MESA — After more than 40 years, Salt River Tubing has a new owner, William Jinks.
From the re-branding to the new amenities and ticket prices - here’s what Jinks revealed to ABC15 prior to the April 29th opening.
A NEW ERA
Jinks has other business ventures in the Valley. He owns JET Limousines, a luxury limo and chauffeur service.
So why make the move to acquire Salt River Tubing?
“It’s always something that I’ve been interested in. I grew up out there on the river, the lake you know- boats, jet skis, tubing, things like that- and I spent a lot of time volunteering out there and I’ve just always have had an interest in it,” Jinks said. “It compliments what we do pretty well- our slow season is actually in the summer which is their [Salt River Tubing] busy season. And we do like passengers, logistics, and shuttling- so to me, it was a really good fit and kind of an exciting venture.”
RE-BRANDING, BUT KEEPING SOME TRADITIONS
The Salt River Tubing’s online presence is very different from what it used to be; now there’s a logo and the colors brand colors are yellow and black.
“The new logo kind of encompasses a lot of the things in the area that are well known. So, it has Four Peaks in the background - which is pretty popular- [it] has of course [saguaros], has the wild horses which are a huge thing that people come to see and then, of course, the river and the tube,” explained Jinks.
Themed events at the river will continue to be a tradition with six planned for this season.
“The old owners, I mean this is their baby they started it [43] years ago,” expressed Jinks. “It’s such an icon and a staple… those things are fun and entertaining- people enjoy them- so we want to keep the same tradition and the same culture. We just want to improve some technology and speed up the process to make people enjoy it a little better."
BUSES AND LINES
According to the owner, the new buses will be rolled out and will seat approximately 40 people; you’ll still see the old buses as they start phasing them out with the new ones.
“Basically, the buses will be higher capacity, we’re going to do the past fast option to give people another quicker route and then we’ve kind of changed how you get your tube,” said Jinks. “So, in the past, you used to stand in line to get a tube then you would stand in another line to get to the bus, so we’re going to have -for anyone that rents one of our tubes- we’re going to have them [tubes] already at the top and ready to go.”
Salt River Tubing will still open at 9 a.m. and the last tube rental will be around 2 p.m.
According to Jinks, the plan is to open even earlier, within the next couple of weeks, “but it just kind of depends on water flow, so we’re going to really watch that closely this year. With the shorter lines and hopefully with the increased water that we’ve been having we can extend those hours. We’ll make to keep everyone updated on social media and all of our platforms,” he said.
TICKET PRICES
- “We’ve moved to iPads and a new reservation software [and] you can absolutely do it [buy tickets] in person when you arrive,” explained Jinks. “The QR code is really the easiest, fastest because you can do it on your phone or Apple Pay if it’s easier and just walk up with the code, but you can certainly come to our windows, and we’ll have specialists that are already set up with iPads.”
- The ticket prices online are the same as in-person. But, if you want to get the military and first responder discount - that offer can only be given in person, so bring your ID to get the 10% discount.
Here’s what the prices for Salt River Tubing are, according to its website:
- $25 Tube rental that includes the shuttle.
- $18 [the shuttle pass price if you bring your own tube]
- There’s also a Tube Rental Fast Pass [$35] and a Shuttle Fast Pass [$28] that will be available during the weekends and on holidays.
- According to Jinks, ice machines are being installed and ice will soon be for sale too.
- New merchandise and souvenirs in the snack bar will be available too, according to Jinks.
