it is or how the season is going.
All buses have large chairs and overhead compartments to store food and small coolers.
Generally all buses have Wi-Fi, satellite TV and stereo systems.
“We advertise it as a mobile tailgate to the game; that way you’re on the bus for an hour to two, three, four hours, and you have plenty of time to have a drink of whatever you want and the same food-wise,” Davis said. “A lot of people like to watch ESPN on their way to the game, and on the way back they’ll normally show a movie and people sleep.”
Davis said the Auburn Bus Trips concept is a neat idea and provides flexibility.
“Sometimes you drive and you want to stay for the entire weekend, but there’s also some of those games like the Thursday game in Lexington, Kentucky, where you’re not really trying to make it a three-day weekend,” Davis said. “So it’s nice not to have to miss out on the game, but instead get to go.”
Davis said there are many great aspects of Auburn Bus Trips.
“It’s nice to get to have somebody else drive, and you basically get to start your tailgate before you get to Auburn,” Davis said.
Also, according to Davis, Auburn Bus Trips donates money back to the Auburn Alumni Association fund for every person who gets on the bus.
“We’re Auburn-based and partners with the Alumni Association, so it makes it definitely kind of an Auburn Family-filled bus,” Davis said.
Davis said about 85 percent of the buses are for football-related events, and the rest are for basketball games and Greek organizations.
“Even when it’s not football season, we still keep Auburn Bus Trips running,” Davis said.
Davis also said Auburn Bus Trips is expanding.
“There’s going to be more traveling, more buses and more passengers next year,” Davis said.
Next year, Auburn Bus Trips will continue to transport fans from those same locations for home games as well as travel to the Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama games.
Brown said he wants to stick with Auburn Bus Trips in the future.
“This is the first year, so it’s a little slow so far, but I think as we do it year over year, as long as we stay together, it’ll pick up,” Brown said. “I hope to continue working with the same company, so we can keep building that knowledge of everybody knowing who we’re working with.”
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