Transportation to Blacksburg
Blacksburg is a relatively small place located away from major urban centers. Travelling to Blacksburg can be a real issue especially if you are starting from the other side of the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean.
Contents
Location
Blacksburg is located in Southwest Virginia. 5 kilometers from Blacksburg is Christiansburg where Interstate 81 meets US 460. The nearest big city is Roanoke and the nearest metropolitan area is Charlotte, North Carolina.
Car
Interstate 81 one of the busiest highways on the East Coast. It is two lanes in each direction, with designated truck climbing lanes along steep inclines. Traffic varies depending on time of day, but tends to be very heavy on game days. In many cases though a private vehicle is the only way you can reach the town.
Bus
Blacksburg Transit (BT) primarily serves the town of Blacksburg, with partial service connecting select destinations in Christiansburg. The Two Town Trolley route will get you to the Christiansburg Walmart and from there, you can catch the Shopper Express to other destinations in Christiansburg. Another popular destination, the Christiansburg Park & Ride, can be reached by taking The Explorer bus from Walmart. Blacksburg Transit has the advantage of being free for VT affiliates (i.e. covered in student fees), and is typically $0.50 per trip leg for everyone else, except on football days.
Radford Transit's 40 bus line connects Radford and Christiansburg/Blacksburg. Tickets cost $1.
The Smart Way bus connects Blacksburg With Roanoke. It serves in Blacksburg Alumni Mall and the Post office, in Christiansburg Kmart Shopping Center and I-81 Park and Ride, the Roanoke Park and Ride, Roanoke Regional Airport, Hotel Roanoke and Campbell Court in Downtown Roanoke. The last bus is around 9 so those coming from across the Atlantic to Roanoke airport often have to find different transportation to Blacksburg. It costs $4 each way.
As of July 19 2011 the Smart Way Connector bus connects Blacksburg and Roanoke to the Lynchburg AMTRAK station, with a stop at Bedford. During the week there is a bus from Hotel Roanoke that starts at 5.45 AM, Friday Saturday and Sunday morning it starts at Blacksburg at Squires. There is return bus in the evening that on Friday, Saturday and Sunday arrives at Blacksburg. The ticket costs $4
Megabus begun offering in November 2010 service from Christiansburg to Washington, DC and Knoxville, Tennessee. It stops at Christiansburg Park and Ride. Prices vary depending on when you book. Many students find that Megabus's discount fares come at the price of cramped seating.
The nearest Greyhound bus terminal is Campbell Court in Roanoke. Unlike Megabus, Greyhound typically offers nicer features such as larger leather seats.
Home Ride offers buses on Fridays connecting Blacksburg with Vienna (the terminus of the Washington DC metro Orange Line) and Richmond, with return trips on Sundays. This service is only offered in the Fall and Spring semesters.
From time to time, especially around Spring and Fall breaks and graduation/orientation, parents and students have been known to pool resources to charter buses to various destinations such as Philadelphia.
Rail
The nearest Amtrak train stations are in Lynchburg and Charlottesville. From there, you can take the Northeast corridor through Washington, D.C. all the way to Boston. Currently, the Smart Way Bus routes go to Roanoke and Lynchburg, and the city of Roanoke is rumored to eventually offer Smart Way bus service to Charlottesville. Unlike Blacksburg Transit, the Smart Way bus is not free Virginia Tech affiliates. Eventually, Amtrak hopes to extend train service to Roanoke and eventually Bristol; current planning is for Roanoke train service to be offered in 2015.
Airports
Montgomery Executive Airport only serves general aviation. The nearest airport with scheduled passenger flights is Roanoke Regional Airport, which is connected to Blacksburg with the Smart Way Bus. Alternatively you can take a taxi for about $50-$60. It is a 45 minute trip by car/cab and about 70 minutes by Smart Way bus.
Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA) has direct flights to Washington-Dulles, Charlotte-Douglas, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Philadelphia International Airport, Chicago O'Hare, New York LaGuardia and Orlando-Sanford.
The nearest international airport is Charlotte-Douglas (CLT). It is a little over 3 hours from Blacksburg depending on traffic. Charlotte receives transatlantic and transpacific flights
Other nearby airports with regular flights are Lynchburg, VA (LYH) about 75-90 minutes away, Lewisburg, West Virginia (LWV) about 2 hours, Charlottesville, VA (CHO) about 2 hours away, Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave, VA (SHD) 2 hours 15 minutes, Piedmont Triad International airport in Greensboro, NC (PTI) 2 hours 45 minutes and the Washington, DC airports which are approximately four and a half hours away.