ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 15, 1997 TAG: 9701150070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
All disabled persons living in Roanoke County will have to plan ahead if they need a bus ride starting this summer.
The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday against paying $35,250 to continue Valley Metro's STAR service for county residents. Instead, supervisors said they would use that money to expand a similar transit service known as CORTRAN, which serves only county residents.
Every county resident who uses one of the special bus services for the disabled will notice some changes. The differences will depend on which service they've relied on in the past. The changes will go into effect July1.
Of the 5,600 trips STAR buses made last year, 4,116 were to assist county residents. The buses make stops in only three sections of the county: Tanglewood, Friendship Manor and Edinburgh Square.
People who use STAR buses through Valley Metro pay $2.50 for a one-way trip. However, STAR riders typically call only one day in advance to request a pick-up, and they sometimes are able to make a reservation on the same day they need a ride. They will be required to call a week in advance to reserve a spot on a CORTRAN van.
STAR riders also will likely see fewer hours of bus service than they're used to. STAR buses run the same hours as regular Valley Metro buses - 5:45 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The current schedule for CORTRAN vans is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is no Saturday service.
The difference in scheduling caused Windsor Hills Supervisor Lee Eddy to cast the only vote against the change in bus services. He said the CORTRAN schedule would probably be of no use to disabled persons needing to get to and from their jobs. County Administrator Elmer Hodge said the schedule for CORTRAN vans could be adjusted and recommended that the issue be addressed later this year when supervisors begin discussions for the 1997-98 budget.
CORTRAN, which serves people 60 and older as well as disabled individuals, made 4,900 trips last year. The main difference for people who have always used that service will be the $2.50 fee for what has been a free service.
CORTRAN riders may notice increased competition for the service.
John Chambliss, assistant county administrator, said CORTRAN riders already know they must call early to make reservations even though they're making them a week ahead. He said the phone lines are busy starting at 8 a.m. each weekday, and it takes only about 15 minutes to fill every slot for a given day.
Supervisors agreed to a plan that will increase the number of CORTRAN vans in service, but that plan adds only enough hours to cover the trips made last year by STAR buses. It does not address existing unmet demand for the CORTRAN vans.
The total cost of the expanded CORTRAN program is expected to be $127,500 a year, Chambliss said, up from $69,300. The $2.50 fee will cover about $22,500 of that, leaving supervisors to pay an additional $35,658 a year, or $400 more than what Valley Metro had requested to maintain the STAR buses for county riders. Supervisors said they preferred spending the money on CORTRAN because it is available to all county residents.
As part of the bus changes, supervisors also voted to eliminate the Red Line on Feb. 1. That bus line runs four times daily from the Orange Market at Hanging Rock to Valley View Mall and Hollins College. Chambliss said the bus line has had limited use, with only 52 trips in December.
Supervisors also took the following action Tuesday:
* Asked the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority to spend $100,000 for a community park in the Mayflower Hills area on Rutrough Road. The park was part of an informal agreement with local residents when a landfill was located there in the 1970s.
* Requested $484,000 in federal grants for the Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail that will run from Salem into Roanoke County. The grant, if approved, would supplement an initial grant of $549,300 for the project.
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