We haven’t blogged in a while.  It’s been extremely busy around here and for that we are thankful.  We try to make each charter we do special for our customers.  Sometimes the charter itself makes us feel special.

That happened recently when we had the opportunity to serve Usher and his Board of Directors for the New Look Foundation.  We even had CNN on the trolley to do an interview with him.  A nice entertainer doing nice things for the community in return.

So your having a special event.  A wedding, a concert, a trip to the local sporting venue.  You and your guests may be drinking while your there.  Will you drive home after drinking or have a designated driver or hire us?  Think your safe to drive after a few drinks??????

The following story is true, although we’ve left out a few details so as not to identify the police department or venue.

First let me say I have little sympathy for those who drink and drive.  Driving home from a wedding reception is one of the most common ways to get a DUI.  Guests are in a celebratory mood, don’t think they’ve had to much to drink and thus get behind the wheel of a vehicle.  We provide our services to venues in both large and small cities and every local police officer knows when an event, game or concert is happening at these venues.

We were hired to provide service for an event were there was drinking at the venue.  Smart choice.  However as we were leaving to take guests back to their destination a call came into one of the guests.  Another guest had been stopped just down the road.  The officer claimed he saw the driver swerve and suspected a DUI.  We stopped at the scene since the driver had passengers in the same vehicle who had also been drinking.  I watched as the driver was administered a field sobriety test.  He seemed to do well.  The officer then asked to do a alco-sensor test.  The driver refused to do so and thus was placed under arrest and placed in the back seat of a car.  Was he guilty?  Did he do the right thing by refusing the test?  Did the police car have a dash camera to record the tests that they did?  How much will bail be?  How much will an attorney cost to represent me?   I’m not an attorney, but do know a few and it is my general opinion that you could put 10 attorneys in a room and get 10 different opinions as to what you should or should not do if you are stopped for a suspected DUI.  And thats my point.

Would you know what to do and what not to do if you are stopped?  Look at this link at the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and then look at the number of laws pertaining to DUI.  Remember you’ve been drinking.  Is your attorney on your speed dial?  Will they answer and tell you what to do before the officer reaches your car?  Your an out of town guest who doesn’t know the area very well.  You looked at your GPS to make sure you were headed in the right direction, you swerved when you looked and now you’ve been stopped.

A lot to think about.   With our services a lot less to worry about.  To the officers credit they allowed me to move the car to a secure place, until someone could retrieve it the next day.  They could have towed the vehicle and that would have been additional money you would have to spend.

Generally in my line of work I only meet the Bride and Groom the day of the wedding.  Sure we talk via e-mail or on the phone, but rarely do we meet until the day of the wedding.

Last week I had a phone call from a young man who wanted to do something different with the trolley.  Cameron wanted to propose to his girlfriend Nicole.  He wanted to meet her as she left work and then take a short ride on the trolley to have a few photos taken and then off to dinner.

We worked out the logistics and heres what happened.  Cameron went to Huff’s Flowers and bought rose petals and some roses.  He and I spread them on the sidewalk just outside Sparkle where Nicole works.  A nice gesture, however some people wanted to pick up the roses as if they were there for them.

Finally Nicole and her friend (who was in on the surprise) walked out and slowly walked up the sidewalk.  Cameron could not see her reaction since he was sitting in the stairwell with the doors closed.  As Nicole approached the trolley their favorite song began to play over speakers and I opened the door to let Cameron out.  He got down on one knee (nice to see thats still done) bearing the ring and asked the question.  She said YES, but could barely let him get up because she was wrapped around his neck.  Finally the ring was placed on her finger and another couple is engaged.

We then took a short ride around the square here in Lawrenceville  (I think to let Nicole calm down a bit) .  This was a first for me in my line of work and I give Cameron credit for being creative.

Congratulations Nicole and Cameron

We’ve already had a busy wedding season to date and it continues through the end of June.  We have some availability on Saturday dates during this time.

we’ve already taken some bookings for weddings for the September – December period.  Please get your inquires in soon as this period of the year is filled with weddings, parades and fall festivals and football games.

We look forward to working with you soon.

We are hearing unconfirmed reports that one of our competitors has gone out of business.  Unfortunately some parties have reserved dates and made deposits with this company for service.

If you made your deposit via credit card, you should start by asking your credit card company for a refund.  You generally have 60 days in which to make a written request for the reversal of charges.

At the moment we have some limited availability (April – June) to accommodate your event.  Please contact us via e-mail and we will see what we can do to help.  If we are unable to help, we will certainly try to guide you to someone who can.

Georgia Trolley Services will again be providing their services for the 2010 Lawrenceville Trolley Tour  of  homes.  The first tour date is Sunday April 4, 2010, with hourly tours at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00.

Tours will include a chance to learn about the history of Lawrenceville, meet some of our local merchants and learn about their businesses and look at some of our homes for sale.  Door prizes will be given away on each tour.

Contact Rodney Camren for more more information.  Tours run each Sunday through the end of June.

