By Sylvia Moore

Imagine sleek new express motor coaches, equipped for cell phones and computers, running between Williamsburg and downtown Norfolk.

Michael Townes, executive director of Hampton Roads Transit, wants to make that vision a reality.

He came to the General Assembly seeking a slice of the transportation fund pie. Townes told members of the Senate Transportation Finance Committee that HRT needs $15.9 million over the next two years. The agency is asking for $3.2 million from the state and the rest from the federal government.

Hampton Roads Transit covers Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk It was formed recently by the merger of two companies:

• Pentran, the bus service on the Peninsula.

• Tidewater Regional Transit, serving South Hampton Roads.

"We have more clout now," said Noelle Brown, government relations officer for HRT. "Transit services are getting by on the skin of their teeth and need funding to expand," she said.

Hampton Road’s population has grown from 1.1 million in 1970 to 1.5 million in 1990 and is projected to reach 1.7 million by 2010, according to HRT. This has placed more cars on the road. To add to the congestion, 973,000 tourists visited Williamsburg and 2.7 million headed to Virginia Beach in 1999, officials said.

Townes described an express bus service that would operate like passenger trains, providing fast regularly scheduled transportation along heavily traveled routes.

He said the speed and convenience of the bus service would be comparable to driving private automobiles. Smaller buses would leave main routes to pick up and drop off riders at locations convenient to them, such as their homes. This service would be available in Hampton, Newport News, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, Townes said.

By reducing the wait time and increasing the convenience, the bus service hopes to attract more riders, he said.

Linda McMinimy, the executive director of Virginia Transit Association, said ridership statewide has increased 12 percent over the last four years.

Transit services have been historically underfunded, McMinimy said. She would like to see more funds made available to make transit an option in areas struggling with traffic congestion.

Localities must contribute 30 percent of transit system funding to expand in their areas, but localities must fund only 1.1 percent for highway projects, McMinimy said. "This kills any initiative to fund transit," she said.

Michael Connolly, transit manager of Blacksburg Transit, said a bus filled to capacity removes 40 cars from the road. "Without the Metro in Northern Virginia, 20 percent more cars would congest the highways and 1,400 additional miles of road would have to be built."

Sen. R. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, is in favor of funding mass transportation. He said there was no lack of studies to show the trend toward use of mass transit.

Sen. Warren E. Barry, R-Fairfax, said the car has allure for most people. "They like to get into their cars, adjust the temperature control and go do their errands and take their kids to after-school activities," he said.

Townes said that he sees the pendulum swinging back against the negative impact of congestion on the roads. He said taking the bus would recreate a sense of community among the riders.