Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 20, 1990 TAG: 9003222531
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SCOT HOFFMAN CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"It was mostly [Virginia] Tech faculty going in to work," said Mike Moorhouse, the trolley's first driver.
By 9:30 a.m., five of the first six riders had gotten on in Christainsburg. As the bus passed the New River Valley Mall, Moorhouse said he suspected that would change, though.
"I really don't look for a whole lot of people to come out here till after 10 o'clock," when the mall opens, he said.
He was right.
Neil Hypes, 18, and Chris Cruise, 17, both of Blacksburg, got on at 10 a.m., put $1 in the farebox to cover both of them, and headed straight for the back of the bus.
The trolley, they say, will help remedy an ages-old problem for teens: no wheels.
"We have no transportation. This'll help us get back and forth," Hypes said. "Maybe see some other friends in Christiansburg."
"I used to live in Christiansburg," Cruise said. "So I have a lot of friends there."
They both got off at the mall.
Three-and-a-half hours into the first-day's run, no Tech students had boarded. Tech students, who began pushing for the route about two years ago, were the strongest lobby for the service. They're expected to make up about 75 percent of the trolley's estimated 35,000 annual ridership.
The route, run by Blacksburg Transit, will have a 14-month trial. After that, town, univeristy and transit officials will decide whether to make it permanent and what changes, if any, to make.
Moorhouse already has one change for them:
"They gave me 20 minutes" to get from Blacksburg to the mall, he said. "All I need is 15. That would be a little better."
The route itself, though, "is really laid out nicely," he said. There's plenty of turning room in both towns and the shopping areas for the 30-foot, blue-and-yellow bus, he added. And he gets to break Blacksburg Transit System speed records.
"This is the only bus that goes on the [U.S. 460] bypass," which has a 55-mph speed limit, he said.
The bus runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. - except on Saturdays when it begins at 10 a.m. - with 13 stops, including two in downtown Blacksburg and two in downtown Christiansburg. The bus also stops at the Christiansburg Food Lion plaza and Blacksburg's University Mall.
Sarah Dickens of Blacksburg has a lot of reasons to appreciate the Two Town Trolley.
"I don't have a car. I like to shop at the New River Valley Mall and the Wal-Mart," she said. She also has a foot doctor in Christiansburg and a clinic she used to go to on Hubbard Street in Blacksburg that recently moved to Christiansburg. "There's a lot of reasons for me."
True to its anointed mission as a shopper service, the trolley makes two loops through both the New River Valley Mall and the Marketplace on each circuit.
"That'll also make it more convenient for people getting out of work," Moorhouse said. "That way, if they're going to Blacksburg, they won't have to go all the way through Christiansburg first."
As Sarah Dickens got off the bus at the mall, she put her hand on Moorhouse's shoulder and thanked him.
"I'm very happy about having this," she said. "I've been hoping for it for a long time."
by CNB