Blacksburg Transit and the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg are surveying Christiansburg households this month to measure the demand for bus routes both between the towns and within Christiansburg.
Blacksburg Transit, a local government-owned commuter bus service, is sending out surveys throughout Christiansburg in an effort to gauge the depth and kind of demand for expanded public transportation and commuter service, according to a press release.
The Virginia Tech Center for Survey Research will conduct the $88,000 survey that is funded through the Montgomery Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a federally mandated transportation planning body.
Blacksburg Transit will then collate the surveys and plan new routes that will go into service in late 2009, according to a press release.
"We've sent out eight- or nine-thousand surveys, one for each household in Christiansburg," said Blacksburg Transportation Planner Erik Olsen.
Olsen said demand for Blacksburg Transit is rising. Ridership increased by about 8 percent in the past fiscal year, rising to more than 2.6 million riders from 2.4 million.
"We're identifying destinations that people travel to for work, school and shopping, so that we can do our best to meet their travel needs," Olsen said. "We're looking at how often people would take the bus, what times they're interested in and how long a walk they'd be willing to take to use the bus."
Blacksburg Transit currently operates the Two Town Trolley route between Virginia Tech's campus and the New River Valley Mall and surrounding businesses.
"The great thing about this survey is that it allows our citizens to contribute to the planning process, ultimately building their own service," said Christiansburg Town Manager Lance Terpenny.
Funding for the new routes would come from a mix of local, state and federal sources, Helms said.
"We're looking at federal matching funds; if Christiansburg can put up $100,000, then the federal government contributes $100,000," Olsen said.
Blacksburg routes begin as early as 7 a.m. and end at 12:15 a.m. during the week and as late as 2:30 a.m. on weekends. Christiansburg's Two Town Trolley Loop runs from 12:45 p.m. to 6:08 p.m. during the week and Sundays as well as from 10:45 a.m. to 6:08 p.m. Saturday.
"If we could just expand -- say double -- the operating hours for the current route, that'd be a huge improvement for us," Olsen said.
"We want to serve commuters, the people of Blacksburg and Christiansburg as well as possible," Olsen said.
Blacksburg Transit has cooperated with Christiansburg on the Two Town Trolley for a long time, said Christiansburg Assistant Town Manager Barry Helms.
"It's been at least 15 years," Helms said. "We meet with (the) BT from time to time, and this subject has come up in bits and parts over the last year."
There are currently no plans in place specifying new routes.
"We want what the community wants; we don't have any presumptions," Helms said.