The Republican Party of Florida is hoping delegates will have a smoother ride for the rest of the convention, now that the organization has chartered a bus company to provide transportation.
On Tuesday, delegates were late to the opening day of the Republican National Convention because Then the delegates were Tuesday after the convention ended for the evening.
"It was an absolute mess up," said Florida delegate Pat Fahey of Daytona Beach. Fahey did not arrive back to Palm Harbor's until after 3 a.m. Wednesday.
"Nobody knew where the buses were located when we came out of the convention. Everybody was sending us to a different place. Then when we finally got on the buses, we ended up waiting about 35 or 40 minutes on the road, just to get in to the ballpark. It was just a total screw-up," she said.
Tuesday's incidents annoyed RPOC Chairman Lenny Curry. "Our delegates have had a hard time getting in and out the first day to the convention center and that's frustrating for me. I want this to be a good experience for them," he said Wednesday afternoon.
"I will tell you that last night, I almost sent a tweet out that said, 'First it was the guest passes, then it was the hotels, now it's the busses,' but I restrained myself," he said chuckling.
Curry rode one of the RPOC-contracted buses from Innisbrook to the Florida delegate's lunch and tour of Tarpon Springs Wednesday. Curry says he's been using the buses when his schedule allows it.
The RPOF was quick to switch to its own transportation after Tuesday's bus snags.
"RPOF has been providing our own bus transportation to take delegates and guests to and from our own events," said RPOF Press Secretary Kristen McDonald.
"However, so our delegates and guests do not have to worry about any future transportation issues to and from the (Tampa Bay Times) Forum, we have decided to extend our own bus service to include trips there, in addition to the RNC supplied buses."
McDonald said that as of Wednesday evening, transportation provided by RPOF contracted buses has been problem-free.
