Blacksburg Transit, or simply BT, is a local government-owned urban-suburban bus line based in
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg, as well as the surrounding county, is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of V ...
. The system originated in 1983 with six buses, but has since expanded its operation to 53 fixed-route buses and 18 body-on-chassis vehicles. In FY 19, Ridership exceeded 4.6 million passenger trips per year; ridership is dominated by
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
students who account for approximately 90 percent of all riders, with the remaining percentage being split between Virginia Tech faculty and staff, and other Blacksburg citizens. Ridership decreased in FY20 and FY21 due to COVID-19, but began rebounding in FY21. Blacksburg Transit serves the towns of
Blacksburg,
Christiansburg and limited portions of
Montgomery County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
System of the Year
In 2019, BT was named the American Public Transportation Association's Outstanding Public Transportation System for agencies carrying fewer than 4 million passenger trips per year. BT was singled out for their successful delivery of service to Virginia Tech, Blacksburg and Christiansburg based on performance on 24 quantitative and qualitative criteria, including ridership. In the three years evaluated (2016, 2017 and 2018), BT experienced an unprecedented 22 percent growth in ridership from 3.5 to 4.3 million passenger trips per year.
Employees
![Blacksburg Transit sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Blacksburg_Transit_sign.jpg)
The majority of BT's drivers are part-time employees, making BT a popular employer with
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
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 complementary
paratransit
Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...
service. The service is available for persons with a temporary or permanent disability who meet the criteria established under the
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...
. Once approved, riders can schedule one time or recurring trips with door-to-door service to any destination within
Blacksburg. Riders wishing to go to
Christiansburg can schedule a trip to meet the Two Town Trolley at its
Squires Hall timecheck or at
LewisGale Hospital Montgomery
LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, formerly Montgomery Regional Hospital (MRH), is a hospital in the town of Blacksburg, in Montgomery County, Virginia. The hospital is a subsidiary of Hospital Corporation of America.
History
LewisGale Hospital Mon ...
.
Routes
Route schedules and maps
;Blacksburg Service
Carpenter Boulevard (CRB)Corporate Research Center Shuttle (CRC)Harding Avenue (HDG)Hethwood A & B (HWA / HWB)Hokie Express (HXP)South Main – Airport Rd (MSA)Main Street North & Givens Lane (MSG)Main Street North & South (MSN / MSS)Patrick Henry Drive (PHD)Patrick Henry B (PHB)Progress Street (PRO)Toms Creek (TOM)Two Town Trolley (TTT)University City Boulevard (UCB)
;Christiansburg Service
Explorer Blue & Gold (BLU / GLD)Go Anywhere
Fixed-Route Bus Fleet
See also
*
Transportation in Virginia
Transportation in the Commonwealth of Virginia is by land, sea and air. Virginia's extensive network of highways and railroads were developed and built over a period almost 400 years, beginning almost immediately after the founding of Jamestown i ...
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Virginia Tech
Bus transportation in Virginia
Blacksburg, Virginia
Transportation in Montgomery County, Virginia
Transport companies established in 1983
1983 establishments in Virginia