ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
David Stanley and Ellen Firkins are among more than 1,000 people who commute each day between the New River and Roanoke valleys.
Stanley, a graphic designer with a Roanoke advertising agency, says he probably would ride a bus rather than fight highway traffic for his commute, if bus service were available. Firkins, an assistant vice president for United Way and a young mother, says she probably would not ride a bus.
Regional planners are looking at the possibility of setting up intercity bus service between Blacksburg and Roanoke; according to an initial study, it looks like an idea that might work.
The study's findings so far, which are based on computer models, "are fairly encouraging," said Steve Mancuso, general manager of Valley Metro in Roanoke. But Mancuso points out that the initial results are theoretical and any recommendation about the service depends on the second part of the study - a survey of potential passengers.
A statewide transportation census in 1990 found that more than 1,000 people each day commute between the New River Valley - Blacksburg and Christiansburg - and the Roanoke Valley - Roanoke and Salem.
To get those people out of their cars and onto a bus, the study found, would take a one-way ticket price of less than $5, which would put the cost of a bus trip on par with the average cost of an automobile trip.
That $5 figure is based on a survey by the American Automobile Association that found the average cost of operating a car is 9.6 cents per mile. The approximate distance between Blacksburg and Roanoke is 50 miles. The 9.6 cents does not include costs related to owning a car, such as insurance and taxes, which commuters still would pay if they rode the bus and left their cars at home.
By contrast with the proposed bus fare, a limousine trip for airport travelers between Roanoke and Blacksburg costs $20 one way.
The bus study is being conducted by the staffs of the Fifth Planning District Commission in Roanoke and the New River Valley Planning District Commission in Radford.Both the Roanoke Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, a division of the 5th PDC and the New Century Council, a regional strategic planning organization that serves both the New River and Roanoke valleys, have identified a possible need for inter-city bus service in their work.
Last year Valley Metro asked the planning districts to move ahead with a study. "The purpose," said Mancuso, "is to determine what demand for the service might be."
The intercity bus service might be operated jointly by Valley Metro and Blacksburg Transit, or the two communities might contract with a private bus company, Mancuso said.
If the two public transit companies operated the service, it would cost roughly $1,000 a day, he said. That figure does not include the cost of the buses, which could be purchased with a grant.
The proposed service probably would operate six days a week with buses making the trip every hour in each direction, Mancuso said. Besides commuters, he said, it is anticipated travelers landing at Roanoke Regional Airport would want to use the service as well as people traveling to special events such as football games at Virginia Tech. The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center also should draw riders, he said.
Mancuso said planners don't anticipate the intercity service being entirely self-supporting. Rider fares would pay 75 percent to 80 percent of cost, he said.
Patrick Burton of the New River Valley Planning District Commission said the survey form that will be given to potential bus riders has not been written yet. When it is, the survey will be distributed to large businesses in the two valleys whose employees may commute and will be made available over the Internet and possibly through newspaper advertisements, he said.
The planners will be looking for participation in the survey from commuters such as Stanley and Firkins.
Stanley, who commutes to the Robert Claiborne Agency in Roanoke from his home in Christiansburg, said that depending on how the bus service operates, he probably would use it, at least a few days a week.
He's now putting about 70 miles a day on his car commuting and said it needs an oil change every month. But Stanley said he probably wouldn't use the service every day, because he likes to drive.
Firkins said she probably wouldn't use the service, because she has a young child and is working irregular hours. She also has to use her car in her job for travel to meetings and presentations, Firkins said.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by staff: Commuters. color. KEYWORDS: MGRby CNB