Party Bus busted

Utility and Review Board shuts down Party Bus Atlantic, Inc.

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The Utility and Review Board has quashed an application by Party Bus Atlantic, Inc. to operate in Nova Scotia. Party Bus hails from Newfoundland, where it operates four buses and where the bus industry is not regulated. Its buses there are known for their liquor sales and dance poles. Owner Rod Sheppard, a pharmacist, and partner Keith Culleton, a teacher, assumed they could likewise operate in Nova Scotia without government interference; they brought a $150,000 30-seat bus from St. John’s and purchased a $200,000 45-seat bus in the US, and began business, catering to wedding and stag paries and the like, complete with discoed-up website. When regulators got word of the business in May, Party Bus was required to get a temporary permit while a full application went before the UARB. Other area carriers---Absolute Charters, Molega Tours, Prestige Limousine and Town Limousine Service---objected to the permit. The board rejected Party Bus unequivocally, noting while it’s “unfortunate that the Applicant did not conduct due diligence prior to purchasing their vehicles... there is very little concrete evidence of demand for such [service] in Nova Scotia.”

Read the entire UARB rulinghere.