Trains, Planes & Automobiles

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The story below is from our May/June 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

Public transportation in and out of the Roanoke Valley offers a lot for passengers. And it’s getting better.

Because the ability to get around the region in a timely, affordable and convenient manner is vital to economic security, a lot of attention is being paid to public transportation, even in a locality where the car is king … or queen.

In Roanoke, committees and commissions, both official and ad hoc are in an almost constant process of studying what works, what doesn’t and what needs to change to keep Roanokers moving at a proper pace.

Mostly, we’re talking about airplanes, buses and trains, all of which have undergone significant change in the past few months and are looking at more evolution in the coming months and years.

Let’s start with:

Airplanes

Radford author Debbie Seagle flies from Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport several times a year to Orlando, Fla., to visit her son. The cost is basically what an upscale dinner for two would set you back and the flight takes an hour and a half, she says. “I’m just holding my breath hoping this service is never discontinued. It is so nice not to have to drive to Charlotte to catch a flight.”

In fact, service comes and goes at small airports, but inexpensive flights at this moment include $74 each way on a new route to Nashville, $78 to Orlando, $107 to D.C. and $140 to Tampa, according to skyscanner.com. There is a wide range of fares, depending on the destination, and not all are bargain basement, which leads a lot of Roanokers to drive to Charlotte or D.C. to get on a plane. Roanoke’s 40 flights a day accommodate most needs with connector flights to Atlanta, New York City, Charlotte and Chicago (ranging in price from $221 to $407).

Airport Executive Director Mike Stewart says that though air travel “is more challenging than ever,” recovery from COVID continues, however laboriously. “Fuel and nearly every other cost are skyrocketing and workforce challenges create an environment for which your regional airport becomes a scapegoat for issues outside our control.”

But the numbers are encouraging, and Stewart isn’t hesitant to flash them: 301,000 passengers boarded in 2022, up 27% from 2021. That is the highest increase in Virginia. “While business travel is not quite back up to the pre-pandemic peak of 2019, we continue to see steady growth fueled by leisure travel since 2020, and are expecting that to continue.”

Kathy Bibb of Roanoke says she “recently flew to Jacksonville and my flight arrived 20 minutes early and the flight back to Roanoke arrived 10 minutes early. What a surprise, since both went through Charlotte airport, [which is] a flipping zoo.”

Price and convenience remain the thorniest issues for air travel in Roanoke.

Retired printer Ernie Bentley of Pilot travels abroad “several times annually. Years ago, we gave up using Roanoke Regional. Now we begin our trips from Charlotte, or Dulles. … Check-in and security are thorough but without long lines at larger airports. Parking is much closer to the terminal building.

“Flights out of Roanoke are disproportionately costly considering the distances being flown. The higher airfare for round trip tickets for two to Dulles or Charlotte more than pay for hotel in those locations. And with park-and-fly offers parking is free, plus there are free shuttles to the terminals.”

While telephone business meetings have often supplanted air travel, Stewart points out that “the positive side of that is that people are moving into the region, teleworking and creating good growth in leisure travel.”

Frankly, airport board chairman Nathaniel Bishop, says, “The world hasn’t figured out a new normal yet.” That “new normal” will get a look this spring when the commission begins looking at a new master plan that Stewart calls “a 20-year crystal ball.”

Which leads to:

Buses

Local bus travel in the region has been the focus of a number of studies and initiatives. Blacksburg has even successfully eliminated bus fare in order to get more people on board. Roanoke is not going that far, but Valley Metro, which runs city bus service, recently improved pay and benefits by a respective 15 and 23 percent to address the driver shortage. A new bus center will be finished in April, though it has been in use for months and new apps will tell you where your bus is at any given moment.

There is a request for proposal out for a new “metroflex,” which would extend bus hours until 12:15 a.m. daily and Sunday. And, says Roanoke City Councilman and public transportation advocate Joe Cobb, “We hope to increase the number of bus shelters. We have 847 bus stops” and shelters are not available for most. Three new electric buses will be added in “the next couple of years,” says Cobb, with the ultimate goal of an electric bus system.

With all of this, ridership is up 10%, “but not at pre-COVID levels,” says Cobb. That could be helped by expanding bus service to Roanoke County. The city and county’s economic development offices are working on that.

Iliana Aviles, a communications planner at AEP, helped lead a study of bus travel in the Valley for Leadership Roanoke Valley recently and concluded that those who don’t have a car “can’t do simple tasks. … The city is designed for cars. When I moved here six years ago from a big city, I didn’t have a driver’s license and getting one seemed like getting freedom.” She pointed to grocery shopping, hospital and child care access, school activities and many other daily activities as being much more difficult for those without cars.

Laura Hartman of Bus Rider Advocates of Roanoke says, “Our top priority is better service for existing riders. We would like greater frequency and extended service … We are paying attention to the quality of bus stops and shelters, as well as accessibility.”

There are issues that aren’t always obvious. Says Hartman, “I know people who would love to ride the bus, but feel they can’t afford it—but it’s not the ticket price that is the concern. It’s the ‘time tax’ levied on all riders. … The bus moves more slowly than cars” and the frequency of buses means lost time.

Andrea Garland of Ride Solutions mentions that there has been a lot of discussion about the primary issues of bus travel, including expansion throughout the region. “Valley Metro has been working on this,” she says, “and more amenities have been implemented recently.”

Samantha Steidle, who lives in Roanoke, but works at Radford University, says, “I (and many of my colleagues and students) would use the SmartWay bus if it went to Radford. Unfortunately, its route stops at Virginia Tech. I’ve often wondered why. It would be a smarter, safer, more productive and environmentally healthy way to travel to work.”

