Five miles worth of drinking was enough to coax many students into paying for transportation to 9Fest this weekend, despite free shuttle services provided by event organizers.
Dozens of students earned extra cash at playing chauffeur to fest-goers, packing cars with students for the almost five-mile trek from Ohio University’s campus to the event’s location off West Union Street.
While some drivers charged students by the person, senior Jerrod Gotschall charged each truckload of students $20.
“The full charge is $20, so they can fit as many as they can and can split the cost between them,” he said. “It seemed like a good idea to make some extra money.”
Pseudo taxis such as Gotschall’s received plenty of business throughout the day, though 9Fest organizers continued the tradition of supplying bus services to transport fest-goers to and from campus.
“I really don’t get it,” said Detective Steve Sedwick of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office. “It blows my mind that people would rather pay than to get there for free.”
At last year’s 8Fest, authorities intended to prohibit people from walking to and from the venue, to prevent accidents, Sedwick added.
“We tried to enforce it, but it became too difficult with that many people,” he said.
One potential reason for students’ choosing not to utilize the free shuttle service is that the bus would not allow students to consume alcohol on the way there, said CEO Michael Cantrell of Trip Connects, one of 9Fest’s sponsors.
“The rule is students can’t drink alcohol on the bus, but they are allowed to transport it,” he said.
The buses have been running since the first fest began in 2004 and are completely organized by Dominic Petrozzi, founder of 9Fest. The buses fit 50 to 60 people and run continually during the day, leaving every 15 minutes, he said.
Many drivers attempting to make money transporting fest-goers had to act as salesmen to attract business, said senior Krystina Fox.
“The buses made it harder, so I had to approach people and ask if they needed a ride,” she said. “People probably chose to pay the drivers because they didn’t want to wait in the lines which were really long.”
Fox — who had never driven people for a Number Fest —charged each person $5. She planned on upping her price near the end of the night “when people were desperate for a ride.”
“The field wasn’t as muddy, it was mostly just dust and dirt,” said Fox, in regard her success. “Nothing was ruined and no one puked in my car.”
“In the end I made a little over $350,” she said.
az346610@ohiou.edu
