GLTC awarded $5.2 million in stimulus money

The Greater Lynchburg Transit Company has been awarded an initial sum of $5.2 million in federal stimulus funding for new buses and other capital purchases.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board has earmarked $17.3 million so far in stimulus money for rural and small urban transit systems across the state.

Applications are now being sought for an additional $13.2 million the board plans to distribute later this year. All final funding decisions are to be made in the fall.

The initial allocation to GLTC is reserved primarily for the purchase of seven new buses that will be used to replace other aging vehicles in the local fleet. The total estimated cost is $4.3 million.

The remaining money includes $500,000 for a new tracking system that will allow riders to follow the movement of a bus in real time. Riders would be able to use the online system to see if a bus is on schedule.

Other GLTC plans include buying 20 passenger shelters — most of which will go to bus stops presently without shelters. Officials also plan to buy new maintenance equipment and two new support vehicles.

General Manager Mike Carroll said each item on the stimulus list came from GLTC’s fiscal year 2010 capital improvements plan.

The total plan contains about $9 million worth of projects. GLTC hopes to get the remaining money through the usual combination of federal, state and local sources.

Unlike traditional federal transit funding, the stimulus money will not require any matching state or local funds, Carroll said. The stimulus appropriation is set for discussion by GLTC’s plan-ning committee later this month, after which a report will be made to the city.

In other news:

- GLTC is altering the path of Route 9 at the request of a private property owner. The Route 9 bus currently travels down to the Mayflower Drive area, where it enters the Appalachian Electric Power complex and turns around.

Carroll said AEP expressed concerns about having the bus on its property, prompting the change. The bus will now continue down Mayflower Drive, hang a right on Candler’s Mountain Road, another right on the Lynchburg Expressway and back to Odd Fellows Road, where it will follow its normal path back to the transfer center at The Plaza.

Carroll said the change will improve service for Route 9 riders headed to destinations on Candlers Mountain Road. Currently, he said, those riders have to deboard on Mayflower Drive and walk the remaining distance.

The change in Route 9 will become effective on Monday.

- GLTC has scheduled two public hearings this month to gather feedback about its $7.2 million budget proposal.

The proposal anticipates an 11 percent drop in state aid, prompting GLTC to plan service cuts. Officials plan to reduce the frequency of service along routes 1B and 7, specifically.

The public hearings have been set for 10 a.m. May 13 and 6:30 p.m. May 14. Both meetings will be held in the community room at the Lynchburg Public Library.

- The GLTC board of directors agreed to hire Wendel Duchscherer Architects & Engineers to study the facility needs of the transfer center in The Plaza and the GLTC headquarters on Kemper Street.

LU, which owns the Plaza shopping center, has asked the bus system to relocate the transfer center. GLTC officials also say they’ve outgrown their current headquarters.

The contract fee is about $295,000 — $50,000 less than Wendel Duchscherer’s original quote. GLTC leaders had ex-pressed reservations about that first offer, prompting further negotiations.

The board unanimously accepted the new offer during a special meeting called Friday to discuss the project. Officials said all necessary funding has already been secured and the study will begin soon.

Wendel Duchscherer is a national company headquartered in New York state. The GLTC study will be handled by its Alexandria office. Other companies attached to the project include Wiley|Wilson of Lynchburg, Renaissance Planning Group and Engineering & Planning Re-sources, P.C., both of Charlottesville.