If you would like to be a sponsor of the tour http://newlawrenceville.com/events/about

March to April is Prom season in the Metro Atlanta area.  Each weekend with the exception of Easter weekend high school students will strut their stuff at their school prom.  As with any high school function there is always pressure to go in style to the prom.  Be it your dress, tux or ride.

While we can’t speak on the dress or tux, we can provide you with some tips to have a safe fun ride.

1.  Know your vendor.  The Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) http://www.psc.state.ga.us/transportation/transportation.asp has a list of all legally licensed operators of limousines and buses in the State of Georgia.  There is also a list of illegal providers at the same web site.  The State does not actively pursue illegal vendors.  Generally they show up on the list, because of a consumer complaint.  Some police departments actively inspect vehicles during prom season and will tow vehicles found to be operating illegally.

2.  Know your vehicle.  When reserving your transportation understand what your getting.  If your needing a vehicle for 14 people you don’t want one that only holds 8 showing up.  Ask for a contract.   The vehicle should have a unit number or for a trolley a name that is on the vehicle.  Indicate how many people will use this vehicle on the contract.  If you have time prior to booking the vehicle, go look at it.  Take a picture.  Ask to see the vehicle insurance card or binder.  Many vehicles require an annual inspection.  With buses there will be a sticker placed on the bus when the vehicle passes it’s annual inspection.

3.  Hours.  Most operators will ask for a minimum number of hours when booking proms.  This is good.  Why?  It means the operator should be at the beck and call of your party and not out trying to do other jobs with this vehicle.  Generally your provider should be within a 10 to 15 minute pick up window when you call.  Proms are funny, since some students will stop at the prom long enough to have their picture taken, do a couple of dances and then be ready to move on.  Be cautious however since some operators see prom season as a way to raise their rates to make extra money.

4.  Alcohol.  Some parents think that since their CHILD will be driven by somebody else that it will be OK for the CHILD to drink alcohol while on the vehicle.  For a reputable operator the answer is “Not in my vehicle, under any circumstance”.  Most schools hire off duty police officers to provide security at proms.  On many occasions the vehicles providing service to the students are subject to search.  Please do not ruin your CHILDS school year by thinking it’s OK to let them drink going to the prom.  With our vehicles all bags are subject to inspection prior to boarding.

Trolleys are a good deal for proms.  You can fit twice as many people (30 to 34) into our trolleys than you can a limousine.  The cost can be as little as $20 per person.

The New year is here.  It’s not to early to start planning your transportation needs for this year.  Be it a prom, wedding, sports outing or other event our year promises to be a busy one.  Already we have 11 weddings scheduled for the new year and have done one already.

Please remember that March and April are busy months in the limousine, bus and trolley business.  Many weekends are filled with Proms and Weddings during this time.

We can arrange some events with pick up and drop pricing.  When we do a pick up and drop it generally means that we arrive at a scheduled time and leave within 15 minutes after arriving.  While the trip may take less than an hour to accomplish, the pricing is based on our travel time to the destination and back to our home base.

With Proms we base our prices on a 6 hour minimum.  We take no other business during this time, so the vehicle is available at all times.  With our trolleys the price can be as little as $25 per person.  We do not raise our prices during prom season.

With weddings we have a 3 hour minimum, which in most cases can be split between the first half of the wedding and the back half of the wedding. Under certain conditions we can split the times if the wedding and reception are held at the same location.

Quotes are always free, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if your thinking about adding transportation to your event.

As the end of the year approaches we’re taking time to look back on our year.  We’ve done over 30 weddings, half a dozen parades, High School proms, Ghost tours, a 13 week tour of homes and many other jobs.

In this tough economy we have survived and for that we feel blessed.  We thank each and every one of our customers from this soon to pass year.  Your business helped keep us in business and in turn we tried to pass some of that business on to others.  We’ve also learned that theres  no place like home sometimes.  The community in which we are based (Lawrenceville, GA) is truly a wonderful place to live.  In this day and age it is often difficult to know those around us, but in downtown Lawrenceville we truly are a community.  New Lawrenceville web site.  http://newlawrenceville.com/

We are looking forward to a busy new year.  Already we have inquires for 24 weddings for the new year.  We will do our tour of homes again this spring, hosted by Rodney Camren, Star Team Atlanta http://www.starteamatlanta.com/home.asp And we hope to announce some new services in the next few months, so keep your eye on our web site for that news.

In closing we hope that each and every one of you has a wonderful holiday season and a Safe and Happy New Years Eve.  BTW if your looking for something to do that night, Lawrenceville Rings  http://www.visitlawrenceville.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=184&Itemid=112

It’s been a busy weekend at Georgia Trolley Services.  December 4th and 5th we ran the Santa Trolley here in Lawrenceville.  Close to 200 adults and children rode during the two nights.

Also December 5th we did our first Johns Creek Founders Day parade.  The day started with snow flurries, but the clouds quickly cleared and a nice crowd came out for the festivities.  We always love a good parade and our trolleys add a special flavor to them.

Come see us next weekend at the Avondale Tour of Homes.  We’ll have both trolleys running shuttles between homes.  Should be a fun day.