PETERSBURG, Va. (WTVR) The GRTC service that run 11 times a day from Petersburg to downtown Richmond could be cut.
The City of Petersburg had put aside $200,000 in their budget for the Petersburg Express bus. That money was to match the $200,000 set provided by the state.
The nearly one dozen trips garner more than 150 passengers every day, including those who work in downtown Richmond, college students and also patients going to medical appointments.
But the state has cut their $200,000, as a result putting the Express bus in jeopardy.
GRTC and the City of Petersburg say they will do what they can to try and keep the bus rolling and that could mean reducing the number of trips each day while also increasing the fare.
For many who depend on the bus, fewer scheduled trips and an increase fare are considered a good option to not having the bus run at all.
Some say they'd gladly pay a couple of dollars more to keep the service rolling.
In fact, while 43 percent of the riders on the Petersburg Express bus are from Petersburg, 22 percent come from Chesterfield County and 9 percent from Dinwiddie and Colonial Heights.
While Petersburg has helped fund the bus since 2007, the other localities have not and considering the situation facing riders now, some say, its time other cities and counties to pay their share.
