By Calvin Pynn, contributor
An effort to bring county-wide, on-demand public transit to Rockingham County has encountered another roadblock.
In a 4-1 vote, the county’s Board of Supervisors rejected a motion to support Valley Interfaith Action’s push for a demand-response transit pilot program. More than 100 people — most of whom were county residents who would rely on a transit service — filled the meeting chamber at the Rockingham County Administration Center to advocate for the program Wednesday afternoon.
Ann Petit, a pastor at Massanutten Presbyterian Church, approached the board with other faith leaders in the county.
“We are funded by our members, our area churches and immigrants who love our community, and we represent our community,” Petit said. “We spoke to thousands of residents and we have heard the need for transportation so that our community can get to medical care and can get to work and live an independent life with dignity.”
Jennifer Scarr, a pastor at Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, told the board of supervisors how their proposed transit model would work.
“This is an appointment-based model. It has worked for decades in areas across Virginia. Some of which are larger and more rural than our own,” Scarr said. “The service we propose would be designed and operated by an existing state-certified transit company chosen by the state.”
Scarr also scolded the Board’s support for the Augusta County-based Alliance Committed to Improving Our Neighborhoods, (ACTION), which proposed a microtransit service that would initially only serve the Dayton-Bridgewater area. She said that service would only serve the wealthiest, most urban part of Rockingham County.
“You have supported a proposal that leaves out most of your constituents,” Scarr said. “Our proposal supports the whole county. You voted for a proposal that is fiscally irresponsible.”
District 1 Supervisor Dewie Ritchie had expressed support for ACTION’s microtransit proposal in an email to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit earlier this year. However, Ritchie showed a change of heart after hearing testimonials from constituents who would benefit from an on-demand, county-wide transit service.
He cast the only vote in support of the Valley Interfaith Action’s proposal.
“It’s a total, absolute fairness issue with me,” Ritchie said. “Every citizen deserves a fair shot.”
The other supervisors, while offering positive comments about the on-demand transit concept and praising the group’s tenacity in persuading the board, deferred to the results of a study that assessed transportation needs in Rockingham County.
District 3 Supervisor Rick Chandler said for the $87,000 in taxpayer money spent on the feasibility study, it would be irresponsible to not follow its recommendation.
“The study states demand response is resource-intensive and difficult to scale up and down to meet the demand,” Chandler said. “Since the project team identified that as the highest product for the transit network and since rapid shift is dependent on the quality of service, traditional demand response service was not proposed.”
District 2 Supervisor Sallie Wolfe-Garrison also cited the report’s recommendation.
“I’m of the opinion that if you are looking for a way to be successful, and the identifying group that says what is successful has laid out a clear path, then the wisest choice would be to follow that path,” Wolfe-Garrison said. “And that path is indeed not demand-response.”
The board previously denied a Valley Interfaith Action’s request for support of their proposed transit program in January, as they did not have the necessary matching funds in order to have the county’s support. Since then, the group raised $200,000 in matching funds to leverage additional state and federal money.
Valley Interfaith Action presented a check for money raised at the Nov. 15 Board of Supervisors meeting, but the county could not accept it.
The group’s next steps
The members of Valley Interfaith Action and their supporters gathered outside of the County Administration building after the board’s vote to process the loss.
Katie Cohen, the group’s full-time organizer, told the crowd that despite being unable to sway the Board, they’ve still managed to make some progress.
“You got here today because you chose to build and use power and embrace that tension and that, over the last year, has gotten you some wins,” Cohen said. “Today we’re angry and silent and frustrated and I think really the issue is action on us, as much as it is an action on the Supervisors.”
Lori Friesen, a pastor at Zion Mennonite Church in Broadway and member of Valley Interfaith Action, told reporters the group plans to explore other avenues to get support for the program at the state level.
“We will continue moving forward,” Friesen said. “We need to show that there’s broad support for this, and we are going to continue to show the state that there is broad support.”
Although their pleas have been rejected twice, Valley Interfaith Action has until Feb. 1 of next year to get the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors’ support in order for the state to proceed with funding for the transportation project.
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