UPDATE: Roanoke-Lynchburg bus service to debut next month

UPDATE:

An anticipated shuttle-bus service between Roanoke and Lynchburg to enhance transportation options for southwest and central Virginia is set to debut July 19.

The 16-seat Smart Way Connector shuttle will operate twice a day from Roanoke, with a stop at the Bedford Welcome Center on U.S. 460 in Bedford, with trips timed to connect with the Amtrak rail service on Kemper Street in Lynchburg.

"We are excited to welcome the Smart Way Connector to a growing array of transportation options," said Carl Palmer, general manager of Greater Roanoke Transit Co., operator of the service, in a news release. "This new service is the result of a deep commitment here in the region to improve connectivity and in the Virginia General Assembly for understanding the potential."

One-way fares are $4 with free parking available at park-and-ride lots and the Roanoke Civic Center Lot C, the departure site. The new service is a result of $406,000 in grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and the Virginia General Assembly.

The Smart Way Connector would depart from Roanoke Mondays-Thursdays at 5:50 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 5:45 a.m. and 7:20 p.m. and weekends at 8 a.m. and 6:20 p.m.

EARLIER:

Bedford is noticing a steady rise in visitors because of Lynchburg’s Amtrak service and anticipates the number to keep growing, says Sergei Troubetzkoy, the Bedford area director of tourism.

Troubetzkoy is set to ask the Bedford County Board of Supervisors tonight to support the Greater Roanoke Transit Authority in a proposed bus connector service to Lynchburg’s Amtrak Station.

He said in a memo to the supervisors that GRTC is working to establish the bus service for the purpose of linking Bedford and Roanoke with the station.

Long-range plans call for the Amtrak service to expand south and west into Tennessee with possible stops in Bedford and Roanoke, Troubetzkoy said, and the bus service would demonstrate an interest for expanded service south and west of Lynchburg.

The Bedford Welcome Center close to U.S. 460 next to the entrance to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford would serve as the site of the Bedford stop in the proposed bus service, Troubetzkoy said. The center receives many requests from residents and visitors about Amtrak service, he wrote to supervisors.

“We believe that this connector service will greatly enhance our efforts to promote tourism in the region as well as offering the general public who reside in Bedford an opportunity to get to Lynchburg’s Amtrak station with ease and at a minimal cost,” Troubetzkoy said.

GRTC filed an operating grant assistance application with the state’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation to help support the proposal.

The Virginia General Assembly approved $150,000 to go toward the total cost of the proposed service, which is $342,130, Troubetzkoy said. The county would need to contribute $9,358 toward the project and maybe less, he wrote to supervisors.

The board is also set to conduct a public hearing tonight on amending a special-use permit to add amusement rides and occasional music entertainment at Mayberry Drive-In and Diner in Moneta near Smith Mountain Lake. The county approved the drivein on White House Road near Virginia 122 in 2007.