Blacksburg Transit will be decreasing service temporarily on weekdays as of Jan. 18, 2026.
The service adjustments are caused by two recalls that limit the battery capacity of the department’s electric buses. Frequency reductions and alternate route patterns will be implemented affecting at least eight routes at various times between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Service after 7 p.m. and on weekends will not be affected.
“We are aware that these service changes will seriously affect our customers,” said Blacksburg Transit Director Brian Booth. “I want everyone to know that we do not want to make these changes, but our hands are tied. With electric buses making up over 50 percent of our fleet, these recalls, combined with the cold weather, make it impossible to maintain the service we provided during the Fall 2025 semester.”
Service during peak ridership times will be maintained as much as possible. These adjustments are designed to shorten the operating time of some routes to align with the reduced charging capacity of the electric buses. Routes with longer operating times will be run with diesel buses or 2 electric buses splitting the route halfway through.
In general, customers can expect to see frequency decreases before 8 a.m. and after 3 p.m. on various routes. On some routes this will mean a bus every 30 minutes instead of every 15 minutes, during part of the day. Alternate patterns operated on nights and weekends for some routes will begin at 3 p.m. Some routes will be unaffected.
BT owns 28 New Flyer electric buses, of various production years and sizes. All of BT’s electric buses fall under both active New Flyer recalls. The recalls both significantly shorten the operating time for every electric bus. This decrease is compounded by the cold weather, which further reduces the overall performance of the electric buses. All 28 vehicles are still safe to operate and BT has implemented all recommended safety precautions identified within the recall. No mechanical or safety issues related to these recalls have been experienced on BT vehicles.
Route by route changes can be found at https://ridebt.org/service-changes
For more information, contact Laney Beldon at lbutt@blacksburg.gov.
Town of Blacksburg
