Blacksburg Transit to add new Christiansburg commute

Blacksburg Transit Marketing Specialist Fiona Rhodes listens to the concerns of potential commuters at Wednesday's meeting. Photo by Travis Williams | The Burgs

BLACKSBURG — What would it take for you to consider riding the bus to and from work?

That’s the question Blacksburg Transit is asking people in Christiansburg who commute daily to work in Blacksburg as they prepare to add a second commuter route to Christiansburg.

The group held its first of four public meetings Wednesday in hopes of learning the transportation needs of potential riders.

Currently Blacksburg Transit maintains a single, daily 10-stop commuter bus from Christiansburg to Blacksburg, which Blacksburg Transit Marketing Specialist Fiona Rhodes said has a goal of getting everyone to work by 8 a.m.

She said the new route’s schedule, as well as pick-up points, will be based on the feedback they receive from the meetings and from their online survey, which she said had been filled out close to 150 times since its debut a little less than three weeks ago.

Rhodes added that the feedback is vital to the process of developing the route because Christiansburg doesn’t have one central location that people are trying to get to, and their goal is to maximize the number of people the transit can serve.

Meeting attendee Greg Campbell said he likely would not be included in that number.
Campbell, who works in the Learning Technologies Department of Virginia Tech, said that while it would be nice to not have to drive to work each day, it was unlikely his ever-changing work schedule would allow him to commit to a one-trip bus commute.
Campbell said if the transit had the ability to make hourly runs between the towns, it would be far more likely he could take advantage of their services.

Transportation planner Erik Olsen reminded Campbell and the rest of the crowd that riders don’t have to commit to ride each day and said he often suggests people considering making one day a week their transit day instead of driving.

Rhodes said getting people to consider such alternatives is also a challenge the transit faces.

She insisted, however, that many will soon realize they don’t need their car and that once they are in Blacksburg, the routes the transit already has in place can take them anywhere in town they need to go.

Currently, each transit ride costs 50 cents per adult rider, with a monthly rate of $8  and a six-month rate of $37.50. The transit is free to any rider with a Hokie Passport.
Rhodes said the additional route could begin as soon as August, based on the feedback.

For more information or to take the commuter survey, visit www.blacksburg.gov.

The remaining three meetings are:

• July 11, noon, Blacksburg Motor Company large conference room, 400 S. Main St.

• July 12, noon, Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Building 12, 1715 Pratt Drive

•  July 18, noon, Litton Reaves 1770, Virginia Tech

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