
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 25, 1995                   TAG: 9508250088
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NOW YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE

For the first time, if you live in North Roanoke County, you don't need a car to get from point A to point B.

The county, in conjunction with CORTRAN, is offering limited bus service from Hanging Rock to Hollins College via Valley View Mall.

It isn't exactly bus service - there is no fleet of shiny new buses. The county's new transportation system amounts to one wheelchair-accessible 12-passenger van with RADAR emblazoned in red down its white side.

CORTRAN, operated by RADAR, has been in Roanoke County for years, picking up people who are elderly or disabled and shuttling them around town. Until recently, that was the only service available in most of the county.

That program will continue, but one of CORTRAN's vans has switched to the nine-stop Red Line.

When the Red Line got its wheels turning in April, it had difficulty filling its 12 seats.

"At first, it wasn't a whole lot, but we expect it to pick up more when Hollins starts back up," said Jerry Caldwell, operations manager of CORTRAN.

The service, funded by state and federal grants, is designed as a supplement to Valley Metro, Caldwell said. The $1.25 fare is the same, and transfers are free.

There are differences: Valley Metro has 16 routes, the Red Line has one; Valley Metro has Saturday bus service, the Red Line doesn't; Valley Metro runs until 8:45 p.m., the Red Line stops at 5:50.

Also, there are no signs for the Red Line, just brochures and word of mouth to attract riders.

CORTRAN plans to add another route this fall to connect Southwest County to Valley Metro via Lewis-Gale Hospital and Tanglewood Mall.

by CNB