At the last Board of Supervisors meeting this past Tuesday, June 13, there was a discussion about the further participation with the FRED transit. Since 2002, the FRED Transit has partnered with Caroline County to provide transportation services to those who need transportation within the county and up to the City of Fredericksburg. With the services, passengers from Caroline can also connect through areas within Spotsylvania and Stafford County.
For the past 15 years, the FRED Transit has provided two routes within the county to help those who need transportation assistance, which are the C1 and C2 routes. The C1 is a clockwise route that provides transportation to the town of Bowling Green, Carmel Church, Corbin, Caroline County RASCB and Ladysmith. The C2 route is a counter-clockwise route that connects to Fredericksburg, Massaponax and Thornburg.
At the meeting on Tuesday, discussions of the budget will determine the future of the FRED transit service whether there will be a reduction of services or to eliminate the services altogether. “We believe that there is a continuing need for transit service in Caroline County. The Board of Supervisors, in exercising its responsibility to set budget priorities for the County, is reviewing FRED service, FRED understands this and will work with the County to conduct that review,” says Wendy Kimball, the Director of Public Transit for Fredericksburg Regional Transit.
If there were any changes to the budget then the decision would affect Caroline customers of the FRED Transit and also the businesses of Caroline where the customers work and shop at. With any change, Caroline customers would also be affected if they were to shop and visit medical facilities in the City of Fredericksburg or Spotsylvania County.
If the decision comes down to either the FRED bus transit being limited or taken away altogether, the Fredericksburg Regional Transit will give a 45-day public notice and will possibly have to hold different hearings if the decision comes down to reducing services.
Customers of the Fredericksburg Transit were notified about the Board of Supervisors meeting for Tuesday and were encouraged to express their concerns and views about the possible change in services. “Without exception the feedback we have gotten supports how highly our customers value FRED service in Caroline County, how important it is to their ability to hold jobs, visit medical facilities, and to go shopping,” says Kimball. Additional feedback from customers has expressed concern that without the FRED transit, many customers would have limited options to commuting around Caroline and Spotsylvania County.
Decisions about the FRED Transit will be featured in the following issue of The Caroline Progress.
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