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School board unanimously votes to use school buses as shuttles for Something in the Water

Posted at 9:24 PM, Apr 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-09 22:50:54-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The wheels on the bus are going 'round and 'round - all the way to the Oceanfront.

Tuesday night, the Virginia Beach School Board unanimously voted to use the district's school buses to shuttle concert goers to and from the Something in the Water festival at the Oceanfront later this month.

The buses will run from Friday at 5 p.m. to Sunday at 11 p.m. with a guarantee that every bus will be clean and ready to go for school Monday morning.

City leaders say the drivers' safety is a main priority, so anyone who buys a ticket to use the shuttle will have to go through a security check.

Last week, the Virginia Beach City Council unanimously voted in favor of using school buses to transport concert goers.

Something in the water map

More than 400 bus drivers have already signed up for various five-hour shifts throughout the festival weekend.

"All of the drivers are excited about doing this; it will bring some of them extra money. I think I'm the oldest and longtime driver that's signed up to do it," VBCPS bus driver told News 3 reporter Erin Miller.

"We've got some provisions in the MOA that if there are damages, we'll get that taken care of and there will be insurance that the festival will be taken care of with the city," Superintendent Aaron Spence said.

The city also moved the location of the shuttles. People will now park, be picked up and dropped off at the amphitheater.

Click here for our full coverage on the Something in the Water festival.