Say goodbye to the Two Town Trolley -- as you know it.
The Christiansburg town council approved a $36 million budget on Tuesday that includes $163,000 to expand Blacksburg Transit in the town.
The current plan would establish three fixed routes and two flexible routes in Christiansburg, replacing the current Two Town Trolley.
Christiansburg Assistant Town Manager Barry Helms said that the new proposed routes would consist of a revised downtown loop, a loop to the mall and back to downtown, and a standard commuter route.
Additionally, a flex route would be included, in which patrons would call ahead and wait for the bus at a designated location. Finally, commuters could also request a BT carpool service to pick up groups heading to work out of Christiansburg.
"I'm hoping a number of people will get advantage out of it," Helms said. "It could be very beneficial for people without vehicles and beneficial for others if they want to save fuel and have time to ride the bus."
Blacksburg Transit marketing manager Ken Tucker also sees a positive outcome from a Christiansburg expansion. "You're not only giving access to people in Christiansburg," Tucker said. "You're giving access to anyone who rides the bus if you expand and that's a benefit."
Routes have not been finalized, as the budget has only recently been approved. "We have not sat down to work out the details," Tucker said. "We don't know how that money is going to be spent."
Assistant Town Manager Helms says he hopes many Christiansburg residents take advantage of the new routes.
"It's going to save fuel and take vehicles off the road so the roads won't be so crowded." He is also aware of modern attitudes toward public transport. "It's a little bit inconvenient to ride a bus," he admitted.
Blacksburg Transit currently plans to launch the new Christiansburg service in October.