Has anyone bought To Flame bus tickets?

[mudpuppy000]

I've been to a couple of festivals where you had to park in a parking lot and then shlep all your gear to a camping spot miles away. It SUCKS. I guess if I really had to I would take a bus to BRC but it would be way down on my list of ways to get there, and I sure wouldn't be hauling 10 kegs of beer there.

[Mojojita]

I believe that I read that the new bus service will also have a truck available for gear up to a certain extent - I'm sure they are not going to haul someone's theme camp.

[trilobyte]

From the Burner Express FAQ...

Once inside BRC, bus riders have the option of camping in a reserved camping section on the 6 o'clock access road or taking shuttles out to 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock along G Street. If you are part of a registered theme camp or meeting up with a group of friends, you are welcome to make your way to your camp's location once inside BRC. The shuttles will stop along the way to 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock to drop off passengers and their gear but won't detour from their route.

Burning Man has reserved an area at 6 o'clock and G street for bus riders who are tent camping. That area will be reserved until it is full or until Tuesday afternoon when we expect most bus passengers will have arrived.

[Mojojita]

Mudpuppy - I have cigars for you - will trade for homebrew......

[Zhust]

For what it's worth, I am trying to get a refund from ToFlame. I did it by e-mail. They responded that they were trying to secure a permit, so I said that I wasn't able to go. They said they'd issue a refund but I haven't seen it yet.

Lucky for me, the money is not so much of an issue.

I took the ToFlame last year and I was apparently one of the lucky ones to have a generally pleasant time. I even met the bus at the SaveMart and was permitted to board (even though they didn't seem to have any idea who was supposed to be on the bus, and they did not relay my message that I'd be meeting the bus at SaveMart despite responding that it would be okay to do so.) I figured they would have their act together better this year.

[mudpuppy000]

Mudpuppy - I have cigars for you - will trade for homebrew......

Yes!! Come on by! Cap'n Ron will have the cigar lounge set up this time.

We're going to be at 8:00 and B.

[McStrangle]

[link removed by moderator]

Have they actually said anything on here? Eplaya that is.

[McStrangle]

''We have received word from the Bureau of Land Management that our permits to operate our bus service to and from the Playa have been approved. We are in communications with all parties to clarify and rectify this matter further.''

I would seriously advise getting a refund ASAP...being on that bus as it storms the gates is not going to be fun times.

[trilobyte]

Being on that bus will be a long, behind schedule (based on their track record), and full of disappointment as the bus would be denied entry to Black Rock City and the entire vehicle turned around and sent back out.

On that note, I'm going close this thread in the interest of clarity. Whether or not you should consider using them or whether or not they will be allowed into Black Rock City is not open for debate. The answer from Burning Man (the people running both the gates and the event) is that To Flame buses will be denied entry to BRC.

Even if by some miracle the BLM does grant them a permit (despite claims they've made on reddit, my understanding is that has not happened), they will be denied entry to the event. Period.

From both last weekend's JRS and today's Burning Blog post:

Burning Man organizers want participants to know the To Flame bus operated by Rally Bus will not be granted access to Black Rock City in 2013.

Companies providing bus service to the Burning Man event are required to secure permits from Burning Man and the Bureau of Land Management. To Flame and Rally Bus have not secured these permits.

Additionally, Burning Man issued a Request for Proposals for a bus service to the event earlier this year. To Flame submitted a proposal, but was not selected based on gaps in their operational plan to support the event, previous track record and negative feedback about their bus service from operators and participants.

During the RFP process Burning Man advised To Flame to not sell any additional tickets. To Flame was not selected as the bus service vendor, but continued to advertise bus service during and after the RFP process. On June 26 Burning Man issued a Cease & Desist letter to the company.

Participants have a few options for public transportation to the playa, including the new BRC-supported Burner Express bus service operating from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. For more information on options, visit http://www.burningman.com/travel/.