It's great to hear that the Montgomery County supervisors have agreed to fund increased bus service in Christiansburg (CT-May 21).
Blacksburg has excellent, frequent bus service. And the Smart Way bus between Blacksburg and Roanoke is flourishing. For a town our size, we now have pretty good public transportation compared to elsewhere.
The trouble is, transportation options to and from Blacksburg itself and places students, parents and tourists live is between slim and none. Common-carrier buses have almost disappeared in the New River Valley, perhaps two a day through Roanoke, none through Blacksburg. There is no Amtrak service within 50 miles, if that. And what air service we have through Roanoke is costly, infrequent, and doesn't serve the destinations most local visitors and students come from or go to, even with a change of planes in Charlotte or Washington. In short, unless you drive, you can't get here from there.
The average plane trip is about 600 miles, which means that flying from Chicago, Cincinnati, Atlanta, or New York to Roanoke, though costly and inconvenient, can be done if you are willing to change at a hub and be strip-searched at two airports. But if you live in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, or Maryland (where most visitors to Blacksburg do) it was easier to get to California in the Gold Rush in a Conestoga wagon or by going around the Horn in a pocket steamer than to get home from Tech or back again.
What is badly needed is a run-though by Smart Bus from Blacksburg to Roanoke and then on to Clifton Forge Friday and Wednesday to connect with the eastbound and westbound Cardinal (Amtrak trains No. 50 and No. 51, which also run on Sundays even if the Smart Way bus doesn't). An alternative would be to operate a minibus, similar to the ones Blacksburg Transit uses, to and from White Sulphur Springs Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday to connect with the Cardinal.
With gasoline in increasingly short supply, and heading up again in price, we need some user-friendly alternative to white-knuckles and empty wallets on Interstate 81. Or do we think walking, biking or jogging between Charlottesville and Tech is a realistic solution?
Randolph Gregg
Blacksburg resident
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1. Tourists do not live in Blacksburg. If they lived in Blacksburg, they would not be tourists. 2. What is an "average plane trip"? 3. Amtrak from Clifton Forge to Charlottesville: $29. Bus cost to Clifton Forge (perhaps): $5-10. Time: 4 hours (2.5 on train, 1.5 driving). Drive to Charlottesville: 2.5 hours (150 miles). Gallons at 20 miles per gallon: 7.5 Cost at $4 a gallon: $30. Drive. Your derriere. To Charlottesville.
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I'm not sure where the last place you have flown is but you never get searched, or let alone strip-searched where you are making a connecting flight. Secondly, you often have to make a connection regardless of where your starting and ending destinations are. The connection usually takes place in a "hub" city. Your transportation recommendations will never happen cause there is no demand for a bus to connect Clifton Forge to Blacksburg. If you disagree with that statement, then start up a bus line and make some money on it.
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Run a conventional rail line down I-81 and another one across I-64. Connect them with Washington, DC Union Station (for Amtrak) and Harrisburg, PA (for the high-speed Keystone service) to the north, and to the Piedmont Triangle area of North Carolina to the south (for the Amtrak Carolina services). Why not? There is political will to do this in the state of Virginia. Jim Oberstar has just proposed The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 that will kick a big hunk of money towards projects like this. Write your congressmen and senators and make it happen.
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Lex, what money? Where is it coming from? Amtrak is owned by the government and is always in debt. Expanding a losing operation is the last thing we need. It also begs the question: if the government continues to throw funding at the Amtrak money pit, why do we expect that they'll help GM become solvent?
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So the choices are jogging to C-ville or building a rail line? Isn't there a message board at a VT site so people can hitch a ride with other students to areas where people live? As crazy as it sounds to help each other out, it is an imperfect but decent solution. I think some call it "carpooling" and seems to be catching on in some places. Using cars and roads that already exist seems like a win-win to me. Perhaps promoting a hitch-a-ride program would be more cost effective to solving these problems. Any ideas on how many students drive cars to and from C-ville and the frequency? How many have available seats and would be willing to allow a passenger to split the cost of gas?
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VT has a HomeRide program that goes through Charlottesville/Harrisonburg (alternates each week) then up to Northern VA on friday and back to bburg on sunday, at least during the school year. There is bus service. Use that.
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There is bus service. It is called HomeRide. Do your research.
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And you don't get searched a 2nd time at a connecting airport.
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