How We Came to Be

The story goes like this…..

In 2011 if you were out in southern Delaware for the night and tried to get a cab- good luck. You had a better chance of winning the lottery. Uber and Lyft didn’t exist and public transportation just wasn’t available between Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, and Fenwick Island let alone from anywhere in southern Delaware to Ocean City, Maryland. It was clear that transportation was a huge need and severely lacking in the area.

As locals complained and pondered what to do about it, opportunity knocked and the pirate party bus was born with humble beginnings as a short yellow school bus. We weren’t hard to miss, and soon it was locally known that when the yellow bus pulled up a group of people were headed in for fun and food!

When the party bus first started it was born out of need as opposed to a business plan. Initially, we gave free rides to others to avoid drinking and driving. Often our drivers came across people walking home intoxicated after being unable to find a ride and before we knew it, we were providing regular community service with free rides for anyone who needed one!

Eventually, we decided to paint the bus and adopt a pirate theme and The Black Pearl was born! We added our first dedicated bar crawl free of charge (tips only) in Fenwick Island making stops at a number of local establishments and also providing a free shuttle to a local winery. Several local businesses became our sponsors helping us get started that first year.

Unfortunately, this free model didn’t bode well with the State of Delaware, so after many meetings and thoughtful discussions we made the decision (with a “friendly” push from the state) to create a viable business model and we became a public carrier with the State of Delaware.

Over the years we have added several other buses. As we’ve grown, our mission has stayed the same….we want to party and keep the streets of our beloved beach communities safe. We are honored to be able to do both and are committed to giving you and your group a great time and a safe option to enjoy all the area has to offer.