The Story
Historical Triangle Service Back with New Bus
For everyone whose living-history cravings Colonial Williamsburg still has not satiated, from April 1 through October 31, the National Park Service and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will be running shuttle bus routes from the Colonial Williamsburg visitor center to Jamestown and Yorktown, with buses arriving every 30 minutes.
The first buses to Jamestown and Yorktown will depart at 9:00 a.m., and the last will depart at 4:00 p.m. Both will make a final pickup at 5:15p.m.
Unlike the last two years in which this bus service has operated, however, the latest incarnation of the shuttle will include two buses, halving the previous services’ one-hour departure intervals.
According to Colonial National Historical Park Public Affairs Officer Mike Litterst, the new bus resulted from a continued increase in tourist traffic.
“We tried this [service] for the first time in 2004 with buses leaving every two hours,” said Litterst. “We did it last year with buses leaving every hour, and ridership quadrupled. Demand doubled from year one to year two. We certainly expect an increase next year.”
With the quadricentennial celebration of Jamestown’s foundation occurring next year, the additional bus will remain a part of Colonial Williamsburg’s fleet.
Students demand, however, was not a factor for the National Park Service and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
“I don't think there was any input from students,” said Litterst. “[The bus service] is designed primarily for visitors going from Williamsburg to Jamestown or Yorktown; it’s not designed as public transportation [...]. I'd be very surprised if there were any appreciable student ridership because [the shuttle] is not servicing the College or the dorms or anywhere where students are likely to go.”
Still, according to Colonial Williamsburg Director of Safety and Transportation Danny McDaniel, service is available to any ticket holder, and in this case, ID-carrying College students.
The new bus should not affect the rest of Williamsburg Area Transport, as, according to McDaniel, Colonial Williamsburg already has the buses for the expanded service.
The Jamestown Artea Shuttle and Yorktown Trolley will also begin operation on April 1, taking visitors to, respectively, Historic Jamestowne, Jamesown Settlement and the Jamestown Glasshouse, as well as to Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center and the Yorktown Victory Center.