(Danville) — The city of Danville wants to explore regional bus service. The city put out bids Monday for companies to conduct a feasibility study to establish commuter bus service for Danville that would be provided by a third party.
The study will weigh the pros and cons of setting up commuter bus service connecting Danville to Lynchburg, Martinsville, and Greensboro. Danville Transit gets federal funding due to its rural status. Because of that, the study will also include stops in Chatham and Gretna for the route that would run north to Lynchburg. They also want to include Reidsville as a possible stop in the Danville to Greensboro service.
Greyhound once operated service from Danville to Greensboro that included connecting service to Richmond. Right now the Virginia Breeze serves Danville Transit’s Transfer Center.
The study will also examine a potential stop for all commuter bus routes at the Southern Virginia Mega Site at Berry Hill, the Caesars Virginia Casino Resort on West Main Street, and Danville Transit’s Transfer Center on Spring Street. That would allow users to use both the commuter service and Danville Transit’s fixed route operations.
“Both Caesars Virginia and the Southern Virginia Mega Site at
Berry Hill could generate significant work trip activity for commuter bus service,” reads the city’s study description. “However, it also anticipated that passenger demand for regional bus service would involve multiple trip purposes.”
The study will also examine a smaller scope effort that would send riders directly from Danville Transit’s Service Center to the Mega Site. According to the city’s description of the proposal, “Passengers would initially use fixed route service to reach the Transfer Center and based on reservations received Danville Transit would transport passengers from the Transfer Center to the Mega Site.”
Danville Transit is not eligible for grants through the Transit Ridership Incentive Program. The city lost its status as a “Metropolitan Area” when the population fell below 50,000. However, the city is eligible for a state Demonstration grant.
The study must be completed by the end of the year in order to submit a grant application to the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation by February first.
Four years ago, Danville Transit held two public information meetings about a possible regional bus service. They got input about the possibility of a service that would have linked Danville with Pittsylvania and Halifax counties.
Because of the timeline, any regional bus service would not begin until the summer or fall of 2026.