Free 'Beach Bus' rides in Florida

In Panama City Beach, Florida, free “Beach Bus” rides will be provided up and down Front Beach Road this summer, giving visitors and locals alike the ability to simply wave the large buses down and go anywhere they want along the beach.

As there will not be any designated “bus stops” with complicated time tables, riders will be able to go right from the front doors of condos, homes and businesses to anywhere along the beach, and back again, at their convenience.

“You can pretty much flag it down,” said Dan Rowe, executive director of the Bay County Tourist Development Council. “It’s designed to give people an easy way to get up and down the beach. And it’s free of charge to everybody.”

The venture is being used somewhat as a pilot program for eventually expanding public transportation along Front Beach Road, a large part of the long-range planning by Panama City Beach's Community Development Agency (CRA).

Rowe, said that the colorful blue, white and gold buses were in Pensacola where the finishing touches were being applied, including large pictures of flip-flops and the slogans “Wave to Ride” and “Free Rides along Front Beach Road.”.