(Photos courtesy of Cruizzy)
Cruizzy is a Bend concept, born and raised. The business offers sustainable, eco-friendly transportation across a variety of popular Bend neighborhoods. All drivers are advertised as being local, meaning that guests get the inside scoop on Bend from someone who loves living here.
“The Cruizzy concept was conceived in March of this year while visiting Scottsdale, Arizona with my partner,” said owner Gary North. “We noticed that the primary mode of transportation in the Old Town area was via street legal golf carts, otherwise classified as Low Speed Vehicles (LSV). This led to the question: why doesn’t it exist in Bend?”
Many locals can agree, certain events are less attractive when one must factor in the stress, time and money it takes to drive and find parking. In many circles across town, it is not uncommon to hear that people avoid events that are supposed to bring us together, like summer concerts in the Old Mill and First Fridays in our Downtown District.
Seeing this issue and being inspired by successful LSV rentals in other cities, North recognized the potential in bringing Cruizzy to Bend.
“Keenly aware of the continuously growing parking challenges within the City of Bend, particularly in the downtown, mill quarter, Old Mill and westside corridors, the thought was that a service like Cruizzy could be a great benefit to our local business,” said North. “What we realized through our cart riding experiences in Arizona was that while we were there, the worry or concern about trying to get from point A to B was eliminated and it was super fun to cruise around town in fresh open air vehicles and take in the whole of the area. When we returned, I started investigating the legality of LSVs in Oregon, modeling the business and talking to locals to get their take on the possibility of taking a cart service to get around town and to popular events. With the feedback received, Cruizzy was born.”
Ultimately, the Cruizzy model is one that prioritizes the wellbeing of Bend, while also accommodating visitors. LSV services in other cities have been seen to decrease traffic and congestion, alleviate parking issues and provide people a more entertaining way to get around.
“The Cruizzy model and focus is to provide fun-filled, eco-friendly transportation for both locals and visitors alike, ultimately bringing more folks into the Downtown area to visit our local business,” said North. “Fueled by fun, our drivers are more than just cart operators, they are your local guides to show and share our beloved spots and activities with our riders. We offer full-service tours of various kinds, as well as reserved roundtrip ride service. The pre-booked round trip ride service is intended to offer a solution that not only gets you to where you want to go but does so in a fun and memorable way.”
Cruizzy is a very new business to Bend and is still working on expanding their services. Right now, they offer transportation to and between the following districts of town: Downtown, The Box Factory, the Old Mill District, Northwest Crossing and various Westside Neighborhoods.
“Cruizzy currently operates in a small radius on the westside of Bend primarily due to the nature of the limited range of the fully electric carts,” said North. “With four carts currently operating, we have the ability to move over 500 people/day in and around town. The carts can be pre-booked from 10am-10pm, seven days a week by visiting our website, or by utilizing a ’text to ride’ button for the various choices listed, or your own custom ride experience. An app is currently in development to add another method of booking.”
A primary challenge facing Cruizzy is the seasonality of not only events and tourism trends, but also the climate that comes with different seasons. However, that isn’t stopping Cruizzy from pushing into the future and expanding their services.
“Our main challenge is seasonality, with open air carts that aren’t conducive to operating in inclement weather and winter weather conditions,” said North. “Over the next several years, my plan is to continue to improve and expand on Cruizzy primarily based on the feedback from our clients. So far it has been very positive and all of our passengers have been excited to share in the experience.”
