Blacksburg is in need of bigger buses to get people around town, and thanks to a federal grant, the town is getting them.

Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced Monday there will be $1.44 million going to Blacksburg transit.

“We are pleased to announce direct federal funding to help improve the commute for thousands of Virginians,” said the Senators. “These critical dollars will help connect our communities and ensure continued access to reliable and affordable public transportation for riders across our region.”

Tom Fox, the Director of Blacksburg Transit said of the grant, “It's great where we can go outside of our traditional funding sources to add additional buses to the fleet. I think it's a testament to the good things we're doing here in Blacksburg with Virginia Tech to convince the funding sources in Washington, D.C. that this is a good way to invest some of their money.”

The money comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration and will go toward buying, what Blacksburg Transit calls, articulated buses.

Fox explained, those buses are, “The largest of a bus that you can buy off the shelf. It holds about 100 people, which is really important to us because we have such high ridership levels in Blacksburg and it's growing every year.”

In fact, last year Blacksburg Transit had a record year with 3.7 million riders. This year is expected to break that with four million riders anticipated.

“A lot of it is associated with Virginia Tech because most of our riders come from either the student population or the faculty or the staff of Virginia Tech,” Fox said. “But the community is growing as well.”

That's why the transit service needs more buses like one which was just wrapped Tuesday with the new design most buses will be fitted with this year. That bus was one of four recently purchased with other grant money.

The new two will make 13 total for the 71 vehicle fleet, compared to just five buses of this size two years ago.

Fox said these large buses, which bend in the middle when the driver makes turns, are not replacing any buses, they're joining the fleet. And while they may be all over town, there are two major spots they'll been seen a lot.

Fox explained, “They'll generally be on the highest ridership routes, which are the ones that operate along Patrick Henry [Drive], Progress Street, Tom's Creek, Hethwood, those areas of town.”

As Blacksburg Transit just learned about the grant this week, the new buses aren't expected to be here until next year. But Fox said it could be sooner.

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