About 10 percent of his employees take the bus to Willow Lawn and walk the rest of the way. The bus schedule does not always align with their shift work, especially on weekends, he said.

“They have to plan a lot more time to get here,” Schwartz said in reference to the nearly 40-minute walk from Willow Lawn, in addition to the time spent on the bus from wherever the employee lives. “I’m sure it keeps some people from coming here to look for a job.”

Schwartz, who has been the general manager since the hotel was built on West Broad six years ago, said hotel guests who normally would not take public transportation would also benefit.

“I think the bus should go all the way to Short Pump. There’s a lot of businesses in between Willow Lawn and Short Pump. It’s a thriving community,” he said. “Then you’d get guests who would actually take it because they could actually go somewhere on it.”

Patricia S. O’Bannon, chairwoman of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, said the board has not recently discussed options to expand fixed-route service in the county. O’Bannon said the aging population in her western Henrico district is asking for van service expansion — not fixed-route service.