Information on the new Smart Way Connector

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:   Thomas Becher
The Becher Agency
PR + Advertising
540.772.3942
tbecher@thebecheragency.com

Smart Way Connector to enhance transportation in region
Bus-to-rail service connecting Amtrak begins July 19

ROANOKE, Va. (June 27, 2011) – Smart Way Connector, the much-anticipated shuttle-bus service between Roanoke and Lynchburg, debuts July 19, further enhancing transportation options in southwest and central Virginia while providing an affordable option to catch Amtrak trains to Washington, D.C., and beyond.

The 16-seat Smart Way Connector shuttle will operate twice daily from Roanoke to Lynchburg, with a stop in Bedford, timed to connect with Amtrak service. The shuttle bus also connects the New River Valley with stops in Salem, Christiansburg and Blacksburg on Fridays and weekends.

On other days NRV travelers can use existing 57-seat Smart Way bus service to travel to Roanoke with the opportunity to transfer to the Smart Way Connector.

One-way fares are $4. Free parking is available at park-and-ride lots and the Roanoke Civic Center Lot C, where the shuttle departs. Schedules are synched to meet arriving and departing trains in Lynchburg.

With this new service, passengers can travel from Blacksburg to Lynchburg on one bus system, opening new options for rail travel while helping to boost tourism, business and educational ties between the communities.

“The Smart Way Connector is as symbolic as it is convenient,” said Roanoke Mayor David Bowers. “First, this is an important first step in demonstrating to Amtrak the demand for passenger rail service to Roanoke. And as communities in our region work more closely together across geographic boundaries, it’s the first time people can travel via public transportation for any reason from any bus stop to, from and within the three regions.”

“We are excited to welcome the Smart Way Connector to a growing array of transportation options,” added Carl Palmer, general manager of Greater Roanoke Transit Co., operator of the Smart Way Connector, Smart Way bus, Valley Metro and the Star Line Trolley.  “This new service is the result of a deep commitment here in the region to improve connectivity and in the Virginia General Assembly for understanding the potential.”

The service is a result of $256,000 in grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and a $150,000 grant from the General Assembly secured by state Sen. John Edwards.

Smart Way Connector schedule

The Smart Way Connector departs from the Roanoke Civic Center Mondays-Thursdays at 5:50 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 5:45 a.m. and 7:20 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 8 a.m. and 6:20 p.m.

It departs Virginia Tech Fridays at 4:35 a.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 6:40 a.m.

Smart Way Connector stops are:

• Blacksburg (Virginia Tech Squires Student Center)
• Christiansburg (Exit 118A park and ride)
• Salem (Exit 140 park and ride)
• Roanoke Civic Center
• Bedford Welcome Center
• Lynchburg Amtrak train station

For additional schedule details, please call (540) 982-2222 or visit www.smartwaybus.com.

Pulaski Area Transit Wants to Expand Service

The Roanoke Times just posted this news update:

PULASKI – -Pulaski Town Council voted Monday night to support a grant application for the Pulaski Area Transit’s Saturday service, but not without discussion.

Council voted 4-2 to support a grant application to the state Department of Rails and Public Transportation, with Councilmen Morgan Welker and Robert Bopp dissenting.

The grant money, which would be available in fiscal year 2011-2012, would require a $2,100 contribution from the town.

Read the rest here.

Blacksburg Transit’s New Commuter Service — Christiansburg to Blacksburg

Launched on January 3, Blacksburg Transit (BT) now has a commuter service between Christiansburg and Blacksburg. Each morning, Monday through Friday, the bus picks commuters up at several locations in Christiansburg and drops off in Blacksburg. Each evening, the route reverses to get you home. The service times match up to usual office hours.

The service will begin in downtown Christiansburg making pickups in the downtown area between 7 a.m. and 7:15 a.m.  A second set of pickups will take place in the North Franklin/Cambria area between 7:15 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.  At 7:45 a.m. drop offs will begin in the Blacksburg area.

Enjoy your commute. Using public transit is an excellent way to save money. Riding the bus gives you a chance to catch up on your reading, play a game on your laptop, or enjoy your iPod instead of dealing with the hassles of your daily commute.

