Virginia Breeze | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Owner | Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation |
Locale | Commonwealth of Virginia |
Transit type | Bus |
Number of lines | 4 |
Number of stations | 30 |
Daily ridership | 261 [1] |
Annual ridership | 60,000 [2] |
Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia [3] |
Website | https://virginiabreeze.drpt.virginia.gov/ |
Operation | |
Began operation | 1 December 2017 [4] |
Technical | |
System length | 1,220 miles |
The Virginia Breeze is an intercity bus service operated by Megabus and was introduced by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. The system operates four bus routes from Washington D.C. to many different parts of Virginia.
The service includes stops at Dulles International Airport and Union Station, facilitating connections to planes, trains, and other buses. From Union Station, passengers can access intercity bus and Amtrak services to cities along the Northeast Corridor, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. [5]
The Virginia Breeze began operations in December 2017 funded through the Federal Transit Administration’s Intercity Bus Program [6] and Managed by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, it initially offered a single route between Blacksburg and Washington, D.C. Today, Virginia Breeze Bus Lines connects communities throughout the Virginia with four routes. These routes serve the New River Valley, the Shenandoah Valley, the Piedmont Region, the Southern Racing Region, and Northern Virginia. [5]
The Valley Flyer is the busiest route of the system and runs between Blacksburg and Washington. This route starts at Blacksburg and has 7 intermediate stops, which include: Christiansburg, Lexington, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Front Royal, Dulles International Airport, and West Falls Church Metrorail station before arriving at Washington D.C. Union Station. [7]
The Capital Connector runs between Martinsville and Washington. This route starts at Martinsville and has 4 intermediate stops, which include: Danville, South Boston, Farmville and Richmond, before arriving at Washington D.C. Union Station. [7]
The Piedmont Express runs between Danville and Washington. This route starts at Danville and has 8 intermediate stops, which include: Altavista, Lynchburg, and Amherst, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Warrenton, Gainesville, and Dulles International Airport before arriving at Washington D.C. Union Station. [7]
The Highlands Rhythm runs between Bristol and Washington. This route starts at Bristol and has 10 intermediate stops, which include: Wytheville, Radford, Christiansburg, Salem, Lexington, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Front Royal, Dulles International Airport and West Falls Church Metrorail station before arriving at Washington D.C. Union Station. [7]
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is proposing to add its first east-west line to the state-run service meant to connect underserved rural areas. The new route for Virginia Breeze will run from Virginia Beach to Harrisonburg, the agency said in an announcement Tuesday. The 235-mile trip will take about six-and-a-half hours one way and run 365 days a year, with stops in places like Charlottesville,Richmond, and Williamsburg, among others. The cross-state bus line won’t start until 2025, and the department couldn’t say what a ticket would cost. This is the first line on the Virginia Breeze’s schedule to connect to Hampton Roads. Four existing routes run from cities in southwest Virginia up to Washington D.C. [8]
Christiansburg is a town and the county seat of Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. The population was 23,348 at the 2020 census, up from 21,041 at the 2010 census. Christiansburg, Blacksburg and the city of Radford are the three principal municipalities of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses those municipalities, all of Montgomery County, and three other counties.
The Orange Line is one of the six rapid transit lines of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 26 stations in Fairfax County and Arlington in Northern Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Orange Line runs from Vienna in Virginia to New Carrollton in Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line and over two thirds are shared with the Silver Line. Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978.
West Falls Church station is a Washington Metro station in Idylwood, Virginia on the Orange Line, the first station inside the Capital Beltway on the Orange Line going east. It is one of only two stations in the system to have three tracks, the other being the National Airport station. The center track is used for storage and relaying trains to the adjacent Falls Church Yard.
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Alexandria Union Station is a historic railroad station in Alexandria, Virginia, south of Washington, D.C. To avoid confusion with nearby Washington Union Station, the station is often referred to as simply Alexandria. Its Amtrak code is ALX.
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Transportation in the Commonwealth of Virginia is by land, sea and air. Virginia's extensive network of highways and railroads were developed and built over a period almost 400 years, beginning almost immediately after the founding of Jamestown in 1607, and often incorporating old established trails of the Native Americans.
The Silver Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 34 stations in Loudoun County, Fairfax County and Arlington County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland. The Silver Line runs from Ashburn in Virginia to Downtown Largo in Maryland. Five stations, from both lines' eastern terminus at Downtown Largo to Benning Road, are shared with the Blue Line alone; thirteen stations, from Stadium–Armory to Rosslyn, with both the Orange Line and Blue Lines; and five stations from Court House to East Falls Church with the Orange Line alone. Only the five stations of Phase 1, which began service on July 26, 2014, and the six stations of Phase 2, which began service on November 15, 2022, are exclusive to the Silver Line.
Herndon station is a Washington Metro station in Fairfax County, Virginia on the Silver Line that opened on November 15, 2022. The station is in the median strip of VA-267 adjacent to the current Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride parking garage and bus station, which is on the south side of the highway. It has two pedestrian bridges across SR 267 to reach entrances on either side of the highway. Bus bays are located on the south side of the highway.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is an independent airport authority, created with the consent of the United States Congress to oversee management, operations, and capital development of the two major airports serving the U.S. national capital: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) is an intermodal rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, local bus, and intercity bus transportation hub in Miami-Dade County, Florida, just outside the Miami city limits near the Grapeland Heights neighborhood. The facility was constructed by the Florida Department of Transportation and is owned by the Greater Miami Expressway Agency.
Washington, D.C. has a number of different modes of transportation available for use. Commuters have a major influence on travel patterns, with only 28% of people employed in Washington, D.C. commuting from within the city, whereas 33.5% commute from the nearby Maryland suburbs, 22.7% from Northern Virginia, and the rest from Washington, D.C.'s outlying suburbs.
Kemper Street station, also known as Lynchburg station, is an intermodal transit station in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It serves Amtrak while an adjacent bus transfer center serves Greater Lynchburg Transit Company and Greyhound buses. Kemper Street Station is located at 825 Kemper Street.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency's mission is "to connect and improve the quality of life for all Virginians with innovative transportation solutions." The three primary areas of VDRPT activity are the state's railroads, public transportation, and commuter services.
MetroAccess is a shared-ride public transportation service for individuals in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area who are unable to use fixed-route public transit due to disability. It is managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and is operated by various companies that contract to provide the service. "Shared ride" means that multiple passengers may ride together in the same vehicle.
The Hilltopper was a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It ran daily from South Station in Boston, Massachusetts to Catlettsburg station in Catlettsburg, Kentucky. The 1,674 mi (2,694 km) run made 34 stops in 11 states and the District of Columbia.
The Northern Virginia region is served by numerous mediums of transit. Transportation in the region is overseen by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Amtrak Virginia is the collective name for Virginia's state-supported Amtrak train service, all of which falls under the Northeast Regional brand. Amtrak Virginia trains run between Washington, D.C., and one of four southern termini: Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk, or Roanoke. Trains generally continue north from D.C. along the Northeast Corridor, providing one-seat rides from Virginia to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.
Christiansburg station was an intercity rail station located in Christiansburg, Virginia. Originally built in 1906 to replace a previous station, it was served by Norfolk and Western Railway passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by Amtrak's Mountaineer from 1975 to 1977, then the Hilltopper until 1979. The station building remains extant.
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