Hanover County commuters will have a new way to reach their jobs in Richmond next month with the launch of an express bus service between Ashland and the city's downtown area.
GRTC Transit System will begin the new service April 27, piggybacking on an existing commuter route between Richmond and Fredericksburg, where riders can take a commuter train service into the Washington area.
"What we're doing essentially is adding a stop to the Fredericksburg route," said John M. Lewis Jr., president and chief executive officer of GRTC, which is based in Richmond.
However, the Ashland stop will operate in reverse, with riders taking the returning Fredericksburg bus south to Richmond in the morning and returning north in the afternoon.
As a result, Lewis said the new service would add little expense while meeting a demand for commuters traveling to Richmond.
"Ever since we started the Fredericksburg service, people have been calling and asking when are we going to go into Ashland," he said.
The trip would cost $3 each way between Ashland and Richmond. Passengers would be picked up at the Ashland Junction park-and-ride lot at 6:10 and 7:15 a.m. for the 35-minute trip to East Broad and North Ninth streets in downtown Richmond.
The buses would pick up passengers for the return north at 4 and 5:45 p.m. for a 40-minute rush-hour trip to Ashland.
GRTC is trying to build on the daily ridership of its Fredericksburg service, which carried an average of 65 people a day in February, or 1,296 people for the month.
Hanover isn't involved in the service, but county spokesman Tom Harris said the county will monitor the program's progress.
"I guess we'll be watching from afar to see how successful it is," Harris said. "We're curious about it."
Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or mmartz@timesdispatch.com.
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