Our history

Four County Transit was created in 1998 through a demonstration grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT).  Prior to 1998, Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens (AASC) provided transportation services for participants at its senior congregate nutrition sites and senior citizen clubs. Our organization evolved from AASC’s transportation program and we are still part of AASC today.

The VDRPT demonstration project provided limited demand responsive public transit services. Transportation for AASC participants continued with operating funding from Virginia Department of Aging (VDA)  Small grants were provided by local disability service boards  and a VDA Can’t Drive Grant. Four County Transit also provided non-emergency medical transportation, as a provider of last resort, when other providers did not transport individuals who needed transportation. Our transit did this through AASC’s management of a DMAS (Department of Medical Assistance) pilot project for Medicaid non-emergency transportation brokering. In 2000, Four County Transit began providing a public transportation route for college students attending Southwest Virginia Community College through a public route.  In 2006, we began public routes for students who attend Mountain Empire Community College and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. In 2003, we started our first non-college deviated fixed route, in Richlands, Va. Routes in Cedar Bluff, Lebanon, Tazewell quickly followed, along with connector routes to the two Bluefields. Soon we operated routes through Castlewood, Dante, St. Paul, and Cleveland. In 2005, we began two routes for Grundy and Buchanan County, and routes for Clintwood, Clinchco, Haysi, and Dickenson County. The town of Grundy agreed to begin the Grundy Trolley Service in 2006, to ease parking problems and traffic congestion during the Grundy flood control project. The Highway 19 Work Express route began in 2007 to provide public transportation options through Russell County with a connection to Tazewell County. A similar route, the Route 71 Work Express, began trial services in 2008, providing transportation from St. Paul to Lebanon to Tazewell County.