Get peace of mind with the Guaranteed Ride Home program. If you participate in BT’s Commuter Service, signing up for the RIDE Solutions Guaranteed Ride Home benefit is free, and provides you with up to four FREE emergency rides per year if you need to get home before or after the regularly scheduled evening bus! If you are a VT Student, Staff or Faculty member don’t forget to also register for the Bike, Bus and Walk program, where you get 15 daily hang-tags per semester for only $15!

Get green. On the green side, a study by the American Public Transportation Authority suggests that using transit can be one of the most effective ways an commuter can reduce his or her carbon footprint:

“A solo commuter switching his or her commute to existing public transportation a single day can reduce their CO2 emissions by 20 pounds or more than 4,800 pounds in a year, about ten percent of a two-car family household’s carbon footprint of 22 metric tonnes per year.”

Todd Davis & Monica Hale,
Public Transportation’s Contribution to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Get on board. You do have to register with BT to use the service. To learn more about the commuter service or to become a commuter rider, please call 540.961.1185. You’ll be connected to a BT representative who can tell you more and get you registered.

Missing the Bus, Gaining some Time

Huwmanbeing | Wikimedia Commons

This past Saturday, I took my daughter down to the annual Grandin Village Children’s parade.  To avoid worrying about parking and to spend a little extra time with my girl, we took the bus.  It was very convenient in that we were dropped off almost in the middle of the village and walked a short distance to stake out a viewing spot, and we were there early enough for prime seating.  I had planned on a quick lunch and a bus ride home, but poor planning on my part, a busier lunch counter than expected, and a missed bus threw a wrench in my plans.  Well, it seemed to at first.

The whole experience got me thinking a little more about time.

The discussion of transportation choice often comes back to a discussion of convenience, at the heart of which lies questions of time.  More specifically, what we choose to do with our time, how we spend it, and if we spend it well.  Sometimes its a purely practical, calculable question – I want to spend less time getting to work, less time sitting in traffic, less time waiting for the bus, etc.  Most of the arguments for TDM activities take place in this realm – reducing transportation demand reduces congestion time, robust transit systems mean less waiting, improved bike accommodations means faster bicycle commutes on less dangerous roads, et cetera, et cetera.

There is a qualitative component to this argument that deserves more attention, though, as my missed bus on Saturday proved out.  First of all, it did take longer to get to and from the village on bus, what with the need to walk to the bus stop and transfer downtown.  Since this was a day out, however, and not a commute trip, I built that into my plan – the walk to and wait at the bus stop and the longer ride to the parade was part of the fun, time I got to spend with my daughter while someone else did all the work.  Quality time, as the cliche goes.  My daughter got to pick her seat on the bus.  We had a chance to talk about whatever happened to be interesting at the time, got to see parts of the city we normally don’t and do a little bit of exploring.  Penelope clearly enjoyed the experience more than sitting in her booster seat while I concentrated on driving.

I tried my best to work our parade-and-lunch schedule around the return of the bus.  We were having grilled cheese sandwiches and soda-fountain sodas at Pop’s when I saw the bus go by about 10 minutes earlier than I expected.  With Valley Metro headways, that meant another hour or so until it would come by again.  I was, at first, frustrated, being pretty much ready to go home and get started on some chores and other projects.  I was about to call my wife to come pick us up when I reconsidered.  Perhaps this was an opportunity to be a bit flexible, enjoy the day a bit more, take advantage of the unplanned extra time.

So we did.  Instead of chores and projects, Penelope and I leisurely finished our sandwiches and sodas, then walked along Memorial Avenue for a bit, simply enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and each other’s company.  A forgotten teddy bear brought us back to Pop’s, and thence to Viva la Cupcake for a sweet snack, and finally to Too Many Books, where Penelope picked out something to read on the ride home.  It ended up being a little extra time I got to spend with my daughter that I probably wouldn’t have taken advantage of.

There is enormous benefit in the convenience and mobility offered my our modern transportation options, but there’s also something to be said for being forced to slow down every once in a while, to indulge yourself in your community instead of just zipping through it.  Missing a bus could be an opportunity to simply take a walk or an impromptu picnic with a friend or loved one.  A leisurely bike commute might result in a brief detour through a new neighborhood or park.

Absolutely, time is precious and shouldn’t be wasted in unnecessary trips and long commutes.  But precisely because it is precious it’s worth examining how we spend it on transportation, and to recognize the trade-offs.  It’s entirely possible that missing the bus could be the best thing to happen to you today.