AMERICANWAY

Though Segways didn’t exist back in Civil War days, visitors to the American Civil War Center began using Segways and other modes of transportation to visit when it opened in October 2006. coffee with two shots of espresso dropped in, like a sake bomb for caffeine. Copies of Gutwrench, a local zine, hang on the news rack. Even the register is hacked for maxi- mum quirk: As the (tattooed) barrista rang up my order, the register blinked the words rd Hi Mom back at me. But for me, the school buses are what really epitomize Richmond’s startup atti- tude. Not the kind that brings kids to school — those are pretty much like the buses in any re art ds e b other town. Rather, there are two unique businesses using converted school buses that have captured the spirit of the city. The ed ir Downtown Richmond Agecroft Hall, a 15th-century manor built in England and later moved to Richmond fi rst is the To the Bottom and Back (2BNB) bus, which is actually a small fl eet of buses painted in colors that Wavy Gravy could be proud of. They off er free rides from the many watering holes of the Shockoe Bottom district along the ririver back up to the areas around Virginia Commonwealth University a at ff es Co where students live (and are probably still celebrating the men’s basketball team’s glori- ous ride to the Final Four of the 2011 NCAA tournament). A nonprofi t initiative powered m F A by donations from local businesses and resi- dents, with the laudable goal of cutting down on drunk driving, the 2BNB fl eet has become a part of Ri Richmond’s landscape. An added trick: The buses are GPS-trackable through th ri b their iPhone app, which helped me figure out exactly when it was time to put down the glass and head out of Republic Restaurant tl nd Track the 2BNB bus fl eet in Richmond www.2bnb.org/bus-tracking & Bar (more Legend!) for a free ride down Main Street. The second is the Farm to Family bus (also known as F2F, of course). This bus, the e k Mark Lilly, its overhaul. In 2009, the Lillys were con- cerned about the lack of fresh, local produce, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods of Richmond. So Mark gutted an old school bus they owned and used salvaged barn wood to transform it into a traveling farmers mar- ket. He drives the bus and parks in various Richmond neighborhoods, including the brainchild of local food evangelists Suzi and got more than just a paint job for “food deserts” where their bus may be bring- ing the only green vegetables for sale. When I catch up with the bus — parked in front of their produce store on the outskirts of town ih — it is stocked with seasonal vegetables such as squash, turnips, kale and creasy greens, all grown within 150 miles of Richmond. Their idea, which has attracted national attention, is powerful, Mark says, because of its sim- plicity. But the most important thing, he says, was that they took the initiative. “No change 38 JUNE 15, 2011 AA.COM/AMERICANWAY

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