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So Greyhound discontinued the Charleston-Morgantown Route, likely due to low ridership, but the one you are proposing would somehow be a success?
For some reason, Greyhound does not use ridership in its route decisions. Danbury, CT for example is a city of around 80,000 that is not served by Greyhound, but has regular filled up busses running to Manhattan at various times of the day with another carrier. In addition, there is a lot of different activity in NCWV these days than there was 2 or 3 decades ago that would bring about more transportation demand. Interaction between state officials in Charleston and Federal officials in Clarksburg and Fairmont and the scope of operations at WVU create a very different scenario than once existed. There is no doubt in my mind that a route between Charleston and Morgantown with stops in Sutton, Clarksburg, and Fairmont would be successful. Mountainline feels that is the case too.
This is my basic assessment of the cities and significant towns in West Virginia...
Charleston/Huntington: The government epicenter and largest conurbation in the state. Relatively isolated, but with some influence from Cincinnati.
Morgantown/Fairmont/Clarksburg: The academic and technological epicenter of the state. Fairly well-connected, with moderate influence from Pittsburgh.
Martinsburg/Charles Town: Rapidly-growing, well-connected exurban area with heavy influence from Washington DC.
Wheeling/Weirton: Classic "Rust Belt" conurbation with heavy influence from Pittsburgh, and Weirton practically becoming part of the Pittsburgh exurban fringe.
Elkins/Fayetteville/Summersville: Small towns with decent potential for growth (or even "resort" status) due to nearby outdoor recreation.
Parkersburg/Beckley/Bluefield: Smaller cities with low growth potential due to geographic isolation and a lack of proximity to other major urban areas.
Generally speaking, are my assessments correct? Fill me in.
Speaking in regards to Martinsburg/Charles Town (EPWV), I'd be more inclined to agree if instead you worded it the heavy influence from "the greater Washington [DC] metropolitan area", to include both Maryland and Northern Virginia. Many that live in that area commute to areas around Gaithersburg/Frederick [MD] or the many businesses/govt around Northern Virginia. The MARC train takes several commuters (whether they opt to catch it in WV or drive down to Brunswick, MD) into areas of Germantown/Gaithersburg or further into Washington, DC for the various jobs they have in those locations.
Before Maryland opted yes for gambling, the Charles Town Races and Gaming [Hollywood Casino] had a good amount of people there. The last time my spouse and I visited there, probably been a few months ago, there seemed to be fewer in attendance. I can't recall which day of the week that we were there, so will try it again sometime soon. I'm really more interested in the Epic Buffet and all you can eat crab, lol. Wishing it was available on a Friday vice I guess, it's Tuesday [?]. Perhaps, Friday and Saturday bring more people who live within equal distance (but maybe closer to the Charles Town area than the casino/s in Maryland?).
We do see our share of Maryland license plates though. Yes, we realize some have moved out to Berkeley/Jefferson County from there and have been reluctant to change over.
We're within a 30 minutes drive of either Frederick/Hagerstown area [MD] or Winchester/Leesburg [VA] and have often shopped and dined in those locations.
Speaking in regards to Martinsburg/Charles Town (EPWV), I'd be more inclined to agree if instead you worded it the heavy influence from "the greater Washington [DC] metropolitan area", to include both Maryland and Northern Virginia. Many that live in that area commute to areas around Gaithersburg/Frederick [MD] or the many businesses/govt around Northern Virginia. The MARC train takes several commuters (whether they opt to catch it in WV or drive down to Brunswick, MD) into areas of Germantown/Gaithersburg or further into Washington, DC for the various jobs they have in those locations.
Before Maryland opted yes for gambling, the Charles Town Races and Gaming [Hollywood Casino] had a good amount of people there. The last time my spouse and I visited there, probably been a few months ago, there seemed to be fewer in attendance. I can't recall which day of the week that we were there, so will try it again sometime soon. I'm really more interested in the Epic Buffet and all you can eat crab, lol. Wishing it was available on a Friday vice I guess, it's Tuesday [?]. Perhaps, Friday and Saturday bring more people who live within equal distance (but maybe closer to the Charles Town area than the casino/s in Maryland?).
We do see our share of Maryland license plates though. Yes, we realize some have moved out to Berkeley/Jefferson County from there and have been reluctant to change over.
We're within a 30 minutes drive of either Frederick/Hagerstown area [MD] or Winchester/Leesburg [VA] and have often shopped and dined in those locations.
The descriptions provided gloss over some glaring conditions that do, and that don't really exist. Martinsburg is definitely part of a greater DC/Baltimore area with the influence from those areas growing daily. That will only increase in the years to come. Personally, I find it hard to envision Huntington and Charleston having any type of serious connection. They are too small, and too far apart. I do recognize that there are some folks from Huntington that have jobs in Charleston, but aside from the mall in Barboursville and some housing in the Hurricane area, there just isn't much going on to provide connectivity there. If Hurricane had 20,000 residents that theory would hold more water, but Putnam's population and industrial activity is more dispersed. There are those who disagree with me on that, but that is my opinion. There is a mindset there that suggests they have to maintain the "we are the largest" situation, but that is irrelevant to those of us in NCWV or the Eastern Panhandle where real growth is taking place, and where we are actually located near large cities. It's also totally irrelevant to the Northern Panhandle which, as pointed out, actually is part of the Pittsburgh area.
Also, Greyhound does have two routes a day from Cumberland to Baltimore.
Last edited by JeffConn; 11-20-2013 at 10:40 AM..
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