A cache of surplus money stuck in limbo for months now could be tapped to restore bus service to the isolated Daniel’s Hill neighborhood, according to a revised plan outlined Wednesday.
The Greater Lynchburg Transit Company is collecting an extra $376,000 in state money this year, none of which has been appropriated yet.
The unexpected funding, announced shortly after the conclusion of local budget talks, gave way to debate earlier this year as City Council offered opposing ideas for the money’s use.
GLTC at the time advised there were certain state-imposed restrictions on the potential choices, and officials put off making a final decision until a clarifying statement could be made by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
The CTB is expected to make a statement on the issue, but has not yet done so. As a result, the money has remained uncommitted and is currently being accounted for as an unallocated GLTC reserve.
On Wednesday, the bus system’s board of directors agreed that reserve could be used to fund a peak-hour-only shuttle service for Daniel’s Hill, a neighborhood that lost its own regular bus route last spring.
The board approved a plan that calls for implementation of the shuttle service with funding pulled from the surplus cache.
If the service begins operation late this month, it will cost $74,000 to run until the end of the fiscal year, according to GLTC estimates. Prior projections based on an earlier start date had been slightly higher.
Wednesday’s decision represents the first time GLTC has offered a specific plan for funding alternate service to Daniel’s Hill. Past discussions called only for seeking additional money from City Council.
Council, which has not yet weighed in on this issue, will be called upon to give final approval to the revised plan.
A limited shuttle service is the preferred option of Daniel’s Hill residents, according to a neighborhood vote taken last month.
GLTC terminated the area’s regular bus service after the deteriorating D Street Bridge was closed in March, leaving only one way in and out of the small, downtown-adjacent
neighborhood.
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