Trip Report: Manassas to Blacksburg on a Train and Two Buses (the first bus broke down!)

I took Amtrak's Northeast Regional south from Manassas, VA, to Roanoke. From Roanoke, I rode Valley Metro's Smart Way bus route to Blacksburg. My first bus barely made it around the block before breaking down, but Valley Metro responded quickly and sent a replacement bus within minutes!

[@sammymarrco2]

are you going to VT? Im planning to go next fall.

[@29downtheline]

@sammymarrco2 I actually go to CNU (so pretty much all the way across the state), but I visit VT semi-regularly as my brother goes there! VT’s got a great campus (and bus system) though! Good school, lots of programs! Do you know what you’ll be studying yet?

[@sammymarrco2]

@@29downtheline Geography with minors in urban planning and GIS! (if i can pass two hard NOVA math classes). My condolences going to CNU with HRT bus every hour 😭

[@29downtheline]

@sammymarrco2 Oh nice, my brother there also studies geography! Maybe y’all will run into each other! Best of luck with the NOVA classes! And this might be a controversial opinion, but I actually really like HRT. The Elizabeth River Ferry is one of my favorite transit lines I’ve ever ridden! And CNU (including stops that are a short walk off campus) is actually served by buses multiple times an hour because we have 5 different bus routes running by campus. 4 of those lines run very similar routes to each other (2 are express routes that run at weird times, probably timed with shipyard shifts), as Newport News is a very linear city (about 20 miles long and 6 miles wide at its widest, less than a mile at its narrowest). Most of the day, service is every half hour or better (still lots of room for improvement though). I’ll get back to making more HRT content once I’m back at school in the fall! Thanks for watching!

[@sammymarrco2]

@@29downtheline oh good to hear, looking forward to it!

[@tyleralberico9340]

@@29downtheline Omg I went to CNU! I just graduated in May. What are you studying?

[@brendan4184]

Can we get a face reveal

[@29downtheline]

Maybe someday! Keep watching the channel to find out!

[@brendan4184]

@@29downtheline 😔