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FRED to change VRE feeders, add city loop

FREDericksburg Regional Transit routes to change in Fredericksburg

Date published: 9/19/2008

By KELLY HANNON

Shifting demand for bus service has led FREDericksburg Regional Transit to create two new city bus routes, and make small changes to existing ones.

Starting next month, FRED will launch a downtown loop that will circulate hourly to popular city destinations.

Also, a new Virginia Railway Express feeder service will collect passengers in Cowan Boulevard neighborhoods and along Princess Anne Street.

"We hadn't changed the city routes basically from the day FRED started," said Arnold Levine, FRED manager of policy, planning and compliance. FRED launched in 1996 with four Fredericksburg routes.

Now, FRED has reorganized bus schedules to increase the number of routes with hourly service.

The changes, which start Oct. 6, should result in better and more frequent service, Levine said. "We hope our riders will agree once they get familiar with the changes," he said.

But service will decline on one route--VRE feeder buses to and from the Idlewild subdivision. FRED will take one bus that was serving VRE passengers in Idlewild and move it to create the Cowan Boulevard/Princess Anne Street VRE route.

The Idlewild route was started with a three-year state and federal grant, which was matched with $10,000 annually from the Villages of Idlewild, Levine said.

The Idlewild route will continue for the next two years of the grant, and possibly longer. "We will continue to provide it, unless we make a determination it really is not a cost-effective operation," Levine said. FRED charges $1 each way for VRE feeder service, which is higher than the standard 25-cent fare. Riders can buy monthly and weekly passes to the VRE feeder service at a reduced rate.

Here are the specific route changes:

Route F2: This route will have hourly service. The second half of this route--from FRED Central to Cowan Boulevard to the University of Mary Washington to downtown Fredericksburg--will be moved to Route F5, the "Downtown Loop."

The new F2 route will add a stop at Park & Shop's Giant store. The Townsend Square apartments stop will move to the intersection of U.S. 1 and Townsend Boulevard.

RIDERSHIP RISING 46,517: The number of passengers FREDericksburg Regional Transit carried in August, an all-time monthly record for the bus system. The new Virginia Railway Express feeder service, the VF2 route, will run along Cowan Boulevard and Princess Anne Street. The bus will stop at the following locations: Northbound a.m. service Preserves at Smith Run Evergreens at Cowan Boulevard Cowan Boulevard at Belmont Apartments Cowan Boulevard at Snowden Village Apartments Cowan Boulevard at Hugh Mercer Elementary Princess Anne and Hawke streets Princess Anne and Lewis streets Princess Anne and William streets Princess Anne and Hanover streets Princess Anne and Wolfe streets Train station Southbound p.m. service Train station Caroline and Charlotte streets Caroline and William streets Caroline at Central Rappahannock Regional Library Dorothy Hart Community Center Fall Hill Avenue and Stuart Street Cowan Boulevard at Monticello Apartments Stop No. 1 Cowan Blvd. at Monticello Apartments Stop No. 2 Cowan Boulevard and Snowden Hills Boulevard Preserves at Smith Run Evergreens at Cowan Boulevard Cowan Boulevard at Belmont Apartments Cowan Boulevard at Snowden Village Apartments Cowan Boulevard at Hugh Mercer Elementary

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Date published: 9/19/2008

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