MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Are your hands full of shopping bags or are you looking for a ride to your favorite restaurant because you had to park far away? Mount Dora Transit provides a solution.

Transit driver and tour guide John Prentice spends his days helping solve one of the biggest problems in this small town, the lack of parking. And he makes a lot of friends along the way.

“It is just so much fun," Prentice said. "You meet the most interesting people from all over the world.” 

Prentice has been driving a golf cart around the city for two years, and he’ll take you wherever you want to go without charging a dime.

“I’m not sure that everybody understands what we’re providing for them,” he said. “But once they use it, they’re really appreciative, so that’s the best part of it all.”

Shoppers with their hands full are an easy target to help.

A proposal for a parking structure in historic downtown was withdrawn this month, leaving the city without a solution once again.

“I still think we need a lot of parking because it’s a deterrent for some people, especially when we have our big venues," Prentice said. "That’s really tough. People are parked all over the doggone place on everybody’s lawn.”

So Prentice stays busy, joking and smiling the whole time. But he does give himself a break from all the carting around for a bite to eat. One of his favorite stops to cool off is Tony’s Chowder House, where he says the clam chowder is the best he’s had anywhere.

“And it’s all fresh,” Prentice said.

After lunch, its another pickup. Prentice's not only a taxi service, but also a historic tour guide. He’ll even take you to the very top of Mount Dora, if you can handle the elevation.

“You will have just climbed Mount Dora. This is 184 feet above sea level,” he said.

Whether you just need a lift, already know Prentice, or want to learn a little history, he will recommend the lighthouse for a sunset, to everyone who will listen.

“Now I don’t know what’s better than this, this is perfect to me,” Prentice said. “This is Mount Dora at its best.”

At the end of his volunteer shift, Prentice trades one set of wheels for another. And he says he can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow.

Mount Dora Transit has a cart that holds five people and another one that holds up to seven people. The carts run from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., seven days a week.