County keeps GLTC bus service rolling

By Justin Faulconer

Published: August 20, 2008

AMHERST — Bus service in Madison Heights received a lift Tuesday from Amherst County officials.

Facing greater expenses due to high fuel prices, the county’s Board of Supervisors voted to allocate additional money to the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company to keep full bus service running.

GLTC requested nearly $54,000 to keep the 12-hour per day, six-days-a-week bus line operating along U.S. 29 Business and other parts of Madison Heights.

Supervisors appropriated nearly $22,000 in addition to $32,000 that was already put aside in the county’s current budget — with the stipulation that GLTC does a study to determine exactly how many people are using the service.

The information would guide the board in next year’s budget, which takes effect next summer, said Supervisor Ray Vandall.

“We may have to reduce the service next year,” Vandall said.

But for now, the service will remain as it is, said Mike Carroll, GLTC general manager. Without additional funds, GLTC had proposed cutting back some service to the county, which he said is the only neighboring locality to Lynchburg that pays for bus routes.

“Essentially, it’s cutting the service in half,” said Carroll before the vote. “We’re still providing the service — the question is how much.”

The bus that runs to Amherst sees between 17,000 and 18,000 passengers a year, he said. Several county employees recently rode two routes, one during a morning stretch and the other during the afternoon, to observe impact on citizens.

The employees talked to various riders and found that 12 out of 19 surveyed didn’t carry a Virginia driver’s license. They found that many rely heavily on the service, said Jeremy Bryant, the county’s planning director, who took part in the questioning.

“We really got a feeling from the people it was a service important to them,” Bryant said.

Also on Tuesday:

- Supervisors approved a resolution requesting Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to declare the county a disaster area due to extreme drought conditions. Amherst joins Bedford and Campbell counties in seeking the declarations for federal loans and disaster assistance to help citizens facing hardships.

William Seay, the county’s extension agent, said crops in corn, fruit and apples have sustained damage and hay cutting appears dismal, despite a successful first cut this past spring.