Hermanus restaurant launches innovative transport alternative to drunk driving
23. Sep, 2009
1 Comment
In preparation for the annual Whale Festival in Hermanus, local restaurant Fusion Café has launched – with the support of The South African Breweries (SAB) – a novel pilot programme to encourage responsible drinking and driving on Hermanus roads.
Announced at a midday event with the Executive Mayor of the Overstrand area, Mr. Theo Beyleveldt, the centrally located Hermanus restaurant unveiled its own Pilsner Urquell Beani. The Beani, an enclosed three-wheeled taxi imported from China, is the first of its kind in South Africa, and will be used to transport customers to their places of residence, including local guest houses and hotels, in the event they have had too much to drink. Established as a complimentary service exclusively for patrons of Fusion Café, the Beani will operate from September until Easter 2010 as a pilot project.
“The safety of our customers and protecting innocent victims of drinking and driving are the main reasons we’ve started the initiative,” said Petrus Hendriksz, co-owner of the popular eating establishment. “Providing an alternative to drinking and then driving home is part of the experience we offer and with SAB’s support, we’ve been able to get this idea off the ground and to spread the message “don’t drink and drive’”.
As a popular tourist destination, Hermanus hosts the annual Whale Festival (this year running September 24-27), an event that will see thousands of out-of-town guests descend on the town. The spacious Beani accommodates a maximum of three passengers and will be driven by trained Fusion Café drivers who will drop customers off, on request, at their guest houses or places of residence within the town.
“This innovative idea is the kind of entrepreneurialism SAB proudly supports and is perfectly aligned with our strategy launched earlier this month to tackle alcohol abuse across South Africa,” added Gavin Hudson, GM for SAB’s Cape Region. “SAB is serious about eliminating drink driving and we hope that this idea proves popular and becomes a model for other establishments to emulate.”
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] You find the original post here http://www.travelwires.com/ … | Muzi Mohale [...]