J Magazine Winter 2019

Hunting for a
parking spot
in San Marco
can put a damper on an evening. Circling San
Marco Square hoping someone will leave a
precious spot is dizzying and frustrating.
The San Marco area now has its own version of
the Monopoly board’s Free Parking space. And this
one doesn’t take luck to land on. It takes an app.
Beach Buggy San Marco began in July,
almost five years after owners Dustin Kaloostian
and Billy Chenoweth started Beach
Buggy to serve the Beaches communities.
What started with a single golf cart now
consists of nine vehicles both at the Beach
and San Marco that will carry 10 to 14 people
in open-air, electric-powered carts. They are
covered, have doors and seat belts. At night,
lights flash on the roof and the undercarriage
is lit to increase visibility.
The Beach Buggy business plan makes it
virtually free for the rider. The transportation
service enlists local businesses to become
sponsors and they provide the funding. Riders
need only to tip the driver if so inclined.
Here’s how it works. Beach Buggy San
Marco operates in a very small, densely
populated area of town. The carts travel from
Kings Avenue on the east to River Oaks Road
to the south. San Marco is bounded by the
St. Johns River to the north and west. The
service is only available to people in that
area.
By using the free Beach Buggy app, a
passenger can hail a buggy from a home or
sponsor business in that area. Once the fare
is picked up, the buggy driver silently zips
along the streets of San Marco at about 25
mph to a sponsor destination. Sponsor is the
key word in this equation, Kaloostian said.
“You have to fill in at least one of the
[destination] boxes with ‘sponsor.’ ”
The Beach Buggy app lists sponsors as
well as information about dinner specials or
entertainment. Once at a sponsor location,
passengers are free to wander, but to get a
ride back home they need to be picked up at
a sponsor location.
Kaloostian refers to his business as micro-transportation.
“We fill the niche when
a destination is too short to drive but too far
to walk.”
There are six drivers in San Marco. Like
all the employees, they must have a clean
driving record and agree to a background
check before being hired.
With that in mind, the company keeps its
buggies on the San Marco side of the Main
Street bridge, based at the DoubleTree Hotel
on Riverplace Boulevard. The vehicles’ size
and speed restrictions make crossing the
bridge into Downtown a hazard. Expansion
could include Beach Buggies in Riverside,
Downtown and Five Points, Kaloostian said.
SPONSOR RESPONSE
Beach Buggy San Marco was brought to
the attention of the San Marco Merchants’
Association by past president Robert Harris.
He rode one at the Beach, enjoyed the
experience and saw something San Marco
needed. A meeting was held a year ago at The
Bearded Pig. Kaloostian said after that first
meeting he nearly had the necessary $6,000
per month commitment needed to begin the
service.
Chad Munsey, co-owner of The Bearded
Pig, saw the potential advantages.
“If you can get somebody to drop off customers
right at your front door, that’s a home
run,” he said.
Depending on the size of the business,
sponsors pay on average of between $200 to
$500. Larger establishments like hotels pay
more.
Beer:30 can be hard to spot along the
often congested San Marco Boulevard. It has
parking in the back but first-time customers
may not spot it. Owner Jeff Burns was quick
to join as a sponsor, saying he has noticed a
bump in business already.
The buggy gets people to explore outside
the confines of the business district, Burns
said.
“Some people never leave the square.
This is an alternative that allows them not to
have to drive.”
“Hotels like to be able to say that they
provide a free shuttle service in the area,”
Kaloostian said.
Buggy drivers know about the area and
their sponsors and tell visitors not only about
their destination but other sponsors in that
area. The drivers are encouraged to be personable
and talkative. They want to make the
BEACH BUGGY
SAN MARCO
The next time you visit
San Marco, you might want
to consider grabbing a ride
on a beach buggy.
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10
p.m. Sunday through
Thursday and 11 a.m.
to midnight Friday and
Saturday.
COST: Drivers get paid
but make the majority of
their money from tips.
SPONSORS: BB’s, The
Bearded Pig, Beer:30,
Berkshire Hathaway,
Anita Vining, Bold Bean,
Broadstone Riverhouse,
Clara’s Tidbits, Definition
Fitness, DoubleTree
Riverfront Hotel,
European Street, Grape
& Grain Exchange,
Hightide Burrito,
Hilton Garden Inn,
Homewood Suites, San
Marco Bookstore, San
Marco Movie Theatre,
The Southern Grill,
Taverna, Town Hall,
V’s Pizza, Wick: A
Candle Bar. Program
Sponsors: Jacksonville
Transportation Authority,
iFly Jacksonville, North
Florida Sales: “Enjoy
Responsibly Campaign”
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J MAGAZINE | WINTER 2019