Blacksburg Transit
Encyclopedia
Blacksburg Transit, or simply the BT, is a local government-owned urban-suburban bus line based in Blacksburg, Virginia
. The system originated in 1983 with six buses, but has since expanded its operation to 50 buses and 11 vans in making 3.0 million trips per year. Its ridership is dominated by Virginia Tech students who account for 90 percent of all riders, with the remaining 10 percent being split evenly between Tech faculty and staff, and other Blacksburg citizens. Blacksburg Transit serves the towns of Blacksburg
, Christiansburg
and limited unincorporated portions of Montgomery County
.
A new service offered to its riders in the mid 2000's is WiFi
internet
access. Offered only on select buses until 2009 when the service provider raised their data rates consequently BT suspended the WiFi service indefinitely.
Commuter bus service from Blacksburg to Roanoke
is operated by Valley Metro
as the Smart Way Bus.
service. Riders must first qualify to use this service by filling out an application with the BT ACCESS office. Once approved, riders can schedule one time or recurring trips with door-through-door service to any destination within Blacksburg
and areas outside Blacksburg serviced by BT's main-line fixed route bus service. (The Two Town Trolley is considered an Express route, riders wishing to go to Christiansburg
can schedule a trip to meet the Blacksburg Two Town Trolley at its Squires Hall timecheck.
Two Town Trolley - Christiansburg Loop was discontinued effective 11/2009. This route was replaced by BT's Christiansburg Service
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
. The system originated in 1983 with six buses, but has since expanded its operation to 50 buses and 11 vans in making 3.0 million trips per year. Its ridership is dominated by Virginia Tech students who account for 90 percent of all riders, with the remaining 10 percent being split evenly between Tech faculty and staff, and other Blacksburg citizens. Blacksburg Transit serves the towns of Blacksburg
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
, Christiansburg
Christiansburg, Virginia
Christiansburg is a town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. The population was 21,041 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
and limited unincorporated portions of Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 83,629 people, 30,997 households, and 17,203 families residing in the county. The population density was 215 people per square mile . There were 32,527 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile...
.
A new service offered to its riders in the mid 2000's is WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access. Offered only on select buses until 2009 when the service provider raised their data rates consequently BT suspended the WiFi service indefinitely.
Commuter bus service from Blacksburg to Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
is operated by Valley Metro
Valley Metro (Roanoke)
Valley Metro, the operational name for the Greater Roanoke Transit Company, is a local government-owned urban-suburban bus line based in Roanoke, Virginia with First Transit providing the general and assistant general managers. The staff is employed by Southwest Virginia Transit Management Company...
as the Smart Way Bus.
Employees
The majority of BT's drivers are part-time employees, making BT a popular employer with Virginia Tech students as well as retirees. The majority of the service's full-time staff consists of administrative and supervisory positions.BT ACCESS
BT ACCESS is Blacksburg Transit's ADA-compliant paratransitParatransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
service. Riders must first qualify to use this service by filling out an application with the BT ACCESS office. Once approved, riders can schedule one time or recurring trips with door-through-door service to any destination within Blacksburg
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
and areas outside Blacksburg serviced by BT's main-line fixed route bus service. (The Two Town Trolley is considered an Express route, riders wishing to go to Christiansburg
Christiansburg, Virginia
Christiansburg is a town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. The population was 21,041 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
can schedule a trip to meet the Blacksburg Two Town Trolley at its Squires Hall timecheck.
Routes
- Corporate Research Center Shuttle jpg map
- Hethwood / Harding (formerly Windsor Hills) jpg map
- Hokie Express jpg map
- Main Street jpg map
- Patrick Henry jpg map
- Tom's Creek A jpg map
- Tom's Creek B jpg map
- Two Town Trolley - Blacksburg Loop jpg map
- University Mall Shuttle jpg map
Two Town Trolley - Christiansburg Loop was discontinued effective 11/2009. This route was replaced by BT's Christiansburg Service
Bus fleet
- New Flyer D40LF, D35LF and D30LF
- FlxibleFlxibleThe Flxible Co. was a motorcycle sidecar, funeral car, ambulance, intercity coach and transit bus manufacturing company based in the United States that was founded in 1913, and which closed in 1996.-History:In 1913, Hugo H. Young and Carl F...
Metro (Six 35' and Six 40' buses, retired and sold in stages starting in 2002) - RTS-TMCRapid Transit SeriesThe Rapid Transit Series bus is a long-running series of transit buses originally manufactured by General Motors and is currently produced by Millennium Transit Services as the RTS Legend. Millennium had produced the buses from 2006 until it shut down production in 2009, only to be bought back...
(Two 35' and Two 40' buses, retired and sold in 2003)