GRTC bus service offers an option for getting there

If you'd asked me at the first of the month how to take the Richmond city bus to Fredericksburg, I'd have told you it wasn't worth the trouble.

That was before I knew the secret handshake -- or arm wave, as it turned out to be. And where to wait. And what to look for.

Now that I've learned the ropes, I can say it's a pleasant and inexpensive way to travel between the two cities, even though it still takes some finagling if you want to visit for only an hour or so.

GRTC Transit System began its Route 96 Fredericksburg Express in May 2007 and has extended the contract with Martz National Coach Works until May 2009. Ridership has more than doubled in the past year, from 698 passenger trips in September 2007 to 1,485 passenger trips in September 2008. The average daily ridership now is 71 passengers.

The fare is $6 one way, which would hardly cover the cost of fuel for the 50-mile trip if you drive a car that gets 25 mpg.

The Richmond/Fredericksburg express tries to make life easier for workday commuters, and they call it a godsend. Morning buses leave Richmond at 4:05 and 5:05 and reach the Fredericksburg rail station in time to catch the Virginia Railway Express into Washington. Fredericksburg riders arrive in Richmond at 6:45 and 7:50 a.m.

Yamesha Davis has been taking the bus and VRE for a year to Washington Hospital Center. If she took a similar job in Richmond, she said, "it would be the same headaches and less salary," so she keeps up the commute.

Kevin Riedt of Goochland started taking the bus a few weeks ago to reach a new job in Springfield. "I'm committed to it now," he said.

Laura Stecher comes in from Fredericksburg to her job at the Virginia Lottery.

"When the bus started in May, I was interested," she said, "but my hours were 10-, 12-, 14-hour days. I wasn't able to shorten my schedule" because of a special project. "I told everybody, when gas hits $3 a gallon, I'm on the bus. It hit $3 the first week of January, and I started riding Jan. 15.

"The hours they offer are marvelous for people like me. I'm a state worker in the downtown corridor. Everything is conducive to our schedule."

For people who want to take the bus on a leisurely excursion, the pre-dawn starting time can be a turnoff. Other options are to take the train up at midday and return by bus or to go up on the first afternoon bus, have an early dinner and return on the second afternoon bus.

To use it for those shorter visits, you'll need to drop off your car at the end point or get someone to pick you up, because the express doesn't hit the same stops going out and coming back. Buses taking commuters to Fredericksburg begin and end at the Hungarybrook Shopping Center at Parham and Brook roads. Buses bringing commuters from Fredericksburg to Richmond go straight downtown. If you take the train, you'll depart from Richmond's Staples Mill or Main Street stations.

That much I knew when I decided to go to Fredericksburg for dinner on Oct. 6, but not the rest of the rules.

So I happened to pick a bus stop -- Ninth and Main -- where the Fredericksburg express doesn't actually stop. If you want to board on Main Street, you need to wait at 10th or 12th streets. After calling GRTC, I moved up Ninth to Broad Street. But I didn't realize that the commuter route used different buses, so by the time I read the route information on the front window and stuck my arm in the air, that bus had passed me, too.

Two days later, I felt unfrazzled enough to try it again. I called GRTC to find out exactly where the bus stops are and decided to board at 4:15 p.m. on Fourth Street between Jackson Street and the interstate.

This time, other commuters were waiting and willing to help. They knew that it's a good idea to flag down the bus even if you're at a bus stop. They knew to look for a Martz bus with a big decal on the side advertising the service.

They made me and my friend feel like part of the club.

When the bus reached downtown Fredericksburg at 5:40 p.m., we had just enough time to get a sandwich at Sammy T's on Caroline Street, a few blocks from the train station. (If you like feta cheese, I highly recommend the gourmet burger with feta.)

The ride back to Richmond at 6:55 p.m. was quiet and cozy. Commuters talked for a while and then slept. Those who wanted to work could have used the bus's Wi-Fi connection for their laptops.

"You don't want to sleep on the train," Davis said. "I've heard too many stories of people going to sleep and going through their stop."

Now that she has her commuter group, she doesn't worry as much.

"You have people who watch out for you." Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or .