Increased use of the Charlottesville Transit Service has forced the Charlottesville City Council to take action: New buses likely will be added to routes four and six, the two most popular routes, to ensure on time service for CTS passengers.
"These are our 'trunk routes,' meaning they have the heaviest ridership," Vice Mayor Meredith Richards said. "These routes are the backbone of our services with many other routes feeding into them."
Route four serves Cherry Avenue, Jefferson Park Avenue and the downtown region; route six serves Route 29, the central artery which services Seminole Square and K-mart, also stopping downtown.
Increased traffic and congestion on main roads in Charlottesville often has caused CTS to fall behind schedule during rush hour. Council members said they hope that these additions to the bus routes will get buses back on schedule again.
In 2001, the City hired consultants to develop a transit development plan based on ridership patterns and anticipated urban development. As part of the plan, City Council also is considering adding another trolley to its current fleet of two.
The trolley transports over 30,000 passengers a month for free, between the downtown mall and Grounds. Richards said she hopes this trolley would allow CTS to add a route to the Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center, located on Rio Road. The need for a new trolley is due to the popularity of the route and the often crowded trolleys, Richards added.
"A lot of times students use the trolley to go to and from locations on Grounds," said fourth-year Commerce student Jackie Ferris. "That's when the trolley is most crowded."
Fourth-year Commerce student Sarah Bruss, who was an R.A. in Echols last year, added that she and a group of her residents had to wait almost 30 minutes for a trolley that had enough room to accommodate them.
Parking and Transportation Director Rebecca White emphasized the interrelationship between CTS and the University Transit System.
"The better that [CTS] can stay on schedule, the smoother the crossovers with UTS System can go," said White, adding that UTS routinely adds three buses every three years to their fleet.The most recent addition was made this past summer.
For its urban road fund allocation, City Council requested $200,000 from the Virginia Department of Transportation, in addition to $100,000 from the federal government for use in the improvement of Charlottesville's transit system. With the total $300,000, City Council plans to purchase two buses and one trolley.
CTS runs six days a week, Monday through Saturday, providing service for Charlottesville and portions of urban Albemarle County. Evening service now is available on six routes, and regular fare is .75 cents. This fare makes up only a fifth of the total operating budget for CTS, with the rest coming from local, state and federal monies.
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