Morgantown Dominion Post
23 June 2007
By J. Miles Layton
Mountain Line Transit Authority may someday offer commuters a river-bus route across the Monongahela River that connects Granville, Star City and Morgantown.
"The good news for us is that there are not any stoplights out on the river," said David Bruffy, general manager of Mountain Line Transit Authority.
Bruffy said the river bus is just an idea at this stage and nothing official is in the works.
A preliminary concept has been put together by the Mountain Line Transit Authority and the transit board has directed the administration to move forward with the concept.
"Part of the planning is to find out who would benefit from this service," he said.
One of the partners Mountain Line hopes to engage in this project is WVU.
"If through conversations this project would seem beneficial to both the employees of the university and WVU, then it would make sense - some of those folks might be interested in the service," Bruffy said.
Bruffy said he will give a presentation Tuesday to Granville City Council about the possibility of a river bus, a park-andride facility and a community park, potentially off Main Street in Granville near the CONSOL coal tipple.
"Transit Authority conceived of this idea, and Granville was looking to make improvements to Main Street. The two forces came together at the right time," he said. "If Granville thinks this is a good idea, we will talk to Star City and Morgantown city governments to see what we can work out in the future."
Patty Lewis, mayor of Granville, said a river bus would be a nice touch and could play an important part in the development of the waterfront district.
"I think it would be wonderful," she said. "We'd like to develop that waterfront into a park area with the water bus site as the anchor. It's still an idea yet, something we are discussing with Mountain Line."
Bruffy said the river bus would cost about $100,000 - less than what a transit bus costs at $120,000. The money to pay for the bus would come from a combination of Mountain Line Transit funds and federal grants.
The river bus would hold 25 to 30 people. Bruffy said people would park in Granville and take the river bus to downtown Morgantown. There are docking facilities in Morgantown and Star City. "It would be just like a bus route that connects Star City, Granville and the Wharf District," he said.
While the fare to use a river bus is still in the thinking stages, Bruffy estimates the cost would be about $45 a month for a combined parking pass and river bus pass, which would also be good on all Mountain Line local buses.
"When it comes to parking dollars, when you are paying them, paying less is more important," Bruffy said.