Hetty Hoyt lives downtown with her husband and walks or cycles to the gym, church, library, City Market, etc. She says she feels “like we’re doing our small part to make a little lighter carbon footprint.” The former book publisher and college administrator says, “We find the trolley a godsend. It’s one of the reasons we relocated to downtown Roanoke so that our disabled son could commute to work on his own. He rides the trolley every day. And we love Amtrak and use it to travel to New York City and D.C. We’re a two-block walk from the Amtrak station and it adds much to downtown livability.

“As those of us of a certain age become less and less enamored of driving and flying, it’s great to have these options.” Hoyt’s son, Alex, launched Amtrak’s onboard magazine The National a few years ago.

And finally, to:

Trains

Roanoke has become a virtual case study for the national importance of rail passenger service since it was re-instituted here in 2017 with service to Washington D.C. and the northeast corridor, then upgraded with a second train leaving the Valley in 2022. With the two trains serving the area, Gercia Goodman of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority says, “Virginians are continually turning to the train to escape traffic, and travel in a cost-effective, comfortable way.” 

There are estimates that Roanoke can double to 10,000 its monthly passenger trips in the near future. Roanoke’s traffic was recently determined to have the most significant increase in the Commonwealth, up 65%.

Executive Director D.J. Stadtler of Virginia Passenger Rail Authority says launching the second passenger train out of Roanoke was necessary: “We launched the second roundtrip to Roanoke because we knew there was a market for the additional service. And, the immense success we have seen over the first few months just proves that Virginians are looking for an alternative to traffic, and they are increasingly turning to rail.”

Indeed, between December 2021 and December 2022, with the addition of the second train in July, passenger traffic out of Roanoke increased a total of 90%.

The Washington Post recently wrote that “the quest to get more residents on trains has earned Virginia accolades and a national spotlight, particularly as new transportation priorities in Washington elevate multimodal travel with an eye on reducing greenhouse emissions. [Former] Gov. Ralph Northam signed a $3.7 billion bill with Amtrak [which serves Roanoke] and two freight haulers” with a goal of separating freight and passenger traffic. Amtrak is expected to contribute about $1 billion to the program and commit to operating for at least 30 years.

Passenger service, especially when combined with other modes, has become quite popular in Roanoke. Roanoke business consultant Patti Lucas says, “Because air travel from Roanoke is more expensive and almost always requires a layover, I have started taking the Amtrak train to D.C. This is cost-effective because I have a credit card that earns hotel rooms, so I can take the 4 p.m. train for a leisurely ride that costs less than the gas and parking, spend the night in a free room and catch a direct flight.

“I’ve been to Boston and Seattle recently that way and saved a decent amount doing it. We’re going to do it again in May for an international flight. Because the train in the front end feels much different than at the end of the trip, the Seattle trip was a multi-city flight (D.C. to Seattle, then Seattle to Roanoke) and it was still cheaper.”

Shelly Maycock of Christiansburg, combines access for trips to the Northeast, taking the Smart Bus to Roanoke, where she catches the train. “It’s very early in the morning, and it takes hours, but I get work done. It’s easier than flying. The food on the cafe car is fine and reasonable. I like the freedom to move around and ease of boarding. I have flown economy recently out of Dulles and Baltimore which has been hectic, long walking distances and long waits in line, but mostly pleasant. I’ve learned to pack light and enjoy the people watching and the journey.”

The challenges are considerable for a mid-sized city and its environs, but the interest in finding workable solutions has rarely been higher or more organized.

SENATOR EDWARDS’ BABY

Virginia State Senator John Edwards of Roanoke has been a leading proponent for public transportation for some years now and his baby has been born a-screamin’. So much of what the 79-year-old, six-term senator has envisioned for public transportation in the Roanoke Valley has come to pass, much of it recently.

Bus service in Roanoke has a new station; train passenger service returned a few years ago, then added a second Amtrak train in 2022. A Christiansburg train station is envisioned by 2026. He continues to push for priority to be placed on efficient, environmentally-friendly intermodal truck traffic, but that doesn’t involve passengers. It’s the passenger service that excites him.

“We are making serious progress and I’m very pleased with that,” he says. “We improved bus service in 2011, trains in 2017 and 2022. To get train service, we thought we might need 55,000 riders. We got 125,000 the first year, 225,000 the next. Then the pandemic slowed it down, but between the fall of 2019 and last fall, 2022, ridership jumped 65%, the best in the Commonwealth. I’m pleased with how it picked up so dramatically.”

As with so much of what the Virginia General Assembly does, money is a primary obstacle, says Edwards. States, like Tennessee, are blocking high-speed rail and are slowing efforts to expand Amtrak’s Roanoke service to Bristol (and Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis), for example. But extended service to Christiansburg and Virginia Tech can mean huge benefits for the region, especially when it connects to the new Amazon facility in Alexandria (which has tracks just outside the proposed headquarters), says Edwards.

The value and the diminished environmental impact of train travel is finally making their way into the public consciousness. “Train travel is so much cheaper and environmentally friendly than roads,” says Edwards. “Trains get 500 miles per gallon/ton, while roads get 33.

”There is plenty of room and will to expand, Edwards says. “It’s not near saturation. I see an increasing amount of interest; people are tired of fighting I-81. They would much prefer to take a train … unless they’re flying. I have a bill this year that would require the railways to notify officials if they are abandoning track, so passenger services could buy it.”  

The story above is from our May/June 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!